stress and coping

Question 1

what is the meaning of well adjusted

Answer 1

ow anxiety, low ‘stress’
* Calm, relaxed
– happiness, satisfaction with life
* Positive emotions: Joyful, Enthusiastic, Interested
– ability to adapt to change
* continue to be able to function despite stress/adversity
* flexible

Question 2

what does the body seek in an evolving and changing environment

Answer 2

homeostasis: balance, equilibrium

Question 3

what is allostatis?

Answer 3

process of adapting, returning to homeostasis

Question 4

what is Allostatic load?

Answer 4

wear & tear on body as it tries to adjust to ongoing, chronic stress

Question 5

what is stress?

Answer 5

a feeling, worry, anxiety, agitation, fear, overwhelmed

Question 6

what is the thought cognition in relation to anxiety?

Answer 6

What do I do?, I don’t think I can handle this!

Question 7

what is the physiological response to stress?

Answer 7

increased heart rate, blood pressure,

Question 8

stress is?

Answer 8

a biopsychosocial process
- has a biological component,
- psychological component
social component

Question 9

what is a stressor?

Answer 9

is an event/situation (usually outside the person)
that is interpreted by individual in a way that activates
stress process

Question 10

what is the stress process?

Answer 10

respond to threat, then return body
to baseline (homeostasis)
–physiologically
–emotionally
–cognitively

Question 11

A stressor is anything that initiates the stress process, give some examples

Answer 11

losing my job, loss of a loved one, death

Question 12

psychological appraisal example?

Answer 12

what does this event/situation mean for me?

Question 13

what is acute stress?

feelings:
thoughts:
physiological response:

Answer 13

feelings: ear, anxiety, tension, nervousness, or excitement.

thoughts: the individual’s thoughts will be impacted by the person’s ability to perform tasks, increased vigilance and alertness

physiological response: increased heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration, prepare the body for a “fight or flight” response

Question 14

what is chronic stress?

feelings:
thoughts:
physiological response:

Answer 14

chronic stress is a prolonged stress

feelings: anxiety, depression, irritability, and frustration. It can also lead to a sense of helplessness

thoughts: worry, and difficulty concentrating ,It can also lead to negative self-talk and a pessimistic outlook

Question 15

what is episodic stress?

Answer 15

• repeated episodes of acute stress
  ex: going to a job that stresses you out

Question 16

what is traumatic stress?

Answer 16

severe threat with long-term consequences
ex: loss of a loved one

Question 17

Stages of physiological response to stressors:

Answer 17

• Alarm: fight or flight: Sympathetic nervous system response, release of adrenaline, cortisol; increased blood pressure
• Resistance:Depletion of resources body’s defenses reduced; repair muscle tissue
• Exhaustion: Susceptible to illness

Sapolsky: What humans were built for

Question 18

what is primary appraisal?

Answer 18

What is at stake?
* Threat, harm, or benign?
* What does stressor mean to me?

Question 19

what is secondary appraisal?

Answer 19

-What can I do about it?
* Do I have sufficient resources (personal, social,
monetary, etc) to deal with it?

Question 20

what is coping?

Answer 20

cognitive & behavioural efforts to manage or alleviate perceived demands

Question 21

what are some examples of coping?

Answer 21

social support: talking to a friend, getting help
– cognitive reframing: “it isn’t so bad”
– problem-focused coping: fixing what’s broken
– emotion-focused coping: managing emotions;
‘emotional inhibition’ vs ‘emotional expression’
– relationship-focused coping: helping others manage

Question 22

what is the difference between coping and defense mechanism

Answer 22

defense mechanism is an unconscious response to external factors or internal factors where as coping is couscous and purposeful

Question 23

what is hardiness?

Answer 23

people that are resilient in the face of major stress

Question 24

Hardiness consist of three categories:

Answer 24

commitment: Having a goal to which you commit to
control: I am in control of my destiny
challenge: tend to see things as challenges than threats

Question 25

people with high score commitment, control and challenges

Answer 25

are less likely to get depressed, sick

Question 26

Things that increase chance of infection

Answer 26

stressful events, poverty, freq moves in childhood

Question 27

Things that protect/buffer infection

Answer 27

social integration, perceived social support,
sociability, positive affectivity

Question 28

Risk factors for CVD:

Answer 28

obesity, high blood pressure,
smoking, high cholesterol, family history… and
personality

Question 29

type A people are:

Answer 29

competitive/ driven and aggressive when frustrated, exaggerated cardiovascular activity after
exposure to stress, also have different neuroendocrine response, platelet activity, inflammation, ..

Question 30

when does cvd get initiated?

Answer 30

in childhood