Stress Flashcards
what’s the response of the body to stress
hightened state of arousal caused by external stressors
stressors cause stress
Acute vs chronic stress
Acute - usually helps keep us alert and motivated. Optimum performance is reach with a certain amount of stress.
chronic - pronlonged stress can have physiological and physchological effects
difficult to handle tasks done wrongly or missed,
**Under aroused **- bored, lethargic, not assimilated to
incoming info or maintain situational awareness
Types of stressors
Occupational:
overloaded, rostering, being away from home
Domestic (Social Readjustment Rating Scale)
death, divorce
Environmental & Physiological
Disrubt physio balance - heat, noise, hunger, dark, damp, smelly, lack of oxygen
disrub circadian cycle: nausea, fatigue, foggy, depression, moody
Psychological
work related
demanding flights
Rational / irrational fear
Anxiety
**
What is GAS
General Adaptation Syndrom
body’s initial response to stressors
What are the 3 responses of GAS
Alarm
Resistance
Exhaustion
What’s the alarm phase
Initial response shock, followed by counter shock
Sympathetic system releases adrenaline which triggers fight and flight response - increased heart rate, blood diverts from stomach to brain, blood sugar increases
Noradrenaline prolongs the effects of adrenaline even after the stressor is gone.
Resistance
if stressor not removed, adrenaline levels drop and sympathetic system release coritosteroids (cortisol) which converts proteins to sugar and stores in the fat reserves to turn into energy.
if it presists, psychosomatic symptoms occur (physical symptoms triggered by pscyhological issues)
exhaustian
body eliminiates all the waste generated excessilvey from the first two steps
if stressor is gone, blood sugar levels return to normal
if not, body is depleted all its resources and blood sugar remains to drop
Symptoms of GAS
increased:
respiration
heart rate
alertness
energy
blood sugar levels
salivation
muscle tension
decreased apetite
interpretation of stress response
boyd’s repsonse to stress is based on the perception of severity of the stress.
you can have the same symptoms whether body is in Fear mode or excitement mode
meaning, response is open to interpretation by the brain
chronic illness causes
1)Increased heart rate & blood sugars- heart muscles thickness and arterial walls harden causing blood flow restriction
2)Breaking down of fat into sugar **increases cholesterol, **leading to fatty cardio vascular system and blood clotts.
Cortison is released and reduces functions of the immune system
physiological and physchological Overload
Because the nature of GAS, a reaction can go on for longer.
multiple stressors and multiple GAS symptons will overlead the individual physchologically and physiologically
** faint, breakdown, process of action is blocked**
or
** carry on the response from the inital source of stress onto another situation**
if you argue with your boss, your stress is carried onto the cockpit
Reaction to stress
Pschylogical
restless, anxity, excitement…depress, moodyness, tense, tearful, forgetfulness, poor attention and decion making
psychosomatic (mind over body)
physical systems that happn from psychological stress
hear attack, ulcers, increased blood pressure
somatic
purely autonomic physical response (alarm, resistantce, exhaution)
how to cope - 5 mechanism
DOPII
Direct Action/long term action coping - you remove or escape the stressor. Abnormal drills is an example.
Ex: quite your job
Obtaining support - get help from others and can be a good long terms or short tem strategy
**Paliative coping/symptom-directed **- addressing symptoms not the cause by use of mediation, relaxation, techniques or even drugs/alchol. Might be short time.
**Information seeking/cognitive coping **- understand the stressor to help cope with it in the future. Rationalize the stress to try to reduce its magnitude
Inhibition/denial - Do nothing. it’s ok for short term stressor but not for long term.
