LU 12: Stress

Question 1

What does stress entail?

Answer 1

• Major disasters: pandemics, terroist attacks, storms, war.
• Everyday events: standing in line, driving in traffic, misplacing in cell, tests, assignments, loadshedding.

Question 2

What is the impact of minor stressors?

Answer 2

• minor stressors can produce major effects.
• routine hassles can have harmful effects on mental and physical health.

Question 3

How are routine hassles more harmful compared to major stressful events?

Answer 3

Major stressful events are relatively rare. Whereas, daily hassles on their own are harmless but these add up to never ending major stressors.

Question 4

Consider the psychological impact of Covid 19:

Answer 4

• duration isn’t predicted, this Cassie’s anxiety.
• fear of contracting the virus: surfaces, other people, anywhere.
• quarantine: uncertainty, loneliness, depression, anxiety.

Question 5

What is stress?

Answer 5

It is any circumstances that threaten or are perceived to threaten one’s well- being and test one’s coping capabilities.

Question 6

What is acute stress?

Answer 6

• most common form of stress- most widely experienced one.
• it is short lived.
• caused by daily demands and pressures.
• brings about excitement, joy and thrill in our lives.

Question 7

What is chronic stress?

Answer 7

• It’s not exciting and thrilling, it’s dangerous and unhealthy.
• tears the life of a person apart- his mind, body or spirit.
• long- term exposure to stressors, such as unhappy marriage, traumatic experiences, unwanted career or job, stress of poverty, chronic illnesses, relationship conflicts, political problems and dysfunctional families.

Question 8

What is major types of stress?

Answer 8

• frustration.
• internal conflict:
• approach- approach
• avoidance- approach
• approach- avoidance
• change.
• pressure.

Question 9

Give examples of stress in SA:

Answer 9

• joblessness
• inflation
• lack of resources
• irregular electricity
• transportation
• poor service delivery
• crime (murder, intimate partner abuse, rape etc)
• exams.

Question 10

What are the 3 responses to stress?

Answer 10

1. Emotional response
2. Physiological response
3. Behavioral response

Question 11

Describe the emotional respondents to stress:

Answer 11

• there is a relationship between stress and mood according to research.
• emotional responses: fear, anger, annoyance, rage, sadness, grief.
• negative emotions affect health and well- being.
• positive emotions also occur during periods of stress.
• gratitude, appreciation for life, family and friends= helps people bounce back.

Question 12

What is the body’s stress response?

Answer 12

The general adaptation syndrome.

Question 13

What are the 3 stages of the general adaptation syndrome?

Answer 13

1. Alarm
2. Resistance
3. Exhaustion

Question 14

Who created the GAS stress model?

Answer 14

Hans Selye.

Question 15

Describe GAS as a stress model:

Answer 15

• biological explanation of how the body responds and adapts to stress.
• stress affects the human body through aging and other natural body processes that occur as we encounter various stressors in our daily lives.
• the body has been adapting to external stressors in terms of a biological pattern that’s actually predictable, so that the internal balance, or homeostasis, would be restored and maintained.
• in its attempt to retain homeostasis, the body makes use of the fight or flight response.

Question 16

Describe what happens at the alarm stage of GAS?

Answer 16

• the body labels the stressor as a threat.
• activates it’s fight or flight response system.
• releases the “stress” hormones.
• increased heart rate, increased blood flow to muscles, emotional and cognitive changes.

Question 17

What happens at the resistance stage of GAS?

Answer 17

• after the body has responded to the stressor, it is more likely that the stress level has been eradicated, or simply reduced.
• the body’s defenses become weaker as it needs to allocate energy to the repair of damaged muscle tissues and lower the production of stress hormones.
• it remains on- guard, particularly when the stressors persist and the body is required to fight them continuously.

Question 18

What happens at the exhaustion stage of GAS:

Answer 18

• the stress has been persistent fir a longer period.
• the body starts to lose its ability to combat the stressors and reduce their harmful impact because the adaptive energy is all drained out.
• the exhaustion stage can be referred to as the gate towards burnout or stress overload, which can lead to health problems nor resolved immediately.

Question 19

True or false:
When stressed, the heart start racing faster, breathing is harder and perspiration is more than usual.

Answer 19

True.

Question 20

How do physiological responses to stress happen?

Answer 20

There are 2 major pathways along which the brain sends signals to the endocrine system (to secrete hormones).

