Stress & Coping Flashcards
Describe what stress is.
Event or situation that provokes a sense of being unable to cope or leads to chronic strain.
What are the two physiological stress responses?
1 - The SNS pathway
2 - The HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical)
Describe the SNS pathway stress response.
The perception of stress activates the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system. This causes the release of catecholamine hormones (noradrenaline and adrenalin) from adrenal glands and elsewhere.
Describe the HPA pathway stress response.
The hypothalamus initiates a cascade of hormones ending with the secretion of the corticosteroid hormones (cortisol) from the adrenal glands
What is the integrated action of both pathways called?
Flight or fight response
Describe what occurs in the fight or flight response to ready you for action.
Breathing, HR and blood pressure increase to deliver oxygen & blood to muscles.
Arteries leading to muscles dilate
Blood flow directed away from GI tract & peripheries to skeletal muscles
Glucose/fats are mobilised from storage back into blood
Blood becomes more viscous, clots easily
Immune system alteration
What happens after acute stress ends?
Parasympathetic nervous system kicks in & calm down. No damage is caused.
What are the effects of chronic stress on the cardiovascular system?
Stress elevates BP - when chronic it puts pressure on vessel walls, especially at the points of bifurcation.
Resulting lesions can initiate inflammatory response, attracting fats (cholesterol).
Contributes to the build up of atherosclerotic plaques.
What can hypertension be a product of?
Genetics, lifestyle (smoking, alcohol, salt, poor diet, lack of exercise, obesity). Stress interacts with these factors.
What is the effect of chronic stress on metabolism?
F/F response: stress hormones break down storage forms of glucose & fats and bring them into the blood.
Insulin production reduced/shut down & body gets message to make cells resistant to insulin.
Leads to chronically elevated levels of glucose & fats in blood stream & tendency towards insulin resistance.
Contributes to metabolic syndrome & risk of diabetes.
List the physical conditions stress is associated with.
Cardiovascular disease Diabetes, metabolic syndrome GI disorders (IBS, IBD) Musculoskeletal problems & chronic pain Autoimmune diseases e.g. lupus, multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes Asthma, common viruses, ulcers EVIDENCE NOT CLEAR FOR CANCER
What role does stress play in disease?
Almost never the primary causal factor of disease
Acts in combination with a causal factor
How we cope with stress can influence disease risk - stress increases detrimental lifestyle factors
Describe how stress is strongly associated with the risk of mental disorders.
Especially depression/anxiety.
Psychological component: feeling stressed, overwhelmed, unable to cope
Physiological stress response: excess glucosteroids affect the functioning of neurotransmitters involved in depression, they damage the hippocampus and other parts of the brain,
Name the two main types of coping with stress.
Problem-focused coping
Emotion-focused coping
Describe problem-focused coping.
Focusing on the stressor itself.
Reducing demands of the stressor or expanding the resources to deal with it.
