Stress and Health (CH16) Flashcards
Stress
Physical and psychological response to internal or external stressors
Stressors
Specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or threaten the person’s well-being
- Internal vs. external
- Positive vs. negative
- Internal vs. external locus of control
Health psychology
Subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health
Chronic stressor
Source of stress that occurs continuously or repeatedly; more likely to lead to physical/health issues and interpersonal problems
Acute stressor
Temporary source(s) or stress that can be resolved in reasonable time frame (ramp up and down responses)
Fight-or-flight response
Emotional and physiological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action (automatic NS)
HPA axis
Hypothalamus secretes releasing factor that stimulates the pituitary gland for ACTH release into blood which then stimulates the adrenal gland for release of cortisol and catecholamines
Catecholamine
Biochemical indicating activation of emotional systems; increase sympathetic NS activation (increase heart rate, bp and respiration rate)
-EP, NE
Cortisol
Hormone that increases the concentration of glucose in the blood to make fuel available to the muscles
General adaptation syndrome (GAS)
3-stage physiological stress response that appears regardless of stressor that is encountered (nonspecific)
- Alarm phase: body rapidly mobilizes its resources to respond to the threat (E. is required, body calls on its stored fat & muscle) *equiv. to Cannon’s fight-or-flight
- Resistance phase: body adapts to its high state of arousal as it tries to cope with stressor, continuing to draw on resources of fat and muscle; shuts down unnecessary processes like digestion, growth, sex drive & stalls menstruation, sperm + testosterone production
- Exhaustion phase: body collapses
Immune system
Complex response system that protects the body from bacteria, viruses and other foreign substances
-After a stressful event, tend to get sick (illness and healing period is prolonged) since resources were diverted to deal with stressor
Atherosclerosis
Coronary heart disease that happens from a gradual narrowing of the arteries that occurs as fatty deposits or plaque build up on the inner walls of the arteries. Narrowed arteries result in a reduced blood supply and eventually when an artery is blocked by a blood clot or detached plaque, thus in a heart attack.
Type A behaviour pattern
A tendency toward easily aroused hostility, impatience, a sense of time urgency and competitive achievement strivings
-More likely to engage in violent tendencies, die from heart disease, tend to be more stressed
Stress conditioning
Body remembers previous negative experience thus when the same stressor appears (although well prepared), body immediately ramps up
ex. 1st exam = extremely stressful, not prepared; 2nd exam = well prepared but body gets ramped up (automatic stress response) because body had a bad experience before, thus do poorly
Reducing test anxiety
Be prepared early
Sleep well
Same caffeine + sugar intake (no increase)
Learn relaxed breathing (to get back to base)
Don’t study the night before (only review)
Review main themes
Have a plan before the exam
Aim to do your best
Burnout
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 (cannot do it anymore, feel like there’s nothing more to give even if you like the job)
Diathesis stress model
Both genes and the environment contribute to stress (genes determine how well we deal with the stressor; environment provides the stressor)
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Chronic physiological arousal, recurrent unwanted thoughts or images of the trauma and avoidance of things that call the traumatic event to mind
-Decrease in amygdala & hippocampus
Repressive coping
Avoiding situations or thoughts that are reminders of a stressor and maintaining an artificially positive viewpoint
Rational coping
Facing the stressor and working to overcome it
3 steps:
1. Acceptance: realize that the stressor exists and cannot be wished away
2. Exposure: attending to the stressor, thinking about it and even seeking it out
3. Understanding: working to find the meaning of the stressor in your mind
Reframing
Finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its threat (think/structure stressor in a more positive framework)
Stress inoculation training (SIT)
Reframing technique that helps people to cope with stressful situations by developing positive ways to think about the situation
Relaxation therapy
Technique for reducing tension by consciously relaxing muscles of body
Relaxation response
Condition of reduced muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate and bp
Biofeedback
Use of an external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function and possibly gain control over that function
Social support
Aid gained through interaction with others
Hardiness
Feel committed in a job (value work, success/ failure matters to you)
Feel more control (higher hierarchy thus can deal with problems with power)
Challenging (continue to reach higher, what was hard before becomes easier)
*Flow”
Optimism
“In uncertain times, I usually expect the best”
In excessive/extreme: set bar too high thus set oneself up for failure
Pessimism
“If something can go wrong for me, it will”
In excessive/extreme: self-fulfilling prophecy
