stress and health Flashcards
behavioural medicine
integrates behavioural knowledge with medical knowledge
health psychology
psychological contribution to behavioural medicine
- links behaviour, cognition, and emotion to physical health
the stress response
- walter canon 1929
- fight or flight
- outpouring of epinephrine and norepinephrine from the inner adrenal glands
- increasing heart and respiration
- mobilizing sugar and fat
- dulling pain
type a stress
- more competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, angry
- more coronary heart disease
type b stress
- easygoing, relaxed
acute stress
-energy is mobilized to boost the immune system for immediate threats
prolonged stress
- cotisol remains elevated -> reduces immune system functioning and responsibility
stress and aids
- stress accelerates progression from hiv to aids
- psychosocial programs improve course of hiv/aids
stress and cancer
- stress does not directly cause or reverse cancer
- stress may impede immune system’s ability to fight cancer
problem-focused coping
- changing events that cause stress
- changing how we react to stress
emotion-focused coping
- attending to our own emotional needs
- when we cannot change a stressful situation
managing stress and health
- sense of control
- optimistic explanatory style
- social support
perceived control
why does perceived control influence stress?
- losing control causes outpouring of stress hormones
explanatory style
optimistic rather than pessimistic
- more control over stressors
- cope better with stressful events
- have better moods
- have stronger immune system
social support
social support predicts survival in healthy and diseased populations