Question 21

Describe the 1st pathway of brain body pathways of stress:

Answer 21

1. In the brain, the hypothalamus initiates action along these 2 pathways:
2. It initiates the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system.
3. The adrenal glands (adrenal medulla) releases large amounts of hormones- catecholamines into the bloodstream.
4. These hormones produce physiological changes in the body.
5. The body is mobilized for action.

Question 22

Describe the 2nd pathway of brain body pathways of stress:

Answer 22

1. The hypothalamus sends signals to the master gland the pituitary gland of endocrine system.
2. The pituitary gland secretes a hormone- ACTH that stimulates the adrenal gland to release another set of hormones- corticosteroids.
3. They release chemicals that help increase energy and help inhibit tissue inflammation in case of injury.

Question 23

What is neurogenesis?

Answer 23

Is the formation of new neurons. When neurogenesis are suppressed, it can cause depression.

Question 24

What is chronic stress?

Answer 24

• Lead to structural and functional changes in the brains neural and glial networks.
• These remodeled brain circuits increase vulnerability to a variety of psychological disorders amd physical deficiencies.

Question 25

Describe coping as a behavioral response:

Answer 25

Refers to efforts to master, reduce or tolerate the demands created by stress.
Coping responses can be adaptive (helpful) or maladaptive (not helpful).

Question 26

What are the 5 coping responses:

Answer 26

1. Giving up or blaming oneself
2. Striking out at others
3. Indulging ones
4. Defensive coping
5. Constructive coping

Question 27

Describe what happens at the giving up or blaming oneself stage of coping methods:

Answer 27

• confronted with a stressful situation, some people give up. They believe that events are beyond their control.
• this syndrome is called learned helplessness:
• is a passive behavior produced by exposure to unavoidable aversive events.
• excessive self- blame can be very unhealthy.

Question 28

What happens at the striking out at others as a coping response:

Answer 28

• aggression is any behavior that is intended to hurt someone, either physically or verbally.
• aggression could be caused by frustration.
• striking out at others to get rid of anger (catharsis) doesn’t decrease stress.

Question 29

What happens at the indulging oneself as a coping response:

Answer 29

Stress can increase eating, drinking alcohol, smoking, drugs, shopping and internet addiction.

Question 30

What happens at the defensive stage as a coping response:

Answer 30

Defense mechanisms:
- Are unconscious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions, anxiety and guilt.
- It’s helpful as long as it doesn’t consist of extreme distortions of reality.

Question 31

What happens at the constructive stage as a coping response:

Answer 31

• no specific strategy can guarantee a successful outcome.
• no coping strategy that’s universally adaptive across all people and situations.

Question 32

What are the 6 stages of stress and physical health:

Answer 32

1. Personality, hostility & disease.
2. Emotional reactions.
3. Stress, other diseases & immune functioning.
4. The link between stress & illness.
5. Factors moderating the impact of stress.
6. Positive effects of stress.

Question 33

What happens at personality, hostility and disease stage of stress and physical health?

Answer 33

Hostility & anger with a Type A personality is more likely to suffer heart attacks.

Question 34

What happens at emotional reactions, depression & heart disease stage of stress and physical health?

Answer 34

• mental stress can trigger sudden symptoms of heart disease.
• frequent outbursts of anger causes cardiovascular vulnerability.
• depression is a risk for heart disease.
• stress- related disorder like PTSD & acute stress reaction increase cardiovascular disease.

Question 35

What happens at stress, other diseases & immune functioning stage of stress and physical health?

Answer 35

• stress can suppress immune activity.
• stress= illness= aspects of personality.

Question 36

What happens at the link between stress and illness stage of stress and physical health?

Answer 36

• The biopsychosocial determinants of health:
  Genetics, exposure to infectious agents and environmental toxins (nutrition, exercise, alcohol, smoking, drug use, use of medical care and co- operation with medical advice). As well as some people handle stress better than others.

Question 37

What are the factors moderating the impact of stress?

Answer 37

• social support
• optimism and conscientiousness.

Question 38

What are the positive effects of stress?

Answer 38

Stress can promote personal growth and self- improvement.

Question 39

How to cope with stress?

Answer 39

• exercise: releases endorphins.
• progressive relaxation: contracting and relaxing all major groups one at a time; teaches the difference between relaxed and tense.
• guided imagery.
• breathing: diaphragmatic breathing
• slow down: take life easy.
• become organised.
• maintain balance.