Stress Flashcards
KKDP 4
define stress
a psychological or physiological response produced by internal or external stressors
stress
Biologically: Any stress response begins in the brain. Initial physiological reactions are o en involuntary and involve bodily changes that occur in much the same way in all indi duals.
○ E.g, an accelerated heart beat, shortness of breath, increased perspiration, dry mouth, an increase in blood pressure and secretion of stress hormones
● Psychologically: responses to stress are not involuntary and are o en di ded into two categories — emotional (influencing the way a person feels e.g. anxious, angry) and cognitive changes (influencing a person’s mental abilities e.g. difficulties concentrating, problem sol ng and decision making)
Stressors: Internal & External
Stressor is any stimulus that produces stress. For example a condition, thought, feeling, person, object, situation, event, or a combination of these
● An internal stressor originates within the indi dual; e.g a personal problem
● An external stressor originates outside the indi dual from situations and
events in the en ronment; e.g ha ng too much homework
● Stress is a response caused by internal and external stressors and has both
physiological (biological) and psychological components and consequences. Thus stress is a PSYCHOBIOLOGICAL PROCESS
Eustress and Distress:
Eustress: a positive psychological response to a stressor, indicated by the presence of positive psychological states such as feelings of motivation, excitement, enthusiasm, activeness or alertness.
● Usually temporary
● Not harmful to the body
Distress: a negative psychological response to a stressor, as indicated by presence of negative psychological states such as feelings of anger, anxiety, nervousness, irritability or tension.
● Can be temporary or long term
● Long term distress can be negative for an indi duals health
Types of Stress:
Stress is o en classified into two types which are primarily distinguished by the duration of the experience:
Acute Stress: is stress that lasts for a relatively short time. The body typically bounces back well from acute stress if the stress experienced is managed by the person.
Chronic Stress: is stress that continues for a prolonged period of time. It involves ongoing demands, pressures and worries that are constant, long-lasting and can be debilitating and overwhelming. E.g. relationship problems, ongoing financial difficulties, bullying, overwork.
Persistent stress is likely to be harmful in some way to our health and wellbeing, both psychologically and physically. It can also be cumulative, meaning that when a number of stressors occur at the same time or one a er the other, a person does not have time to recover and therefore physiological arousal can stay high.
Stress as a Physiological/Biological Response:
There are involuntary, physiological stress responses that occur which are consistent among people.
The 2 models for describing/explaining physiological responses to a stressor are:
1. Fight-or-flight-or-freeze response in acute stress
2. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) - describing a longer lasting chronic
stress response involvi ng cortisol
Fight-or-Flight-or-Freeze Response in Acute Stress
The fight-or-flight-or-freeze response is an involuntary response to a threatening, fearful or otherwise stressful situation, invol ng physiological changes produced by the sympathetic nervous system in readiness for:
● Fight — confronting and fighting off the threat
● Flight — escaping by running away to safety
● Freeze — keeping absolutely still and silent to avoid detection
○ Involves activation of the Sympathetic NS
○ Purpose is protection and sur val or harm minimisation
○ Changes occur within seconds (can occur before a person can fully
interpret what is actually happening) in order to prepare the body for one or more of these reactions
The bodily changes that characterise the fight and flight reactions resulting from the Sympathetic Nervous System and stress hormone actions include:
● Increased heart rate and blood pressure
● Redistribution of blood supply from the skin and intestines to the skeletal
muscles
● Increased breathing rate (to increase oxygen supply)
● Increased glucose (sugar) secretion by the liver (for energy)
● Dilation of the pupils (so the eyes can take in as much light as possible)
● Suppression of functions that are not immediately essential in order to
conserve energy (such as digestion)
Once the threat has passed, the parasympathetic nervous system calms the body and restores it to normal functioning
➡
homeostasis
Freeze Reaction:
There may be times when fighting or fleeing is not possible or the perceived threat is so intense and overwhelming, so a person may freeze.
Initially a person ‘stops, looks & listens’ and experience Tonic Immobility: ➡➡
● Bodily movements & vocalisations stop
● Heart slows & blood pressure drops
● Tense muscles collapse & become still
● Orienting response (move head/gaze toward threat)
● Hyper vigilance – being on guard, extremely alert
Then a shift to fight or flight is typically made.
Freeze may allow for the …
● Adaptive assessment of the threat
● Victim/prey to avoid detection
● Conservation of energy until escape is possible
● When the freeze response is initiated the Parasympathetic NS (that promotes rest) dominates the existing effects of the Sympathetic NS activation, resulting in an inability to move.
● The freeze reaction may be characterised as a highly aroused physiological state invol ving both energy conservation (parasympathetic system) and readiness for action (sympathetic system). Thus, both Sympathetic NS and Parasympathetic NS are activated
Role of Cortisol in Chronic Stress:
Cortisol is considered the primary stress hormone, and is involved in both the response to an acute stressor, as well as chronic stress.
Cortisol acts more slowly and its effects are longer lasting than the other stress hormones. It helps keep the body at a high level of arousal to continue to deal with stress for a longer period.
The positive effects of cortisol are:
● Energising the body by increasing energy supplies such as blood sugar and enhancing metabolism.
● Turning off all bodily systems not immediately required to deal with a stressor. For example, shutting down reproductive functions, to enable the body’s energy supplies to be concentrated on dealing with stress.
● Ha ng an anti-inflammatory effect by blocking the acti ty of white blood cells that contribute to inflammation.
However, negative effects of cortisol as a result of excessive cortisol release due to a long-term stressor include:
● Retarding tissue repair (which slows wound healing)
● Impaired immune system functioning, increasing vulnerability to disease
● Contributing to the build up of fat tissue & weight gain (increasing appetite)
● Physical health problems such as flu, high blood pressure, digestive
problems, obesity, atherosclerosis, high blood sugar levels and increased
long-term risk of heart attack and stroke.
● Impaired cognitive performance and memory, learning problems and mental
disorders such as depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders
