Physiology of chronic stress Flashcards
Stress is the body’s reaction to feeling threatened or under pressure. It has been acknowledged that it transcends across 3 main areas, what are they?
1 - Emotional, Environmental, Physiological
2 - Psychological, Environmental, Physiological
3 - Emotional, Psychological, Physiological
4 - Emotional, Environmental, Psychological
1 - Emotional, Environmental, Physiological
When we talk about stress, is it always real?
- can be real
- can be imagined
- can be internal (spontaneous, unconsious)
- can be external (workplace, study)
Significant life events that are associated with change have been identified as being quantifiable. Why would this be useful?
- identify those at risk of stress
- identify variables and reduce the risk of stress
- prevention is better than cure
What is cognitive appraisal of stress?
- an individuals own interpretation of a specific situation
- decide if the situation is stressful or not is individual
What is the Holmes-Rahe Stress Scale?
- 43 point tool
- used to measuring and assess life events
- gives a score for the amount of stress you’ve experienced within the past year
There are reported to be different types of stress. What is positive/eustress?
- stress we feel when we get excited
- stress we get when responding to a challenge
- enhances self esteem and impulse control
Positive/eustress is stress we feel when we get excited or when responding to a challenge that was stressful, which can all enhances self esteem and impulse control. Why is this good moving forward?
- learn that we can cope with the situation and stress
- if the situation arises again we know we can manage
There are reported to be different types of stress. What is tolerable stress?
1 - stress that we are able to manage with the support of others (family, friends)
2 - positive stress that can enhance self esteem and impulse
3 - stress that cannot be managed due to poor coping strategies and/or lack of support
4 - stress that is always negative regardless of the stimulus of coping strategies
1 - stress that we are able to manage with the support of others (family, friends)
- enhances self esteem and impulse control
- means in future you can manage future stressors
There are reported to be different types of stress. What is toxic stress?
1 - stress that we are able to manage with the support of others (family, friends)
2 - positive stress that can enhance self esteem and impulse
3 - stress that cannot be managed due to poor coping strategies and/or lack of support
4 - stress that is always negative regardless of the stimulus of coping strategies
3 - stress that cannot be managed due to poor coping strategies and/or lack of support
Toxic stress can be from situations that an individual deems as a stressful experience based on their cognitive appraisal, where they have no support system available to help manage this. Why can this be dangerous?
- can lead to dysregulated physiological systems
- can compromise brain architecture
What is the transactional model of stress?
1 - model processing stressful scenarios as transactions
2 - model emphasising cognitive appraisal (harm, threat, challenge)
3 - model demonstrating how to manage stress
2 - model emphasising cognitive appraisal (harm, threat, challenge)
The transactional model of stress is a framework which emphasises appraisal to evaluate harm, threat and challenges. What does the first box in the figure relate to?
1 - primary appraisal, patient determines if stressor is manageable
2 - stimulus doesn’t move past cognitive appraisal
3 -stimulus to begin cognitive appraisal if something is stressful or not
4 - secondary appraisal, patient stimulus is stressful and must be processed
3 -stimulus to begin cognitive appraisal if something is stressful or not
- a stressor/life event/situation that we have to navigate through
- the type of event is not important, BUT the individuals perception is important (cognitive appraisal)
The transactional model of stress is a framework which emphasises appraisal to evaluate harm, threat and challenges. Thew first box relates to a stressor/life event/situation that we have to navigate through. BUT it is not the specific event that matters, BUT the individuals perception (cognitive appraisal) of the situation. What does the second box relate to?
1 - primary appraisal, patient determines if stressor is manageable
2 - stimulus doesn’t move past cognitive appraisal
3 -stimulus to begin cognitive appraisal if something is stressful or not
4 - secondary appraisal, patient stimulus is stressful and must be processed
1 - primary appraisal, patient determines if stressor is manageable
- could essentially be positive/beneficial stress, irrelevant stress or could it be dangerous stress
- called tolerable stress
The transactional model of stress is a framework which emphasises appraisal to evaluate harm, threat and challenges. Thew first box relates to a stressor/life event/situation that we have to navigate through. BUT it is not the specific event that matters, BUT the perception (cognitive appraisal) of the situation. If the stressor is perceived as positive or irrelevant, then we move to the second box. The second box, called secondary appraisal is when a patient has identified a stressor as risk. What 2 things can then happen from here?
1 - patient realises they have sufficient self control or a support circle to deal with situation. This is positive and a coping strategy
2 - patient realises they do not have sufficient self control or a support circle to deal with situation which then causes stress. This is negative and a similar/same stressor will cause stress in future
- both feed back into our experiences for future situations and stress
Stress is not necessarily one instance, but rather what?
- ones critical appraisal of a situation
- lots of things can affect this