Module 44- Promoting Health Flashcards
Major strategies for coping with stress
- Provlem-focused coping
2. Emotion-focused coping
Problem - focused coping
- try to alleviate stress by a direct action with its source
Emotion - focused coping
- try to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring stressor and instead try to manage your own emotional state
Factors that affect coping ability
- perceived control over stressor
- predictability of a stressor
- general outlook of life (optimism)
- social support
Perceived control over stressor (with research)
- perception of control, not the physical shock itself, is the important variable
- effect has been replicated and extended to include stress hormones, immune system changes
- feeling you are in control minimizes stress
Predictability of a stressor (with research)
- predictability, predictability of the stressor reduces impact of stressor
- one explanation is that you learn when to relax
Optimism
has been shown to: exhibit less signs of stress (aliments) at exam time
- have lower elevations in blood pressure when confronted with a stressor
- recover quicker from major surgery
- live longer
- humour also shown to predict
Social Support
- people with strong social ties live longer (family, friends)
- married people live longer (healthier) lives
Why so much positive effects?
- social contact comfort
- confide in other promotes well being
- healthier lifestyles
Ways to Manage Stress
- aerobic exercise, biofeedback, relaxation, meditation, spirituality
Aerobi Exercise
- shown to elevate serotonin, norepinephrine and endorphins in brain
- reduces stress and hormone responses to stressors
Biofeedback
- relaxation, meditation
- involves monitoring and then amplifying physiological responses to make them perceptible
Relaxation
- can be effective
- alleviate headaches, hypertension, insomnia, anxiety, deuces heart attack
Meditation and prayer
- shown to increase activity in arrears of brain
- altered states of consciousness
- shown to have halt benefits in controlled studies
Spirituality an Faith Communities
- long standing relationship between well being and faith
- 36% fewer deaths in those who attend religious services regularly