Health and StressHealth and Stress

Chapter 13

What is stress?What is stress?

A physiological or psychologicalresponse to a threatening condition that

creates challenges and requires adaptation or adjustment

Fight-or-flight responseFight-or-flight response

• Parasympathetic nervous system prepares that body for a fight or a flight through the trigger of hormones

• Basic survival technique used by all animals

How is stress categorized?How is stress categorized?

• Acute

• Episodic

• Chronic

Positive and Negative StressorsPositive and Negative Stressors

• Eustress

• Distress

StressorsStressors

• Stimuli or events that are capable of producing physical or emotional stress

• Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS): ranking life stress events by a point system- correlation with high scores and disease progression

• Stress can be positive or negative

• Complete the scale

College Hassles- what are College Hassles- what are common college stressors?common college stressors?

• 1. troubling thoughts about future• 2. not getting enough sleep• 3. wasting time• 4. inconsiderate smokers• 5. physical appearance• 6. too many things to do• 7. misplacing or losing times• 8. not enough time to do the things you want to do• 9. concerns about meeting high standards• 10. being lonely• Kanner et al. (1981)

Daily Hassles add up…Daily Hassles add up…

• Little stressors may be more problematic than larger ones

• Irritating, frustrating, distressing demands• Troubled relationships• Many hassles accompany health

problems like flu, sore throat, headache, backaches

• uplifts –positive life experiences-may neutralize the effects of hassles

3 types of conflict3 types of conflict

• Approach-approach conflict: conflict between two equally desirable events

• Avoidance-avoidance conflict: choice between undesirable alternatives

• Approach-avoidance conflict: same choice has both desirable and undesirable features

How do situations involving unpredictability How do situations involving unpredictability and feeling that you lack control lead to and feeling that you lack control lead to

stress symptoms?stress symptoms?

• Warnings prior to a stressor occurring allow for preparation and result in less stress being experienced

• Physical and psychological well-being profoundly influenced by degree of control one believes they have over a situation

• Subject to less stress when we have the power to do something about it- choices

Work Stress- 9 variables affect Work Stress- 9 variables affect satisfaction on the jobsatisfaction on the job

• 1. workload• 2. clarity of job description and evaluation

criteria• 3. physical variables• 4. job status• 5. accountability• 6. task variety• 7. human contact• 8. physical challenge• 9. mental challenge

Stress and Catastrophic EventsStress and Catastrophic Events

• 9-11 , earthquakes, floods, fires, crash of space shuttle, combat, rape- may lead to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

• Prolonged, severe stress reaction to a catastrophic event

• Flashbacks, nightmares, intrusive memories leading to feelings of re-experiencing the traumatic event

• Survivor guilt: alcohol abuse, suicide, poor concentration

Racism and StressRacism and Stress

• Historical racism: members of groups that have a history of repression may react with high blood pressure

• Minority groups strong sense of ethnic identity, helps moderate effects of stress levels

• Ex. Surviving Jews following release from concentration camps

Responding to StressResponding to Stress

• How do you respond to stress?

• What things or events “push your buttons”?

• What are the approaches that psychologists use to explain stress and effective ways of dealing with it?

Selye and the General Adaptation Selye and the General Adaptation SyndromeSyndrome

• Hans Selye (1907-1982) established the field of stress

• General adaptation syndrome: predictable sequence of reactions that organisms show in response to stressors

• 3 stages: – Alarm stage– Resistance stage– Exhaustion stage

Alarm StageAlarm Stage

• Heart rate increases

• Blood pressure and blood –sugar levels rise allowing for burst of energy

• Glucocorticoids: hormones that increase heart rate, blood pressure, and blood-sugar levels

Resistance StageResistance Stage

• Body fights to resist stressors

• Intense physiological efforts to resist or adapt to the stress

Exhaustion StageExhaustion Stage

• All stores of deep energy are depleted

• Organism fails in its efforts to resist the stressors

• In prolonged cases, death can occur

Lazarus’s Cognitive Theory of Lazarus’s Cognitive Theory of StressStress

• Believed that it wasn’t the stressor that causes stress, but how we perceive it

• Cognitive process: primary and secondary appraisal ( it’s all in your head)

• Primary appraisal- evaluation and meaning of situation– Positive, negative, irrelevant– May involve harm, threat, or challenge

• Secondary appraisal: if situation is within one’s control, evaluate resources– Physical (health, energy, stamina)– Social (support network)– Psychological (skills, morale, self-esteem)– Material (money, tools, equipment)– Time

Coping Strategies- how do you Coping Strategies- how do you cope?cope?

• Coping: efforts and actions to deal with demands perceived as taxing or overwhelming

• Problem-focused coping: responding directly to stress by responding directly to the stress or stressor

• Emotion-focused coping: reappraising a stressor to reduce its emotional impact

• Proactive coping: anticipating the stressor or situation in advance to prevent its occurrence or to minimize its consequences

Wellness- 2 models: is our wellness purely a basis Wellness- 2 models: is our wellness purely a basis of biological health or do other factors influence it?of biological health or do other factors influence it?

