Stress and Health Flashcards
stressors
specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or threaten a person’s well-being
stress
the physical and psychological response to internal or external stressors
health psychology
the subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors (like stress) influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health
chronic stressors
sources of stress that occur continuously or repeatedly
e.g strained relationships, discrimination, overwork, money problems, and other small stressors that may be easy to ignore at first, but become overwhelming and suffocating over time
environmental psychology
the study of environmental effects on behavior and health.
like living in rural areas with ugly scenery
perceived control
people who have perceived control over a stressor are less affected by it
fight-or-flight response
an emotional and physiological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action
hypothalumus stimulates the pituitary gland, which releases catecholamines (epinephrine and norepinephrine)
general adaptation syndrom (GAS)
a three-stage physiological response that appears regardless of the stressor that is encountered
alarm, resistance, exhaustion (ARE)
GAS ARE
alarm phase
first stage of GAS: the body rapidly mobilizes its resources to respond to the threat. equivalent to cannon’s fight or flight response
resistance phase
second stage of GAS: body adapts to its high state of arousal as it tries to cope with the stressor. Shuts down unnecessary processes like digestion and sex drive
exhaustion phase
third stage of GAS if the stressor is STILL not eliminated: failure of bodily systems.
many of the resistance-phase defenses cause gradual damage as they operate, leading to susceptibility to infection, tumor growth, aging, organ damage, and ultimately death
immune system
complex response system that protects the body from bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances.
very responsive to psychological influences like stress
e.g wounds heal slower when person is stressed
lymphocytes
white blood cells that produce antibodies that fight infection
pyschoneuroimmunology (probably don’t need to know)
study of how the immune system responds to psychological variables, such as the presence of stressors
type A behavior pattern
a reaction to stress: easily aroused hostility, impatience, a sense of time urgency, and competitive achievement strivings
found to have twice the rate of heart attacks as Type B (everyone else with nonhostile reactions to stress)
primary appraisal
interpretation of a stimulus as stressful or not
secondary appraisal
determining whether the stressor is something you caln handle or not
threat
a stressor you believe you might not be able to overcome
challenge
stressor you feel fairly confident you can conquer (though with some difficult of course)
burnout
a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion resulting from long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accomapnied by lowered performance and motivation
meditation
the practice of intentional contemplation.
contributes to high secondary appraisal. allows us to manage stress
relaxation therapy
technique for reducing tension by consciously relaxing muscles of the body
relaxation response
response to relaxation therapy: a condition of reduced muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure
as soon as you get in a comfortable position, quiet down, and focus on something repetitive or soothing that holds your attention, you relax (like focusing on relaxing individual muscles of the body)
biofeedback
the use of an external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function and possibly gain control over that function
machines that produce biofeedback have potential to help us manually relax; indicate the state of our body–the awareness that results would allow us better control over manipulating our body state (like our brain waves can manually change from alert alpha to relaxed beta waves)
aerobic exercise
exercise that increases heart rate and oxygen intake for a sustained period boosts psychological health and reduces stress
social support
aid gained through interacting with others
like failing to get married is bad for your health. what’s good vicki lu
e.g intimate partner helps you remember to make healthy decisions, talking about problems offers many benefits of professional psychotherapy, and sharing tasks and helping others reduces the amount of work and worry overall
tend-and-befriend
female response to stress by taking care of people and bringing them together.
fight or flight response to stress is largely a male reaction
male response amplifies the unhealthy effects of stress, while female response makes use of social support benefits.
may be one reason women live longer than men
religiosity
practice of religion
spirituality
belief in some higher power, not necessarily linked to particular religion (like fate/destiny/karma)
both spirituality and religiosity help relieve stress and are linked to lower heart disease
humor
helps us cope with stress. reduces sensitivity to pain and distress, and reduces time needed to calm down after a stressful event
you can’t stay mad and laugh at the same time
scheduling
decreases stress.
procrastination has no benefits! higher overall stress, more health problems, and lower quality of learning/work (lower grades)
eustress
positive events that induce stress
distress
negative events that induce stress
major life stressors
changes or disruptions in central areas of people’s lives
chronic stressors
continuous sources of stress
daily hassles
day to day annoyances/stressors
cognitive appraisal theory
people’s stress levels depend on how they evaluate the system.
involves primary appraisals and secondary appraisals
defines threats vs challenge
stress management
teaches people how to examine their autonomic appraisal of the stressor and REAPPRAISE the situation in a more optimistic way
Negative consequences of stress
pervasiveness leads to chronic health problems or burnout
shatters assumptions of 1) personal invulnerability: shattered belief makes people paranoid
2) Just world hypothesis: things happen for a reason. so bad things mean i deserve it
3) Bad things don’t happen to good people: so bad things means I deserve it
Think how rape victims need to be assured it wasn’t their fault
rational coping (with stress)
face stressor.
Accept, expose, understand, and conquer
repressive coping (with stress)
avoid stressor: avoid feelings, thoughts, reminders. maintain artificially positive outlook.
e.g watching netflix before finals
The four As (to manage stress)
avoid, alter, accept, adapt