**with supervised professional:
**
**Biofeedback **(audio or EEG waves) to help detect a stress episode
**Cognitive behavioural therapy **- help understand and rationalize stressors
Mental stress
It’s perceived ability to cope with perceived situation
there is no such thing as stressful situation
there is however, anxious reaction
what is anxiety
It’s a person’s reaction to stress
it’s a persistent feeling of dread and apprehension
tends to stay even after the situation has passed
what can chornic anxiety cause
OCD
PTSD
Phobias
Panic attacks
How to keep the cockpit workload in optimum section?
load should be kept at optimum level (not low, not overload)
fill ‘low arousal’ period with non-essential tasks
reduce number of tasks necessary at ‘high arousal peaks’ to avoid overload
Think ahead, plan future tasks
Environmental stresses
caused by pilot’s surroundings like vibration, temperature, noise,..
usually cause distraction, physical discomfort and fatigue
Life stresses (ie domestic)
can cause difficulty to separate one activity such as flying from some stressful factor that is unrelated to the task at hand..
errors or omissions happen
what is stress management and its needed
is a vital skill for pilots to develop - requires learning how to deal with the pressure and disallow it from
overwhelming the ability to respond properly
disrupting ability to operate efficiently and corectly in cockpit or on ground.
Abitlity to handle demand varies depending on..
General good health
well rested
personality
happy & organized life
intelligence and preparedness for tasks and activities
skills/experience/proficiency
perceived pressure
pressure that’s not real but your brain acts on it
to combat this:
ask, is the stressor really there? or imaginary?
Tolerance to pressure
tolerance varies a lot between people
tolerance to a new stress varies depending on
1) current level of stress
2) time of day (personal body clock)
3) age (the older the less tolerance)
physical stress - fight or flight
- body releases adrenalisn
- body is stumulated
- heart rate increases
- blood diverted to where it is most needed
- performance enhanced
- response is quick (some might be automatic)
- sensitive to surrounding
your personality, aptitude and level of peceived danger dictate wether you fight or flight
no physical stresses
- Intellectual:
- Emotional
- pscyhological
some stimuli inhibit or enhance perofrmance:
example:
*intellectual tend to enhance performance’
*emotional tend to inhibit performance
**Ex: **
pressure of time? (too much to do in little time)
difficult decisions to make (take a turn/or divert/)
lack of confidence
strained relationships/emotional overload
types of arousal
Low:
associated with deep sleep, fatigue, sleep deprivation, lack of motivation, low body temperature
Become over cause, apatheitc, poor performance at a task
**moderate
**this area is good for low world load period like cruising long haul.
**Optimum:
**optimum performance at a task, quick to respond, accurate, efficient, modify response if situation changes
**imp for landing, takeoff and emergencies*
**high:
**fear panic, under confidence
become tense and also poor performance
List stress cause by environment & physical
Hyperthermia
Hypothermia
Vibration
Turbulence
Noise
Being uncomfortable
feeling unwell
eye strain
flashing lights
concentration
lack of sleep
Hyperthermia
when body tries to maintain 35C whilst it’s hot outside
sweating, increased heart rate or blood pressure, not being cooled down if sweating on a humid day.
solution: drink water, stay under the shade
hypothermia
when cold, body sends more blood to the core to keep warm whilst extremities might be cold like hands and feet
heat is lost by:
radiation: losing heat form exposed areas like forehead
Conduction: wind blowing on skin and carry heat away
evaporation: sweat cools skin
you shiver, muscles become stiff, tired, drowsy
Vibration
vibration from seat, seat belt, floor
or from instrument panels
distracting, fatigue, motion sickness
hard to hard flight instruments or sharts due to vibration of the eyes
use cushioned/well mounted seats
turbulence
irregular movement of aircraft that are very strong due to weather.
exerts extra g force, shaking of instrument panels - eyes vibrate,
motion sicknets, hard to control aircraft
being uncomfortable
being confined in cockpit with noise, turbulence, nav, radio calls, bad posture, little or too much clothing etc
will make you ucomfortable , have fatigue
adjust seat, have good posture, get rest before flight, wear comfortable clothing, excercise , stretch
eye strain
poor vision or bad lighting in cockpit can cause imparied vision and stree.
wear glasses, put on some light on instruments & charts (not too bright)
flashing lights
ex: strobe lights when flying in cloud at night can be distracting.
cause distraction
try to move away from the light or turn it off for a bit.
concentration
Skill stress - ie concentrating and trying to maintain high level performance for extended period can create fatigue
result of psychological stress
concentrating on a single problem
emotional instability
poor judgement
disoriented
fatigued
resigned attitude
