The Nature of Stress

Question 1

“Lifestyle diseases, or diseases caused by stress

Answer 1

heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis, and suicide

Question 2

Definition of lifestyle diseases

Answer 2

For the most part, LD are preventable or correctable by altering the habits and behaviors that contribute to their etiology

Question 3

Most notorious lifestyle disease

Answer 3

Coronary heart disease (CHD)

Question 4

Holistic medicine

Answer 4

A healing approach that honors the integration, balance, and harmony of mind, body, spirit, and emotions to promote inner peace. Every technique used in stress management is considered to support the concept of holistic medicine.

Question 5

Walter Cannon

Answer 5

20th century Harvard physiologist who coined the term “fight or flight”

Question 6

Fight or flight response

Answer 6

A term coined by Walter Cannon; the instinctive physiological responses preparing the body, when confronted with a threat, to either fight or flee; an evolutionary survival dynamic

Question 7

Stress reaction

Answer 7

The body’s initial (central nervous system) reaction to a perceived threat

Question 8

Freeze response

Answer 8

Part of the stress response, where the individual neither fights nor flees but freezes like a deer caught in the headlights, paralyzed as if the person has forgotten to run.

Question 9

Fight response

Answer 9

Triggered by anger or aggression; usually employed to defend territorial boundaries or attack aggressors equal to or smaller in size; requires physiological preparations that recruit power and strength for a short duration

Question 10

Flight response

Answer 10

Induced by fear; designed to fuel the body to endure prolonged movement such as running away from lions and bears; includes not only fleeing, but also hiding or withdrawal

Question 11

Homeostasis

Answer 11

A physiological state of complete calmness or rest; markers include resting heart rate, blood pressure, and ventilation

Question 12

Stress response

Answer 12

The release of epinephrine and norepinephrine to prepare various organs and tissues for fight or flight

Question 13

Physiological mechanisms to the fight-or-flight response

Answer 13

1. Increased heart rate to pump oxygenated blood to working muscles, 2. Increased blood pressure to deliver blood to working muscles, 3. Increased ventilation to supply working muscles with oxygen for energy metabolism, 4. Vasodilation of arteries to the body’s periphery (arms & legs) with the greatest muscle mass, 5. Increased serum glucose for metabolic processes during muscle contractions, 6. Increased free fatty acid mobilization as an energy source for prolonged activity, 7. Increased blood coagulation and decreased clotting time in the event of bleeding, 8. Increased muscular strength, 9. Decreased gastric movement and abdominal blood flow to allow blood to go to working muscles, 10. Increased perspiration to cool body-core temperature

Question 14

Tend & Befriend

Answer 14

A theory presented by Shelley Taylor that states that women who experience stress don’t necessarily run or fight, but rather turn to friends to cope with unpleasant events and circumstances

Question 15

Co-rumination

Answer 15

Stress-based conversation between women as a means of coping by finding support among friends

Question 16

Eustress

Answer 16

Good stress; any stressor that motivates an individual toward an optimal level of performance or health

Question 17

Neustress

Answer 17

Any kind of information or sensory stimulus that is perceived as unimportant or inconsequential

Question 18

Distress

Answer 18

The unfavorable or negative interpretation of an event (real or imagined) to be threatening that promotes continued feelings of fear or anger; more commonly known simply as stress

Question 19

Acute stress

Answer 19

Stress that is intense in nature but short in duration

Question 20

Chronic stress

Answer 20

Stress that is not as intense as acute stress but that lingers for a prolonger period of time (e.g. financial problems)

Question 21

Yerkes-Dodson principle

Answer 21

The theory that some stress (eustress) is necessary for health and performance but that beyond an optimal amount both will deteriorate as stress increases

Question 22

Stressor

Answer 22

Any real or imagined situation, circumstance, or stimulus that is perceived to be a threat

Question 23

Circadian rhythms

Answer 23

Biological rhythms that occur or cycle within a 24-hour period (e.g. body temperatures) that create the body’s internal clock, also known as chronobiology. These can be affected by stress, causing a disruption that is even more stressful to the body

Question 24

Ultradian rhythms

Answer 24

Biological rhythms that occur many time in a 24-hour period (e.g. hunger pangs). These can be affected by stress

Question 25

Infradian rhythms

Answer 25

Biological rhythms that occur less than once in a 24-hour period (e.g. women’s menstrual period). These can be affected by stress.

