Chapter 3 - Stress Management

List several common psychosocial stressors:

-Adjustment to change -Hassles/The little things that bug you -Interpersonal relationships -Financial and Academic pressure -Frustrations and conflicts -Overload -Stressful environments -Bias and discrimination

List several common internal stressors:

-Appraisal -Self-Esteem -Self-Efficacy

List several types of relaxation techniques that can be useful in managing stress.

-Yoga -Qigong -Tai Chi -Diaphragmatic/Deep Breathing -Meditation -Visualization -Progressive Muscle Relaxation -Massage Therapy -Biofeedback -Hypnosis

What factors affect each individual's response to a specific stressor?

Characteristics of stressors Biological factors Past experiences or fears

What specific effects can chronic stress have on intellectual health?

It affects memory and concentration, leading to the inability to think clearly, focus, or have good judgement as well as impaired short-term memory.

What specific effects can chronic stress have on physical health?

It can cause cardiovascular disease, weight gain, hair loss, diabetes, digestive problems, and impaired immunity.

Progressive Muscle Relaxation

It involves teaching awareness of the feeling of tension and release by systematically focusing on areas of the body; contracting and relaxing different muscle groups while breathing in deeply and slowly exhaling. The standard pattern is to begin with the feet and work your way up your body, contracting and releasing as you go.

What specific effects can chronic stress have on psychological/emotional health?

It may cause structural degeneration and impaired function of the brain, leading to depression, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease as well as an overactive amygdala that may increase rates of violence.

Episodic Acute Stress

The state of regularly reacting with wild, acute stress about one thing or another.

Visualization

Using your imagination to create calming mental scenes. This method can replace stressful stimuli with peaceful or pleasurable thoughts.

What is allostatic load?

Wear and tear on the body caused by prolonged or excessive stress responses.

Self-Esteem

Your sense of self-worth. How you judge yourself in comparison to others.

What is homeostasis?

A balanced physiological state in which all the body's systems function smoothly.

Traumatic Stress

A physiological and mental response that occurs for a prolonged period of time after a major accident, war, assault, natural disaster, or an event in which one may have been seriously hurt, killed, or witness to horrible things.

What is the difference between a stressor and the stress response?

A stressor is any real or perceived physical, social, or psychological event or stimulus that causes our bodies to react or respond. The stress response is a normal response to the demands and changes of life-both positive and negative. The response is individual, physiological and necessary for survival.

Type C Personality

A suppressor who is stoic, denies their feelings or the existence of problems in their world, conforms to the wills of others, and appears calm and in control, even as their world swirls around them. They're possibly susceptible to illnesses such as asthma, multiple sclerosis, autoimmune disorders, and cancer.

Biofeedback

A technique in which a person learns to use the mind to consciously control bodily functions, such as heart rate, body temperature, and breathing rate. Using devices from those as simple as stress dots that change color with body temperature variation to sophisticated electrical sensors, individuals learn to listen to their bodies and make necessary adjustments.

Chronic Stress

An ongoing state of physiological arousal in in response to ongoing or numerous perceived threats.

Methods of stress management that are EMOTIONAL/COGNITIVE

Assessing stressors & solve problems, journaling, and practicing self-compassion in self-talk/self-thought.

Yoga

An ancient practice that combines meditation, stretching, and breathing exercises designed to relax, refresh, and rejuvenate.

Which neurotransmitter is chiefly involved in the stress response?

Adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), norepinephrine/noradrenaline.

Qigong (chee-kong)

An ancient Chinese practice that involves awareness and control of vital body energy/qi and incorporates a series of flowing movements, breath techniques, mental visualization exercises, and vocalization of healing sounds that are designed to restore balance and integrate and refresh the mind and body. Is used by some of the country's largest health care organizations, particularly for people suffering from chronic pain or stress.

Acute Stress

The short-term physiological response to an immediate perceived threat.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

Branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for slowing systems stimulated by the stress response. In effect, it counteracts the actions of the sympathetic branch.

Sympathetic Nervous System

Branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for stress arousal. It energizes the body for fight or flight by signaling the release of several key stress hormones, particularly epinephrine, norepinephrine, and cortisol.

