stress & suicide Flashcards
What is stress?
Stress is a response to change/novelty. The changes can be good or bad.
A stress response always includes _________
the amygdala
Types of stressors (the changes) include:
conflicts, cataclysmic events, personal events, daily hassles
Conflicts are
choices between mutually exclusive goals or actions. there are three kinds of choices: approach-approach, approach-avoid, and avoid-avoid
Approach-Approach Conflict
A choice that must be made between two attractive alternatives.
Schwartz’s idea
Satisficers & maximizers
Satisficers
have a “it’s good enough” approach
Maximizers
want to get the most out of their choice
Approach-Avoid Conflict
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.
Avoid-Avoid Conflict
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.
Cataclysmic Events
Strong stressors that generate a lot of problem-focused, social support.
Ex: NYC came together after 9/11
Personal Events
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.
Factors that determine how easily an individual can make adjustments to their life.
Evaluation, Competency, Explanatory Style/Coping Strategy
An example of competency
Caring for a plant while in a nursing home. It shows agency and ability.
Explanatory Style/Coping Strategy
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.
Emotion-Focused Coping
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.
Problem-Focused Coping
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.
Social Support
People with more interpersonal ties experience less stress.
Cataclysmic events generate a great deal of social support.
The Biology of Stress
Hans Selye & the General Adaptation Syndrome
Hans Selye (medical doctor): General Adaptation Syndrome
Three stages: Alarm, Resistance, and Exhaustion
The Alarm Stage
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.
The Resistance Stage
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.
HPA Axis
Interaction between the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and adrenal glands
The Exhaustion Stage
The third stage of the general adaptation syndrome. It occurs when the body has exhausted its defenses.
What parts of the brain are involved in the Alarm (acute stress) stage?
Amygdala –> Hypothalamus –> SNS –> adrenal medulla –> catecholamines (adrenaline)
What are the symptoms of the Alarm (acute stress) stage?
Remember, they are emotional responses to stimuli. They are not chronic.
Increased breathing rate, increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, decreased digression, dilated pupils.
What parts of the brain are involved in the Resistance (chronic stress) stage?
Amygdala –> Hypothalamus –> Pituitary –> Adrenal Cortex –> Corticosteroids (hydro-cortisol)
What are the symptoms of the Resistance (chronic stress) stage?
Remember, one is highly likely to become ill due to a chronic stressor.
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
What explains the Exhaustion (depletion of resources) stage?
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
Low levels of serotonin are linked to …
impulsiveness
Suicide in my age group is an …
impulsive act
____ _____ run in families.
Affective disorders
______ _____ for depression are both anatomical and chemical.
Brain bases
