Trauma and Stressor Related Disorders (Lec. 2) Flashcards
stress
effects created within an organism by application of stressors; causes organism to adapt
distress
bad stress; damaging, negative effect of stressors
stressor
external demands that needs adaptation to be dealt with; either negative or positive
Social Readjustment Rating Scale
self-report checklist method of measuring life stress
Life Events and Difficulties Schedule
interview-based method of measuring life stress; rank chronic and acute stress
Resilience
possible reaction to stressors; healthy psychological and physiological functioning after a traumatic event
allostatic load
biological cost of adapting to stress
SAM stress response
sympathetic-adrenomedullary system; involved in fight or flight response (hypothalamus –>SNS–>adrenal medulla –>norepi and epi)
HPA stress response
hypothalamic - pituitary - adrenal system; involved in cortisol production (hypothalamus –>CRH–>anterior pituitary –>ACTH–>adrenal cortex–>cortisol)
cortisol
the stress hormone; adaptive at low levels (elevated blood sugar and metabolism) but harmful at high levels (suppresses immune system and excess glucose)
immune system
protects body from viruses and bacteria; compromised by increased chronic stress
leukocytes
front line of defense in immune system; white blood cells
cytokines
protein molecules that are important in the immune response for communication between CNS and immune cells; chronic stress leads to increased cytokine action (cannot turn it off) thus chronic inflammation
Adjustment disorder
psychological response to a common stressor that results in clinically significant behavioral or emotional symptoms; symptoms appear 0 - 3 months post stressor and last up to 6 months post-stressor
Acute Stress Disorder
psychological and physiological response that many individuals experience when faced with overwhelming threat; symptoms appear 3 days post stressor and last up to one month post-stressor
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Extreme response to a severe traumatic event that involves actual or threatened death or injury; results in pathological memory; symptoms appear later than one month post stressor and last indefinitely
PTSD symptoms
- Intrusion: intrusively experiencing traumatic event via nightmares, thoughts, images
- Avoidance: efforts to avoid reminders of trauma
- Negative alterations in mood/cognition: memory loss, negative emotions (shame, guilt), withdrawal
- Arousal/reactivity: irritable, agressive, reckless, hyperactivity
Factors affecting likelihood of PTSD
Features of Trauma
Features of Person
Features of post-trauma environment
Critical incident stress debriefing
immediate response to a traumatic event; brief directive treatment method conducted with small groups of trauma victims shortly after the incident to help them deal with emotional residuals
Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing
inducing rapid back and forth eye movements while reliving trauma; type of treatment for PTSD
Exposure treatment
exposure to memories and reminders of original trauma either in vivo or imaginal
DSM-V criteria for Acute Stress Disorder
- directly experiencing traumatic event
- witnessing event occur to others
- repeated extreme exposure to adverse details of traumatic event (ie. first responders)
