Stress Flashcards
What is meant by ‘fight or flight’?
The bodys inbuilt response to stressful situations
What is the purpose of the fight or flight response?
Prepares the body to respond
Name a study into the fight or flight response?
Canon, 1932
How does the fight or flight response prepare the body to respond to stressful situations?
Short term changes mobilise for activity
What is the fight or flight response triggered by?
Mainly catecholamines
What catecholamines trigger the fight or flight response?
- Adrenaline
- Noradrenaline
What does adrenaline do in the fight or flight response?
Increases heart rate, so increases energy available in muscles
What is the physiological response to stress?
- Increased oxygen availability
- Enhanced mental functioning
- Increased fuel availability
- Preparation for tissue damage/fatigue
- Conservation of energy resources
- Enhanced physical functioning
How is oxygen availability increased in stress?
- Increased respiratory rate
- Increased haematocrit
What mental functions are enhanced in stress?
- Sensory awareness
- Alertness
How is fuel availability increased in stress?
- Liberation of glucose
- Protein breakdown
- Insulin resistance
Why does insulin resistance increase fuel availability?
Because it increases blood sugar, so more fuel available for responses
How is the body prepared for tissue damage/fatigue in stress?
- Fluid conservation
- Blood clotting
- Endogenous analgesia
- Immune and inflammatory response
How are energy resources conserved in stress?
Non-essential systems such as the digestive system and sexual response are reduced
How is physical functioning enhanced in stress?
- Cardiac output
- BP
- Sweating
- Muscle responsiveness
What effect does stress have on performance?
A bit of stress can improve performance to a point, but if too stressed, can be detrimental
Why is too much stress detrimental to performance?
It can make a person chaotic and disorganised
What condition can be caused by long term stress?
General adaptation syndrome
When was General Adaptation syndrome discovered?
In a study by Selye in 1956
What happens in General Adaptation Syndrome?
-
Alarm induces fight or fight
- Can’t maintain this state
- Over days/weeks/months of stress, body is still performing at increased homeostatis levels, but body adapts, leading to resistance
- Can’t maintain this state
- Resistance can’t be maintained, leads to exhaustion
-
Exhaustion is a state of physiological/psychological exhaustion
- Can get initial stress symptoms again
- Chance of physiological damage and death
What is the provlem with the stress response?
Stress response is adapted for survival advantage, as hunter-gatherers are more likely to be exposed to acute stressores, however modern life has a change in sorts of stressors
What sorts of stressors are faced in everyday life?
Frequent daily hassles and chronic stressors
What is the problem with the type of stressors faced in modern life?
The physiological response is ill suited to long term stress
What are the limitations of a purely physiological model of stress?
- Individual differences
- Context
How can individual differences and context affect stress?
An individual may have different things that make something more or less stressful
Who proposed the transitional model of stress?
Lazarus and Folkman, 1984
How does the transitional model of stress define stress?
As the perception of interaction with individual person and what’s going on around them
What does a person do in the transitonal model of stress?
- Demands
- Resources
- Constantly appraises this
What can demands be?
- Life events
- Daily hassles
- Chronic stressors
Give two examples of life events that could cause stress
- Illness
- Bereavement
Give two examples of daily hassles that could cause stress?
- Losing keys
- Missing bus
What resources may a person have?
- Personality
- Social support
- Coping skills
How may a person have developed coping skills?
They may have experienced stressor before, and so know strategies
According to the transitional model of stress, when does a person experience a stress response?
If percieved demands > resources
What is meant by appraisal?
The way we think about things
What are the stages of appraisal?
- Primary appraisal
- Secondary appraisal
- Reappraisal
What questions may be asked in primary appraisal?
- Is the event a threat?
- How bad could it be?
What questions are asked in secondary appraisal?
Do I have resources or skills to cope?
What happens in reappraisal?
Reconsider the situation once have tried to cope with it
What is the result of reappraisal?
May decide it’s more or less stressful than before, moderating the stress response
What factors influence stress on individuals?
- Control over situation
- Social support
How does control of the situation affect the stress response?
Often stressful things feel out of control
What study showed the effect of control over the situation on stress?
Whitehall 2 studies
What did the Whitehall 2 study find?
