Stress, Anxiety & Health Flashcards
Subjective sensations of stress
Headache, nausea, fatigue, muscle tension
Behaviour of stress
Crying, smoking, drinkin
Health
Cardiovascular disease, cancer, colds skin disease
U-shaped relationship of stress
Moderate stress levels can increase performance
Also stress of boredom can lead to increasing ill health
3 Ways stress can be viewed
1) A response
2) A stimulus
3) An appraisal
Stress as a response
Physiological response - e.g. fight/flight response!
General Adaptiation Syndrome
Selye - shows a response pattern that if stress is sustained, if sever and sustained it cnan cause disease!
At first hock shows a dip in resistance then increased resistance however this can’t be sustained forever!
If two stresses occur at the sae time the physiological response runs out very quickly
Psychoimmunology
Relationship between psychological states and immune system function!
Multiple stresses cause ill health
Stress causes:
Cognitive impairment, emotional responses, post traumatic stress disorder
Key Features of PTSD
Repeated re-living of the traumatic event, persistent effort of avoiding memories and survivor guilt
Stress as a stimulus
Holmes & Rahe - Life events research on social re-adjustment.
Higher stress in those with illness
Daily hassles and uplifts are positive events
Most stressful event?
Holmes & Rahe - death of a spouse
Life events and breast cancer
Protheroe - no relationship
However one quasi-prospective found malignancy associated with a single major life event in the past 2 years
Type A behaviour
Competitiveness, hostility, time urgency - 2x as likely for heart disease
Type A & Heart Attacks
2x risk of heart
Risk of coronary atherosclerosis but only in under 45s
But type A heart attack survivors are less likely to die –> may change behaviour
Lifestyle interventions?
Ornish programme reduces risk of heart attacks –> exercise, diet, healthy lifestyle!
Stress as appraisal
Appraisal process
Primary - perception of demands, with a potential for threat, harm or challenge
Secondary - monitor the available coping actions>
Re-appraisal - continual re-evaluation or re-labelling
Stress pathway to disease
–>CNS & Endocrine changes –> impaired immunity
Stress DISEASE
–> behaviour changes –> toxin exposure
Potential for stress reduction?
Behaviour changes
Adverse Childhood Experiences
Experiences in early life shown to affect health and psychological state in later life!
Anxiety Symptoms
Physical: tachycardia, tension, dizzy, tingling
Psychological: on edge, lose control
Behaviours: Avoidaince
Anxiety Feelings
Feelings out of proportion to the threat
Intolerance of uncertainty –> drives work, overestimates risk, double checking, list taking etc –> these all temporarily relieve anxiety but exacerbate in the long term!
Managing stress
Relaxation training - focused breathing etc
Meditation
Exercise
Coping strategies
Problem-focused: change situation, avoid in future
Emotion-focused: behaviour strategies, ,physical exercise, drinking, venting anger
Cognitive strategies: denial, rumination, discussion
Important of social support
Poor coping erodes social support
Cancer research
Cooper and Farther shows support and survival time connected!
Ornish programme
practices group support to help solve Type A behaviour!