Question 26

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)

Answer 26

The physiological response to lack of sunlight that results in feelings of depression

Question 27

Psychointrapersonal influences

Answer 27

The perceptions of stimuli that we create through our own mental processes (perceptions and interpretations); involve thoughts, values, beliefs, attitudes, opinions, & perceptions that we use to defend our identity or ego

Question 28

Social causes of stress

Answer 28

Overcrowding or urban sprawl (the need for personal space); financial insecurity; the effects of relocation; cultural assimilation issues; some technological advances; violations of human rights; low socioeconomic status; global warming concerns; water resource issues

Question 29

Life-change units (LCUs)

Answer 29

A unit of measurement that corresponds to items on the Social Readjustment Rating scale

Question 30

Social Readjustment Rating Scale

Answer 30

An inventory of life events that may be perceived to be stressful, used to determine one’s level of stress

Question 31

Richard Lazarus

Answer 31

Renowned stress researcher credited with the concept of daily life hassles

Question 32

Daily life hassles

Answer 32

Occasional hassles, like locking your keys in your car; when combined with many other annoyances in the course of a day, these create a critical mass of stress

Question 33

General adaptation syndrome

Answer 33

A term coined by Hans Selye to describe the body’s ability to adapt negatively to chronic stress; includes three distinct physiological phases: the alarm phase, the resistance phase, and the exhaustion phase

Question 34

The Alarm reaction

Answer 34

The first stage of Selye’s general adaptation syndrome, in which a threat is perceived and the nervous system is triggered for survival

Question 35

Stage of resistance

Answer 35

The second stage of Selye’s general adaptation syndrome, in which the body tries to recover

Question 36

Stage of exhaustion

Answer 36

The third and final stage of Selye’s general adaptation syndrome, in which one or more target organs show signs of dysfunction

Question 37

Common stressors of college students

Answer 37

1. Roommate dynamics, 2. professional pursuits, 3. academic deadlines, 4. financial aid and school loans, 5. budgeting your money, 6. lifestyle behaviors, 7. peer groups and peer pressure, 8. exploring sexuality, 9. friendships, 10. intimate relationships, 11. starting a professional career path

Question 38

Paradigm shift

Answer 38

Moving from one perspective of reality to another

Question 39

Rene’ Descartes

Answer 39

A 17th century scientist and philosopher credited with the reductionistic method of Western science (also known as the Cartesian principle). He is equally renowned for his influential philosophy of the separation of mind and body as well as the statement, “I think, therefore I am.”

Question 40

Isaac Newton

Answer 40

An 18th century physicist who advocated the mechanistic paradigm of the universe, which was then adapted to the human body

Question 41

Mechanistic model

Answer 41

A health model based on the concept that the body is a machine with parts that can be repaired or replaced

Question 42

Alber Einstein

Answer 42

A world-renowned theoretical physicist who revolutionized perceptions of reality with the equation E=mc2, suggesting that everything is energy. His later years focused on a spiritual philosophy including pacifism.

Question 43

Wellness paradigm

Answer 43

The integration, balance, and harmony of mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being though taking responsibility for one’s health; posits that the whole greater than the sum of its parts.

Question 44

Alternative medicine

Answer 44

Modalities of healing (homeostasis) that included nearly all forms of stress-mangament techniques. Also known as complementary or integrative medicine.

Question 45

Mental well-being

Answer 45

The ability to gather, process, recall, and communicate information

Question 46

Physical well-being

Answer 46

The optimal functioning of the body’s 8 physiological systems (e.g. respiratory, skeletal, cardiovascular, digestive, reproductive, etc.)

Question 47

Emotional well-being

Answer 47

The ability to feel and express the full range of human emotions and to control these feelings, not be controlled by them

Question 48

Spiritual well-being

Answer 48

The state of mature higher consciousness deriving from insightful relationship with oneself and others, a strong value system, and a meaningful purpose in life.

Question 49

Self-reliance

Answer 49

working from within to achieve inner peace

Question 50

Three groups of stressors

Answer 50

1. bioecological influences, 2. psychointrapersonal influences, 3. social influences

Question 51

Holistic stress management

Answer 51

Programming that addresses issues related to mental (intellectual), physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being

Question 52

How does stress affect sleep?

Answer 52

Falling asleep on the job; marital problems; car accidents; lost work productivity;

Question 53

What are some “sleep stealers”?

Answer 53

hormonal changes, excessive caffeine intake, little or not exercise, frequent urination, circadian rhythm disturbances, shirt work, medication side effects, other lifestyle behaviors (e.g. Internet use, prolonged tv watching, alcohol consumption, cell phone use)

Question 54

Insomnia

Answer 54

Poor-quality sleep, abnormal wakefulness, or the inability to sleep

Question 55

Sleep hygiene

Answer 55

Factors that affect one’s quality of sleep, from hormonal changes and shift work to excessive caffeine intake