stress & suicide

Question 1

What is stress?

Answer 1

Stress is a response to change/novelty. The changes can be good or bad.

Question 2

A stress response always includes _________

Answer 2

the amygdala

Question 3

Types of stressors (the changes) include:

Answer 3

conflicts, cataclysmic events, personal events, daily hassles

Question 4

Conflicts are

Answer 4

choices between mutually exclusive goals or actions. there are three kinds of choices: approach-approach, approach-avoid, and avoid-avoid

Question 5

Approach-Approach Conflict

Answer 5

A choice that must be made between two attractive alternatives.

Question 6

Schwartz’s idea

Answer 6

Satisficers & maximizers

Question 7

Satisficers

Answer 7

have a “it’s good enough” approach

Question 8

Maximizers

Answer 8

want to get the most out of their choice

Question 9

Approach-Avoid Conflict

Answer 9

One choice that has good and bad aspects. As you approach a choice, you want to avoid it.

Ex: As you approach breaking up with your boyfriend, you consider staying with him just to avoid the awkward conversation.

Question 10

Avoid-Avoid Conflict

Answer 10

The two choices are equally unattractive.

Ex: You don’t want to stay in your relationship, but you also don’t want to start dating again. You have to evaluate the cost.

Question 11

Cataclysmic Events

Answer 11

Strong stressors that generate a lot of problem-focused, social support.

Ex: NYC came together after 9/11

Question 12

Personal Events

Answer 12

These are stressors that involve significant life changes, and are experienced in young adulthoods. Some examples include starting or ending a relationship, moving, losing or getting a job, birth or death of a loved one.

Question 13

Factors that determine how easily an individual can make adjustments to their life.

Answer 13

Evaluation, Competency, Explanatory Style/Coping Strategy

Question 14

An example of competency

Answer 14

Caring for a plant while in a nursing home. It shows agency and ability.

Question 15

Explanatory Style/Coping Strategy

Answer 15

It is how people explain to themselves why they experience a particular event, either positive or negative. The two main coping strategies are emotion-focused coping and problem-focused coping.

Question 16

Emotion-Focused Coping

Answer 16

The goal is to regulate one’s feelings, not to alter the situation at hand.

Pessimists tend to look at problems as personal, persistent, and pervasive.

Question 17

Problem-Focused Coping

Answer 17

The goal is to change the situation.

Optimists tend to look at problems as external, temporary, and specific to a given situation. They also tend to seek social support, a key aspect of problem-focused coping.

Question 18

Social Support

Answer 18

People with more interpersonal ties experience less stress.

Cataclysmic events generate a great deal of social support.

Question 19

The Biology of Stress

Answer 19

Hans Selye & the General Adaptation Syndrome

Question 20

Hans Selye (medical doctor): General Adaptation Syndrome

Answer 20

Three stages: Alarm, Resistance, and Exhaustion

Question 21

The Alarm Stage

Answer 21

The first stage of the general adaptation syndrome includes the fight or flight response. It is the body’s response to an acute, short-term stressor.

Question 22

The Resistance Stage

Answer 22

The second stage of the general adaptation syndrome. It is a prolongation of the response when the stressor is chronic or lasting. The brain parts involved are Hypothalamus, the Pituitary, and the Adrenal glands. Working together they form the HPA axis.

Question 23

HPA Axis

Answer 23

Interaction between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands

Question 24

The Exhaustion Stage

Answer 24

The third stage of the general adaptation syndrome. It occurs when the body has exhausted its defenses.

Question 25

What parts of the brain are involved in the Alarm (acute stress) stage?

Answer 25

Amygdala –> Hypothalamus –> SNS –> adrenal medulla –> catecholamines (adrenaline)

Question 26

What are the symptoms of the Alarm (acute stress) stage?

Remember, they are emotional responses to stimuli. They are not chronic.

Answer 26

Increased breathing rate, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, decreased digression, dilated pupils.

Question 27

What parts of the brain are involved in the Resistance (chronic stress) stage?

Answer 27

Amygdala –> Hypothalamus –> Pituitary –> Adrenal Cortex –> Corticosteroids (hydro-cortisol)

Question 28

What are the symptoms of the Resistance (chronic stress) stage?

Remember, one is highly likely to become ill due to a chronic stressor.

Answer 28

Increased glucose, reduced immune response, increased dendrites in the amygdala, decreased dendrites in the hippocampus, shortened telomeres, bone loss, abdominal fat gain, decreased serotonin/norepinephrine

Question 29

What explains the Exhaustion (depletion of resources) stage?

Answer 29

Diathesis-Stress model: depletion of resources produces psychosomatic illnesses, which are real disorders resulting from an interaction between the current level of stress and the individual’s diathesis, or predisposition to weakness in specific body parts

Question 30

Low levels of serotonin are linked to …

Answer 30

impulsiveness

Question 31

Suicide in my age group is an …

Answer 31

impulsive act

Question 32

____ _____ run in families.

Answer 32

Affective disorders

Question 33

______ _____ for depression are both anatomical and chemical.

Answer 33

Brain bases