Stress Flashcards

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1
Q

Stress

A

a psychological and physiological state of tension in response to a stimulus

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2
Q

Eustress

A

a form of stress that is positive psychological state

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2
Q

Distress

A

a form of stress characterised by a negative psychological state

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3
Q

Acute stress

A

Acute stress is a short term stress

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3
Q

Chronic Stress

A

severe stress that is prolonged for months or years

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4
Q

Stressor

A

the stimulus that prompts the stress response, it can be internal or external

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4
Q

Internal stressor

A

stressor is from within a person’s body, it can be psychological or physiological, eg hunger, illness, low self esteem, pessimistic attitude

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4
Q

External stressor

A

a stimulus from outside a person body, it is environmental, can result from daily pressures or live events, eg exams, financial difficulties, relationship conflicts

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5
Q

Physiological responses

A

headaches, skin rashes, nausea, heart palpitations, heart attack, cold

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5
Q

Psychological responses

A

behaviour- changes to sleep and eating habits, emotional- irritability and aggression, cognitive- decreased concentration and memory impairment

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6
Q

Fight flight freeze

A

activated when faced with a stressor, your body will choose to either confront (fight), run (flight), or remain motionless (freeze), more prominent during acute stress

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7
Q

Cortisol

A

our stress hormone, it releases glucose to help body repair damage done through stress, and combat stress itself

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8
Q

Enteric nervous system

A

a branch on the autonomic nervous system, a network of neurons embedded in the walls of the gastrointestinal system.
Involved in processing food, absorbing nutrients and excreting waste

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8
Q

Prolonged stress

A

can have physiological impacts that harm our health and wellbeing, it does not cause illness but it makes it more likely to occur

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9
Q

Microbiota

A

living organism inside gut that maintains gut health and functioning

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9
Q

Gut

A

all organs and components apart of the digestive tract

10
Q

Poor gut health =

A

secretes more stress hormones and shows anxiety-like behaviours

11
Q

Gut brain axis

A

bi-directional relationship between the gut and the brain through the enteric and CNS, effect each other

12
Q

vagus nerve

A

relays messages between the gut and the brain, 80-90% of the nerve fibres in the vagus nerve is responsible for information from gut to brain, 0-20% responsible for transporting information from the brain to gut

13
Q

Bad gut health

A

Unhealthy gut microbiota is linked to higher stress levels, anxiety disorders, cognitive decline and autism.
When the brain is bad the gut can be bad, when the gut is bad the brain can be bad

14
Q

Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome

A
14
Q

Cortisol

A

responsible for maintaining health and wellbeing of the body during stress, however it can have a negative effect: immunity decreases, digestion doesn;t work as it normally does, mood affected, cortisol is sent when it should be doing something else

15
Q

Alarm reaction(shock):

A

below normal resistance to stress, body acts as if injured, blood pressure and body temperature drop

16
Q

Alarm reaction (counter shock):

A

resistance to stress is above normal, sympathetic NS activated, F-F-F activated, adrenaline released

16
Q

Resistance

A

resistance to stress is above normal, cortisol released, unnecessary functions shut down, person appears as normal

17
Q

Exhaustion

A

resistance to stress below normal, resources depleted, immune system weakened, susceptible to illness and disease, prolonged adrenaline release has negative effects on body

18
Q

HPA = Hypothalamus

A

tells the pituitary gland to release adrenal glands to release cortisol

19
Q

amygdala

A

amygdala in the brain detects signal of threat which triggers the HPA axis to release cortisol

20
Q

Factors that influence stress include

A

optimism vs pessimism, risk taking and challenges, lifestyle and demands, competing pressures, past experience with stress, influence of family and friends, personality, resources and support network

20
Q

Transactional model of stress and coping

A

looks at stress as a encounter between an individual and its external environment- The stress response depends on how the individual interprets the stressor and their ability to cope
Everyone perceives stress differently

21
Q

Primary appraisal

A

individuals assessment of situation (stressful, benign, positive)- if its stressful they then identify if its harm/loss (has happened), threat (could happen), or challenge

22
Q

Secondary appraisal

A

Assessment of resources available to deal with demands- internal resources: character, personality, external resources: support networks, money, time
Demands greater than resources = stress, adequete resources = eliminate or reduce stress

23
Q

Reappraisal

A

finding something stressful and coping before revisiting the stressor and reinterpreting it

24
Q

Coping with stress

A

exercise (use the adrenaline), meditation (reduce physiological responses, less cortisol release), social support (less likely that the demands will outweigh the resources), alcohol/drugs (gives you a dopamine hit)

25
Q

Approach strategy

A

behaviours that attempt to decrease the stress by addressing or finding solutions to problem, typically a healthy response to stress

26
Q

Avoidant Strategy

A

failing to engage or deal with the stress by protecting oneself from psychological stress, typically a maladaptive, unhealthy for the individual and unhelpful for relieving the source of the stress

27
Q

Context-specific effectiveness

A

coping strategy must fit with context, appropriate for unique demands of stressor

28
Q

Coping Flexibility

A

the ability to look at something ineffective and replace it with an effective strategy