Stress

Question 1

what’s the response of the body to stress

Answer 1

hightened state of arousal caused by external stressors

stressors cause stress

Question 2

Acute vs chronic stress

Answer 2

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

Question 3

Types of stressors

Answer 3

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

**

Question 4

What is GAS

Answer 4

General Adaptation Syndrom

body’s initial response to stressors

Question 5

What are the 3 responses of GAS

Answer 5

Alarm
Resistance
Exhaustion

Question 6

What’s the alarm phase

Answer 6

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.

Question 7

Resistance

Answer 7

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)

Question 8

exhaustian

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Symptoms of GAS

Answer 9

increased:
respiration
heart rate
alertness
energy
blood sugar levels
salivation
muscle tension

decreased apetite

Question 10

interpretation of stress response

Answer 10

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

Question 11

chronic illness causes

Answer 11

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

Question 12

physiological and physchological Overload

Answer 12

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

Question 13

Reaction to stress

Answer 13

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)

Question 14

how to cope - 5 mechanism

Answer 14

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

Question 15

Mental stress

Answer 15

It’s perceived ability to cope with perceived situation

Question 16

there is no such thing as stressful situation

Answer 16

there is however, anxious reaction

Question 17

what is anxiety

Answer 17

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

Question 18

what can chornic anxiety cause

Answer 18

OCD
PTSD
Phobias
Panic attacks

Question 19

How to keep the cockpit workload in optimum section?

Answer 19

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

Question 20

Environmental stresses

Answer 20

caused by pilot’s surroundings like vibration, temperature, noise,..

usually cause distraction, physical discomfort and fatigue

Question 21

Life stresses (ie domestic)

Answer 21

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

Question 22

what is stress management and its needed

Answer 22

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.

Question 23

Abitlity to handle demand varies depending on..

Answer 23

General good health
well rested
personality
happy & organized life
intelligence and preparedness for tasks and activities
skills/experience/proficiency

Question 24

perceived pressure

Answer 24

pressure that’s not real but your brain acts on it

to combat this:

ask, is the stressor really there? or imaginary?

Question 25

Tolerance to pressure

Answer 25

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)

Question 26

physical stress - fight or flight

Answer 26

• 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

Question 27

no physical stresses

Answer 27

• 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

Question 28

types of arousal

Answer 28

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

Question 29

List stress cause by environment & physical

Answer 29

Hyperthermia
Hypothermia
Vibration
Turbulence
Noise
Being uncomfortable
feeling unwell
eye strain
flashing lights
concentration
lack of sleep

Question 30

Hyperthermia

Answer 30

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

Question 31

hypothermia

Answer 31

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

Question 32

Vibration

Answer 32

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

Question 33

turbulence

Answer 33

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

Question 34

being uncomfortable

Answer 34

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

Question 35

eye strain

Answer 35

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)

Question 36

flashing lights

Answer 36

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.

Question 37

concentration

Answer 37

Skill stress - ie concentrating and trying to maintain high level performance for extended period can create fatigue

Question 38

result of psychological stress

Answer 38

concentrating on a single problem
emotional instability
poor judgement

disoriented
fatigued
resigned attitude