Type D Personality

Characterized by a tendency toward excessive negative worry and anxiety, lack of patience with others, and a quick temper. They tend to be direct and decisive, with an abundance of self-confidence. They're often in leadership and management positions, are risk takers and problem solvers, are relied on for leadership, and enjoy being in charge. These people may be up to eight times more likely to die of a heart attack or sudden death.

Meditation

Comes in many different forms but most involve sitting quietly for 15-20 minutes, focusing your thoughts, blocking the "noise" in your life, controlling breathing, and relaxing. It's believed to calm the physiological responses of stress and has been reported to reduce risks of illness.

Self-Efficacy

Confidence in one's skills and ability to cope with life's challenges.

Diaphragmatic/Deep Breathing

Deep breathing that maximally fills the lungs by involving the movement of the diaphragm and lower abdomen. It's commonly used in yoga and meditative practices.

Methods of stress management that are SOCIAL

Develop a support network, find supportive people, and invest in loved ones.

What's the difference between distress and eustress?

Distress is a negative stress that can a detrimental effect on health. Eustress is a positive stress that presents opportunities for personal growth.

What two hormones produced by the endocrine system contribute to the stress response?

Epinephrine/adrenaline and cortisol.

Methods of stress management that are EMOTIONAL

Fight the anger urge and learn to laugh, be joyful, and cry.

Methods of stress management that are SPIRITUAL

Finding purpose in your life and living your days fully. Find a community of likeminded people.

Methods of stress management that are PHYSICAL

Get enough exercise and sleep and eat healthfully.

Type A Personality

Hard-driving, competitive, time-driven perfectionists. Some Type A's have hardiness, psychological resilience and grit. Whereas others may exhibit a "toxic core" and demonstrate disproportionate amount of anger, distrust, and cynical, pessimistic approach to life otherwise known as hostility.

Tai Chi

Meditation in motion". A Chinese exercise that began as a form of self-defense. It's noncompetitive, self-paced, and involves a defined series of postures or movements done in a slow, graceful manner. Each movement or posture flows into the next without pause. Is used by some of the country's largest health care organizations, particularly for people suffering from chronic pain or stress.

Type B Personality

Relaxed, noncompetitive, and more tolerant of others.

Hypnosis

Requires a person to focus on one thought, object, or voice, thereby freeing the right hemisphere of the brain to become more active. The person then becomes unusually responsive to suggestion.

Massage Therapy

Techniques vary from deep-tissue massage to the gentler acupressure, use of hot rocks on tense muscle groups, and a wide range of other techniques that cause relaxation. It may ease back pain, as well as potentially increase quality of life for cancer and HIV/AIDS patients and those with depression.

What two systems of the body are responsible for the physical response?

The Endocrine and Nervous System.

What is the General Adaptation Syndrome? (And list its 3 phases.)

The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) is the pattern followed in the physiological response to stress, consisting of the alarm, resistance, and exhaustion phases. The Alarm stage: stressor disrupts body's stability, temporarily lowering resistance. The Resistance stage: Adaption resources are mobilized to combat stressor, and body maintains a higher level of resistance The Exhaustion stage: Body runs out of adaptation energy stores for adjusting to stressor, and resistance drops below normal

What is the flight-or-fight reaction, and what symptoms are produced by the systems of the body during this process?

The flight or fight reaction is physiological arousal response in which the body prepares to combat or escape a real/perceived threat. -More blood flows to the brain & senses sharpen -Hearing ability increases -Perspiration increases -Respiration rate increases -Digestive system slows as blood supply is diverted to more critical areas -Blood-clotting ability increases -Immune system activity decreases -Pupils dilate to bring in more light and increase visual perception -Salivation decreases -Heart rate and blood pressure increase -Liver and fat tissues release energy-producing substances (such as glucose) into bloodstream -More blood flows to muscles; muscles tense -Urine production decreases

Appraisal

The interpretation and evaluation of information provided to the brain by the senses. As new information becomes available, appraisal helps us recognize stressors, evaluate them based on past experiences and emotions, and decide whether we can cope.