Test 3: Stress and Health Flashcards
Stress
the 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.
Chronic Stressors
a source of stress that occurs continuously or repeatedly.
Health Psychology
the subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health.
More daily hassles associated with more psychological and physical ___
stress
Performance of children under flight path:
higher BP and gave up more easily on difficult problems/puzzles.
Stressors challenge individuals to take some action to _____ the stressor.
eliminate or overcome
Studies of perceived control show that ____ underlies stressors.
loss of control
Expecting to have control over what happens to you is associated with ___ with stress.
dealing
Stress activates a response through the ___
HPA axis (hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal)
During stress, ____ AND ___ increase.
catecholamines (epinephrine, norephinephrine) and cortisol
catecholamines
increase HR, BP, respiration rate
cortisol
increase glucose in blood to fuel muscles
Flight-or-fight Response
an emotional and psychological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action.
Immune System
a complex response system that protects the body from bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances.
lymphocytes
white blood cells that produce antibodies that fight infection. T cells, B cells, NK cells
Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
study of how immune system responds to psychological variables like stressors.
What causes heart disease
- Atherosclerosis
- Plaques - Sedentary lifestyle
- Smoking
- High fat and high cholesterol diet
- Chronic Stress
- Sympathetic NS -> increase BP -> damages blood vessels ->accumulate plaques
Type A behavior pattern
- the tendency toward easily aroused hostility, impatience, a sense of time urgency, and competitive achievement strivings.
- 2/3 of men in study who had heart attacks were Type A, 1/3 of them were type B
Friedman & Rosenman
-Hostility predicts heart disease better than any other causal factor like smoking, diet, cholesterol
Once a person is already sick, ____ emotions affect course of illness and recovery
negative
Feeling anxious, depressed, helpless…
delays wound healing after surgery (feeling hopeful significantly speed up healing)
Loneliness and worry….
suppresses immune system, permiting existing viruses to erupt
Depression after heart attack…
significantly more likely to die from cardiac causes in succeeding year.
Primary appraisal
is the interpretation of a stimulus as stressful or not.
Secondary appraisal
evaluation of controllability of stressor and one’s coping resources (perceived as a threat or challenge).
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
-chronic physiological arousal
-recurrent unwanted thoughts or images of the trauma
-avoidance of things that call the traumatic event to mind
(reduced hippocampal volume increases susceptibility)
-8% of Americans
-People differ in response to trauma
Burnout
- physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion
- long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation
- accompanied by lower performance and motivation
Repressive coping
avoiding situations or thoughts that are reminders of a stressor and maintaining an artificially positive viewpoint.
Rational coping
facing a stressor and working to overcome it.
Acceptance
coming to realize that the stressor exists and cannot be wished away
Exposure
attending to the stressor, thinking about it, and even seeking it out
Understanding
working to find the meaning of the stressful events
Exposure therapy
helping victims confront and think about what happened
Reframing
finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its threat.
Pennebaker Research on Writing
Students who spent a few hours writing about their deepest thoughts and feelings were less likely to visit student health center, used less aspirin, and got better grades
Relaxation therapy
- a technique for reducing tension by consciously relaxing muscles of the body.
- Can’t be tense and relaxed at the same time.
Relaxation Response
a condition of reduced muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate, and blood pressure.
Biofeedback
the use of an external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function and possibly gain control over that function.
Aerobic exercise…
is associated with psychological well-being.
Situation management
involves changing your life situation as a way of reducing the impact of stress on your mind and body.
Social Support
aid gained through interacting with others.
Humor…
may help us cope with stress.
Religion
appears to increase life expectancy by 2-3 years.
Why does religion increase life expantancy?
- Social support
- Religion tends to promote healthy behaviors
- Relaxation component to prayer (yoga, mediation)
- Hopefulness imbedded in most religions
Sick role
- a socially recognized set of rights and obligations linked with illness.
- Absolved of responsibility
- Can get away with being rude, lazy, picky, demanding.
malingering
-feigning medical or psychological symptoms to achieve something they want.
____ for the patient to follow prescribed regimen of care is needed for effective medical care.
Physician empathy and motivation
___ deteriorates when treatments are frequent and/or numerous, inconvenient , or painful.
Compliance
People ___ in the degree in which they attend to and report bodily symptoms.
differ
-b/c differences in the areas of the brain activated during pain experiences.
Psychosomatic illness
an interaction between mind and body that can produce illness.
somatoform disorders
the set of psychological disorders in which the person displays physical symptoms not fully explained by a general medical condition.
hypochondriasis
a psychological disorder in which a person is preoccupied with minor symptoms and develops an exaggerated belief that the symptoms signify a life-threatening illness.
Personality characteristics of individuals with better health include:
- optimism (those who expect the best)
- hardiness (those who are thick-skinned and stress-resistant; show a sense of commitment, believe in control, and accept challenges).
Self-regulation
the exercise of voluntary control over the self to bring the self into line with preferred standards.
requires inner strength and willpower, and may relate to strategy.
Risk takers exhibit an illusion of ___when it comes to sexual behavior.
unique invulnerability and impulsivity
