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clinical psych midterm 2 > stress > Flashcards

stress Flashcards

1
Q

Stressor

A

Any event that triggers coping
adjustment.

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2
Q

Strain

A

The physical and emotional wear and
tear reaction of a person attempting to cope
with a stressor.

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3
Q

Stress

A

The process by which we perceive and
respond to events (stressors).

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4
Q

Three Research Focuses

A
  1. The environment: stress as a stimulus
    (stressors)
  2. Reaction to stress: stress as a response
    (distress)
  3. Stress as a process that includes stressors
    and strains, but includes relationship between
    person and the environment (coping).
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5
Q

The Physiology of Stress

A

when we sense danger…

Increase in
* Adrenaline
* Heart rate, breathing
blood pressure… etc.
* Cortisol

Decrease in
* Reduced blood flow
to the kidneys, skin
and gut that are not
immediately needed

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6
Q

The role of the endocrine system in stress

A

Hypothalamus orders the pituitary to secrete
adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) which is
taken up by the adrenal glands.

Adrenal Glands:
* Mediates most of our
physiological responses to stress
* Releases cortisol, epinephrine,
and norepinephrin

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7
Q

the physiology of stress: the sympathetic nervous system

A

Adrenal Medulla: Epinephrine
& Norepinephrine
Increases….
* heart rate
* respiration
* perspiration
* blood to muscles
* metabolism
* mental activity

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8
Q

general adaptation syndrome

A
  • alarm reaction: fight or flight
  • resistance: arousal high as body tries to defend and adapt
  • exhaustion: limited physical resources, resistance decreases stress
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9
Q

Biological Theories of
Psychophysiological Disorders

A
  • Somatic-Weakness Theory
  • Weakness in a specific body organ
  • Example: congenitally weak respiratory system might
    predispose the individual to asthma
  • Specific-Reaction Theory
  • Individual response to stress is idiosyncratic
  • Prolonged Exposure to Stress Hormones
  • Activation of CNS and HPA axis
  • Stress and the Immune System
  • Stress impact the ANS, hormone levels, brain activity
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10
Q

transaction model

A

1) Encounter a potentially stressful event or
situation.

2) Cognitive appraisals:
* Primary appraisal – is this event positive, neutral
or negative; and if negative, how bad?
* Secondary appraisal – do I have resources or
skills to handle the event/demand?
* If no, then distress

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11
Q

Psychological Aspects of Stress

A
  • Stress can affect cognitive performance.
  • Vicious cycle of rumination and/or worrying
  • Stress can affect our emotions.
  • Fear and anxiety
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12
Q

Dysfunctional Cognitive Processes

A

Stress arises or is augmented by faulty or
irrational ways of thinking:
* Catastrophizing – “It is the end of the world if I get
turned down when I ask for a date.”
* Overgeneralizing – “I didn’t get a good grade on
this test. I can’t get anything right.”
* Selective abstraction – Only seeing specific details
of the situation (e.g., Seeing the negatives but
missing the positive details)

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13
Q

Galvanic Skin Response (GSR)

A
  • Measure of skin’s resistance to
    electricity
  • Polygraph
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14
Q

measuring stress- Performance Measures

A

Social facilitation (good stress):
* Any increment of individual activity resulting from
the presence of another individual
* Creates arousal, thus enhancing the dominant
response

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15
Q

What impacts do major life events have on our
health?

A

Holmes & Rahe
- Life change units
- Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

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16
Q

Acute vs. Chronic Stress

A
  • Acute stress
  • Sudden, typically short-lived, threatening event
    (e.g., robbery, giving a speech)
  • Chronic stress
  • Ongoing environmental demand (e.g., marital
    conflict, work stress)
17
Q

Daily Hassles and Uplifts

A

Hassles:
* Experiences and conditions of daily living that
have been appraised as salient and harmful or
threatening
Uplifts:
* Experiences & conditions of daily living that
have been appraised as salient & positive or
favourable

18
Q

Job Stress

A

A) Work Overload – Work too long & too hard
B) Role Overload – Balance several different
jobs at once
C) Burnout – Physical and psychological
exhaustion

19
Q

Environmental Stress

A

Natural disasters, accidents, terrorism, and war

20
Q

Cardiovascular Disorders

A
  • Heart Disease is the second leading cause of death in Canada,
    accounting for 1 in 5 deaths
  • Essential Hypertension
  • Hypertension without identified biological cause
  • Sometimes called: Primary hypertension
  • Known as the silent killer (may go undetected for years)
  • Coronary Heart Disease (CHD)
  • Narrowing of blood vessels supplying O2 and blood to heart
  • Two diseases involving heart and blood-circulation system
    appear to be adversely affected by stress
21
Q

Therapies for Psychophysiological
Disorders

A
  • Treating hypertension through decreasing CHD risk factors
  • Decrease anxiety, depression, or anger
  • Decrease psychophysiological disorders
  • Also decrease smoking, obesity, alcohol consumption, salt intake
  • Increase exercise
  • Drugs can be used to decrease cholesterol levels
  • Biofeedback
  • Effectiveness of biofeedback has only modest empirical support
  • Cardiac Rehabilitation
  • Support and counseling aimed at decreasing stress
  • Known effectiveness shown in meta-analyses
  • However, concerns about barriers to access programs:
  • lack of physician referral
  • long travel time and distance to available reha
22
Q

Trauma and Stressor-
Related Disorders

A
  • Adjustment Disorder
  • Acute Stress Disorder
  • Posttraumatic Stress Disorde
23
Q

Risk Factors of PTSD

A
  • Exposure to trauma and severity of trauma
  • Gender (more females)
  • Perceived threat to life
  • Family history of psychiatric disorders
  • Presence of pre-existing psychiatric disorders
  • Early separation from parents
  • Previous exposure to traumas
  • Dissociative symptoms (including amnesia and out-of-body
    experiences) at the time of the trauma
  • Trying to push memories of the trauma out of one’s mind
    (Ehlers et al., 1998).
  • Tendency to take personal responsibility for failures
  • Coping with stress by focusing on emotions (“I wish I could
    change how I feel”)
  • Attachment style (insecure attachment style
24
Q

psychological Theories of PTSD

A
  • PTSD arises from a classical conditioning of fear avoidances being
    built up, and they are negatively reinforced by the reduction of fear
    that comes from not being in the presence of the CS.
  • Anxiety sensitivity
25
Q

cognitive theories of PTSD

A

characterize PTSD as a disorder of memory.
* The hallmark feature being the constant involuntary recollection of
the traumatic event (McNally, 2006).
* It has been shown across several studies that PTSD is associated
with impaired memory of emotionally neutral stimuli.
* There is a robust association between PTSD and memory
impairment and this tendency is stronger for verbal memory than
visual memory

clinical psych midterm 2 (3 decks)

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