stress 2 Flashcards
1
Q
Stress and Coronary heart disease - cause?
A
- develops with cholesterol buildup in artery walls (atherosclerosis)
- Main cause of coronary heart disease is atherosclerosis: gradual narrowing of the arteries that occurs as fatty deposits (plaque) that build up on inner walls of arteries
- Narrowed arteries =reduced blood supply =if artery is blocked by blood clot/detached plaque =heart attack
- Other causes: smoking, sedentary lifestyle, diet high in fat/cholesterol
2
Q
how does stress contribute to coronary heart disease? other risk factors?
A
- activated arousal of sympathetic NS = high blood pressure =damage to blood vessels =accumulation of plaque = more likely heart disease
- Risk factors: age, diabetes, high blood pressure, family history, stress, Type D personality (someone who tends to experience negative life events or interprets them as negative, glass half empty kind of person)
- Friedman and Rosenman: link between work-related stress and coronary heart disease
o Type A behaviour pattern: tendency toward easily aroused hostility, impatience, sense of time urgency and competitive achievement strivings
o Interviewed 3 000 middle aged healthy men – identified as type A and type B
o Out of the 258 men who had heart attacks in the following year, 2/3 were type A - Hostility, particularly in men, was best predictor of heart disease
b) Stress and illness
Asthma: condition in which breathing is
3
Q
Friedman and Rosenman: link between work-related stress and coronary heart disease - Type A? predictor of disease?
A
- Type A behaviour pattern: tendency toward easily aroused hostility, impatience, sense of time urgency and competitive achievement strivings
- Hostility, particularly in men, was best predictor of heart disease
4
Q
Psychological reactions - cognitive appraisal?
A
- Stress Interpretation: one’s perception of a stressful situation
- primary and secondary appraisal
5
Q
Primary vs Secondary Appraisal? (Cognitive Appraisal)
A
- Primary appraisal: assess what a stimulus is, whether it is harmful/stressful or not
- Secondary appraisal: determining whether the stressor is something you can handle or not, whether you have control over the event =evaluate what you might be able to do, look for resources around that might help, look inside of you to see resources: energy, etc
6
Q
Threat vs. Challenge?
A
- Threat: stressor you feel you might not be able to overcome
- Challenge: stressor you feel confident you can control
- Both threat and challenge raise heart rate, but threat also increases vascular reactivity – constricting blood vessels = higher blood pressure
7
Q
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
A
- characterized by chronic physiological arousal, recurrent unwanted thoughts or images of trauma, avoidance of things that call the traumatic event to mind
- feelings of social withdrawal, very low affect -depression, anger, sadness, flashbacks, recurrent nightmares, intense distress, difficulty sleeping, irritability, sudden strong reactions to sudden noises/movements
- commonly caused by war, rape, natural disasters -terrifying and uncontrollable experiences
8
Q
PTSD: %? MRI research?
A
- 8% Americans suffer from PTSD
- people with PTSD have smaller a hippocampus =pre-existing condition that made them susceptible to developing PTSD when they were later exposed to trauma
9
Q
Burnout - def? what? who? theory?
A
- a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion created by long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accompanied by lowered performance and motivation
- long term emotional or physical stress, comes on slowly, but continues on for longer periods of time
- interns in med school, grad students
- theory: using job to give meaning to your life, so when work fails, self-worth goes down
10
Q
Relaxation therapy
A
- technique for reducing tension by consciously relaxing muscles of the body
- meditation but without the religion
- comfortable position, quiet down, and focus on something repetitive/soothing that holds your attention like breathing
- activities that draw on a relaxation response: a condition of reduced muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure
11
Q
Biofeedback
A
- use of external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function and possible gain control over that function
- hook you up to some kind of machine that measures body response – heartbeat, sweating, etc
- immediate feedback from machine to make changes
12
Q
Aerobic exercise to deal with stress
A
- increases heart rate and oxygen intake for a sustained period
- Improves mood as well as health
13
Q
Social Support to deal with Stress- what? marriage?
A
- aid gained through interacting with others
- Failing to get married is bad for your health – increased risk of mortality from cardiovascular disease, cancer, pneumonia, influenza, COPD, liver disease, cirrhosis
14
Q
Why being Lonely is bad? males vs females?
A
- more likely to be stressed, depressed, susceptible to illness
- Women: tend and befriend
- males are more fight or flight
- Females also release oxytocin in addition to epinephrine and norepi - hormone secreted byy pit gland in pregnant and nursing mothers
- Triggers social response in presence of estrogen – tendency to seek out social contacts, nurture others, create/maintain cooperation
- Women have longer life span, healthier than men
15
Q
Stress and Humour
A
- Sense of humour:
o Reduces sensitivity to pain and distress
o Reduces time needed to calm down after a stressful event
16
Q
Repressive coping
A
- avoiding situations or thoughts that are reminders of the stressor, maintaining an artificially positive view point
- denial, ignore the situation
- Can work well, but avoidance can also be a problem – might be better to face them
17
Q
Rational coping
A
- opposite of repressive coping, facing the stressor and working to overcome it
- encounter problem head on instead of avoiding it
18
Q
rational coping - 3 steps?
A
- acceptance: stressor exists and cannot be wished away
- exposure: attending to stressor, thinking about it, even seeking it out
- understanding: working to find meaning of the stressor in you life
19
Q
Reframing?
A
- finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its threat
- Re-think it, cognitive re-appraisal
- rather than seeing it as a problem, maybe there’s an opportunity
- this isn’t a problem, this is an opportunity for me
20
Q
Stress inoculation training, SIT
A
- reframing technique that helps people cope with stressful situations by developing positive ways to think about the situation
- Self-disclosure, expressive writing found to improve immune function
21
Q
Catharsis
A
- does NOT work
- punching a pillow, etc
- reinforces tendency to act out aggressively, etc