Looked at people in the Civil Service, found that males in jobs with low control were 50% more likely to develop stress related illnesses than those not
What effect does social support have on stress?
- Buffer against stress
- Protects against experiencing
- Helps cope when do experience
What showed the effects of social support on stress?
A systemic review, which showed that lack of social support had the same effects as obesity and alcohol
What effects does stress have on health?
- Physical damage, primarily to cardiovascular system
- Affects immune function
- Implication of stress in cancer, AIDS, herpes
- Linked to unhealthy behaviours
- Can lead to mental issues
What affect does acute stress have on the CVS?
Increases the risk of CVS events, particularly heart attacks
Why does acute stress increase the risk of heart attacks?
Because of the increases in mechanical stress on the heart
What % of sudden cardiac deaths are due to acute stressors?
20-40%
Other than CVS conditions, what is stress implicated in?
- Type 2 diabetes
- Immune response implicated
Why is stress implicated in type 2 diabetes?
Due to the liberation of glucose
Give an example of a result of the immune response being implicated in stress?
Increases in common cold incidence
What effect do short/medium term stressors have on the immune system?
Cause an increase in the immune system functioning
Why do short/medium term stressors lead to an increase in immune system functioning?
Body gets ready to repair damage and resist infection
How does the body get ready to resist infection in short/medium term stress?
- Increase in cell mediated immunity with increases in lymphocyte numbers
- Gets ready to fight off pathogens with antibodies and B cells
What effect do long term stressors have on immune function?
They decrease immune function
Why do long term stressors decrease immune function?
Causes inflammation and cortisol
What unhealthy behaviours is stress linked too?
- Alcohol
- Junk food
- Smoking
Why is stress related to unhealthy behaviours?
People develop maladaptive coping strategies, which makes the situation worse
Why can stress lead to mental health issues?
- Thinking more rigid and extreme under stress
- Prone to cognitive distortions
What is meant by cognitive distortions?
Bad thinking habits
Who studied the effect of stress on mental health?
Beck, 1976
What did Beck find in his 1976 study?
Stress leads to;
- Overgeneralisation
- Catastrophising
- Personalisation
What is meant by rumination?
Reflecting and dwelling on negative thoughts
What is lack of control and helplessness linked too in stress?
- Anxiety and depression
- Low motivation
What is the result of low motivation in stress?
Downward spiral of illness- less likely to engage in preventative behaviours or seek help
What are the types of signs and symptoms of stress?
- Cognitive symptoms
- Physical symptoms
- Emotional symptoms
- Behavioural symptoms
What are the cognitive symptoms of stress?
- Memory problems
- Inability to concentrate
- Poor judgement
- Seeing only the negative
- Anxious or racing thoughts
- Constant worrying
What are the physical symptoms of stress?
- Aches and pains
- Diarrhoea or constipation
- Nausea and dizziness
- Chest pain
- Rapid heartbeat
- Loss of sex drive
- Frequent colds
What are the emotional symptoms of stress?
- Moodiness
- Irritability or short temper
- Agitation and inability to relax
- Feeling overwhelmed
- Sense of loneliness and isolation
- Depression or general unhappiness
What are the behavioural symptoms of stress?
- Eating more or less
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Isolating yourself from others
- Procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities
- Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
- Nervous habits
- Nail biting
- Pacing
What is the problem with stress management?
It is a complex process, that requires complex and diverse management
What are the types of stress management?
- Cognitive strategies
- Behavioural strategies
- Emotional strategies
- Physical strategies
- Non-cognitive strategies
What are the cognitive strategies of stress management?
Trying to think about things differently
What techniques are used to try and think about things differently?
- Cognitive restructuring
- Hypothesis testing
How is cognitive restructuring achieved?
CBT
Give a behavioural strategy of stess management
Skills training
When is skills training used?
For work related stress
What skills can be taught to deal with work related stress?
- Assertiveness
- Time management
What are the emotional strategies of stress management?
- Counselling
- Emotional disclosure
- Social support
What is meant by social support in stress management?
Helping people access support, and making sure the feel confident in talking to friends and family
What are the physical strategies in stress management?
- Relaxation training
- Biofeedback
- Exercise
What are the non-cognitive strategies in stress management?
Drugs
