Stress!! Flashcards
What are benzodiazepines and how do they reduce stress?
These lessen stress related anxiety by reducing physiological arousal of the central nervous system. BZs combine with post synaptic GABA receptors ( a GABA is a neurotransmitter which inhibits the activity of neurone and locks into postsynaptic receptors to block them from receiving other neurotransmitters). This means that there is an increased inhibition of neurone so there is less neural activity occurring which leads to less anxiety
What research support is there for BZs?
Randomised control trials are research support for effectiveness as they are significantly better than placebo.
What are some side effect of BZs?
They are highly addictive and have side effects like drowsiness, with gain and paradoxical reactions like criminal behaviour
What are some other strength of BZs?
They allow engagement in other therapies as well as providing rapid short term relief
What are beta blockers and how do they work?
These act on the sympathetic nervous system to reduce sympathetic arousla associated with the fight or flight response. They block beta adrenergic receptors in heart and blood vessels so that they cannot be stimulated by adrenaline or noradrenaline, therefore the fight or flight response cannot be activated
What research support is there for beta blockers?
Kelly (1980) found that beta blockers reduced exam anxiety and are most effected when combined with BZs
What are the side effects of beta blockers?
They have side effects like reducing heart rate and blood pressure too much therefore cannot be used on all people like diabetics or people with severe depression
Cause and effect?
They do not deal with the actual cause of the individuals stress or anxiety and only mask the symptoms.
What is a randomised control trial?
Has a control group who receive a placebo and 50% are an experimental group who receive the drug. People are allocated to the group by random allocation .
What is stress inoculation therapy?
A psychological method of stress management which helps individuals by conceptualising the problem and identifying coping skills then developing the skills before exposing them to moderate amounts of anxiety
what are the 3 phases of stress inoculation therapy ?
- conceptualisation - educates the client about the nature of stress and its effect on the indicudaul. they break down large stresses into manageable ones.
- skill acquisition - oping skill are taught, tailored to clients needs. e.g. coping self statements, relaxation
- application - the therapist creates opportunities for the client to try out their skills in a safe environments
duration of stress inoculation therapy?
9 - 12 sessions
what research support is there for stress inoculation therapy?
A meta analysis of 37 studeis of sit effectiveness concluded them to be effective in reducing anxiety in performance situations as well as for extreme anxiety
Demanding therapy?
requires commitment of time and effort meaning the individual needs to be highly motivated and the 3rfd phase is difficult so may cause dropouts
What is a cardiovascular disorder?
Any disorder of the heart or blood vessels including events that affect the brain for example a stroke
Actute stress research dampen et al
Lampen et al (2008) looked at incidences of heart attacks in german football supporters during matches played during the 1990 world cup on days when germany played. They found an increase of cardiac emergencies by 2.66%. This is acute stress showing sudden emotional arousal may cause cardiovascular disorders.
Chronic stress research used et al (2004)
An internet study involving 52 countries to identify major risk factors of cardiovascular disorders across different cultures. They compared 15000 people who had a heart attach to those who did not an they found several chronic stressors like workplace stress and life events. The contribution of stress was a greater risk factor than obesity.
Research support for stress causing CVD
Song et al indentified more than 13000 people with stress related disorders who were the experimental group and the control were their siblings and 1 million with no disorder.. They found that those with stress related disorders has a 64% risk of CVD in the first year after diagnosis.
What is immunosuppression?
Stress can cause illness by preventing the immune system from working efficiently and carrying out its usual task of identifying and destroying pathogens, eg. cortidosl release inhibits the production of lymphocytes
Kiecolt - gazer study 1
75 medical students who gave blood samples 2 times a month before an exam and on the day of the exam. also completed a questionnaire measuring stress and symptoms of stress. They found that activity of NK and Killed T cells decreased between the 1st and second sample
Kiecolt - glazer study 2
Longitudinal study ocomparing the health of caregivers looking after a relative with alzheimers and a matched group of non caregivers. Followed them over a period of 13 months the caregivers showed a weaker cell based immune response and had higher levels of depression 32% .
Can stress be protective?
Dharbar found that stress can have immune enhancing effects. Rats were subjected to mild acute stresses and found that immune cells flooded into the bloodstream therefore acute stress may not have the same effect as chronic stress
What are the gender related coping mechanisms?
Some suggest that men tend to use problem focused methods of coping with stress and women use emotion focused methods.
Peterson et al (2006) assessed coping strategies of men and women who had been diagnosed with infertility. assessed coping mechanisms using the ways of coping questionnaire and found that women were more likely to accept blame and use avoidance tactics but men were more problem solving like making plans
Is there a distinction between the strategies?
There is no clear distinction between coping strategies as research found there were more gender similarities than differenced and coping mechanisms could not be easily categorised as seeking support from others could be classified into both.