• Biomedical model: illness explained in terms of biological factors

• Biopsychosocial model: health and illness determined by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors

Biological factorsBiological factors

• Genetics

• Homeostasis

• Relaxation

• Healthy lifestyle: exercise, diet, freedom from addictions or lack of exercise, poor diet, disease and injury, toxic chemicals, pollution

Psychological factors: Health Psychological factors: Health PsychologyPsychology

• Self-regulation• Stress management• Giving and receiving love• Positive imagery• Positive thoughts• Healthy personality or • Depression• Negative thoughts• Worry• Anxiety• Poor coping skills• Unhealthy personality• Stress

Social FactorsSocial Factors

• Social responsibility• Social policy• Social groups: families, schools, churches

or• Loneliness• Poverty• Exploitation• Violence

Coronary Heart Disease- has a Coronary Heart Disease- has a direct relationship with stressdirect relationship with stress

• Leading cause of death in US; 32% of all deaths

• Risk factors- sedentary lifestyle, high cholesterol, smoking, obesity, family history (behavioral and genetic)

Personality Type- what type are Personality Type- what type are you?you?

• Type A behavior pattern: behavior pattern of sense of time urgency, impatience, excessive competitiveness, hostility, anger- considered a risk factor in coronary heart disease

• Type B behavior pattern: relaxed and easygoing and not driven by a sense of urgency and time, not impatient or hostile, relax without guilt

Cancer and stressCancer and stress

• 2nd leading cause of death in Us; 23% of all deaths

• Collection of diseases that can invade cells in any part of the organism

• cells continue to divide and spread until they kill the organism

• Risk factors: unhealthy diet, smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, promiscuous behavior, early sexual activity in females

The immune system and stressThe immune system and stress

• Job of immune system- to seek out and destroy bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, and other foreign bodies that enter the body

• Lymphocytes- white blood cells make up the immune system- B and T cells

• B cells come form bone marrow, T cells from the thalamus

• They create antibodies that fight antigens (all cells foreign to the body)

• HIV: virus attacks T cells and gradually weakens immune system

PsychoneuroimmunologyPsychoneuroimmunology

• Psychologists, biologists, medical researchers study the effects of emotions, thinking, behavior on the immune system

• Close social ties have positive effects on immune system• Periods of high stress associated with increased

symptoms of infectious diseases- oral and genital herpes, mononucleosis, colds, flu

• Stress effects can last for an extended following the stressful event

• Physical and mental ailments following death of a spouse for up to 2 years following the event

Factors that foster high levels of Factors that foster high levels of stressstress

• Intense rage- anger

• cynicism

Other factors that reduce impact of Other factors that reduce impact of stress and illnessstress and illness

• Optimism: expecting positive outcomes• Hardiness: commitment to work and

personal life, control over consequences and outcomes, challenges in life viewed as opportunities for growth and improvement

• Religious involvement: possible social support, better effects on blood pressure

• Social support: can be from spouse, others- tangible aid, information, advice

Gender, Ethnicity , and HealthGender, Ethnicity , and Health

• Degrees of wellness differ across gender and among various cultural and ethnic groups

• Women more likely than men to seek medical attention

• Physicians more likely to see women’s health complaints as emotional rather than due to physical causes

• Poverty amongst African Americans 3x more likely than White Americans- at higher risk for disease and death, more likely to suffer from inadequate health care; greater mortality rate

• Hispanic Americans: alcohol abuse and cigarette smoking prevalent, high risk for death form accidental injuries, homicide,, cirrhosis of the liver, chronic liver disease and AIDS

• Native Americans: smallest minority group- alcohol sever risk factor

• Asian Americans: comparatively very healthy

Lifestyle and HealthLifestyle and Health

• Personal habits have a profound affect on a person's well-being and longevity

• Lack of sleep, lack of exercise, alcohol or drug abuse, unhealthy diet, overeating

• More likely to adopt these changes if there is a promise of feeling or looking younger

• Ex. Health craze and societies preoccupation with youth

Smoking and HealthSmoking and Health

• Smoking- most dangerous unhealthy behavior• Remains the foremost cause of preventable

disease in US• Increases risk for heart disease, lung cancer,

emphysema• Other consequences: chronic bronchitis,

respiratory problems,, deaths and injuries from fires, low birth weight infants

• Passive smoking, second-hand smoke• Extremely difficult habit to break

Alcohol Abuse- related health risksAlcohol Abuse- related health risks

• Most frequently abused substance

• Health costs to deal with addiction are staggering

• Can damage every organ in the body- especially the liver

• Cirrhosis kills 26, 000 people per year

• Hereditary component- offspring display same types of response patterns

Health benefits of exerciseHealth benefits of exercise

• Physical and mental fitness• Aerobic exercise: uses large muscle

groups in continuous, repetitive action and increases oxygen intake ,breathing and heart rates

• Many positive benefits including decreased stress, more energy, benefits to immune system, raises good cholesterol, increase in heart efficiency

Alternative MedicineAlternative Medicine

• Vitamins, supplements

• Any treatment or therapy that has not been scientifically demonstrated to be effective

Benefits of Lifestyle ChangesBenefits of Lifestyle Changes

• Losing weight: reduce bad cholesterol, increase good, reduce blood pressure, decrease risk of diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis

• Adding fiber to diet: improved bowel function, decrease risk colon cancer, digestive problems, reduce blood pressure

• Physical activity: many of above as well as reduce feelings of anxiety and sadness

• Stop smoking: improved circulation, improved sense of smell and taste, reduced risk lung infections, long term: reduced risk cancer and heart disease, emphysema