Health, Stress and Coping

How can spirituality and religious involvement help people have better physical health? (list)

1. Most doctrines tend to forbid risky behaviours - STD gone, alcohol is poison and that is gone, and so there are lower mortality rates, improved immune system, lower blood pressure, and recover from illness more readily. 2. Boosts social support and increases marital satisfaction (one of the big parts of happiness=optimism=less negative= less wear and tear on body) 3. A sense of meaning and purpose, control over life, positivity (especially in appraisals of stressful situations)

So why believe in CAM medicine?

1. Placebo effect by instilled hope 2. Assumption that natural products like herbs and megavitamins improve health because there is no adverse effects 3. Symptoms of physical disorders come and go, so consumers could attribute relief to the treatment, not changes in the natural course of the illness 4. When CAM treatments accompany conventional ones, they may attribute it to the CAM treatment, rather than the less dramatic conventional one 5. Problem misdiagnosed, not as severe as initially believed

What are four behaviours that can counteract the negative cycles/unhealthy habits (which are often promoting by stress) and promote health (which can maintain healthy habits with reduced stress)?

1. Stop Smoking: seriously, it is gross and god awful for you. It is easily the most preventable risk factor of fatal disease. However, although 60% of smokers want to stop, only about 10% of the 50% whop try to stop succeed, and 1:4 die of smoking related illnesses. Health psychologists really jump to make smoking prevention and treatment a high priority. Keep trying to stop - your chance of quitting increases with each attempt 2. Curb alcohol consumption A lot of people do it, it is legal, but it acts on the brain (causes brain shrinkage and other neurological problems) - including inhibition of neuronal activity; which explains why you can't form memories, can't talk, have a hard time walking. Those who fight when drunk or do other unfavourable things need to remember alcohol doesn't change what you think, just allows you to drop social parameters saying its bad. The guy who fights when he's drunk = dick who wants to fight, but just needs permission. Alcohol is poison, and really screws up the liver (as in fatally) as well as pregnancy complications- and is a massive contributor to crashes. Some studies have hypothesized that maybe alcohol can be healthy - Europeans living longer, drinking 2 and 1/2 glasses of wine a day, so light-moderate drinking is...good for you? Here's some confounds that call bs: 1. Alcohol. Is. Poisonous. there is no good health benefit - correlational design. What kind of person has enough money to buy wine? Who stops after 2 drinks? They don't chug it, they are sippers, they have a life of luxury = less stress, less stress responses, other positive health markers Also those who abstain could be in poorer health to begin with than light or moderate drinkers, chose to do so = no health differences or improvements. 3. Healthy Weight Those who are obese are at heightened risk of heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, arthritis, some types of cancer, respiratory problems and diabetes. Also social and emotional problems that come from teasing and discrimination. Expectations also have an effect - as society has moved to a more slender concept of beauty, society has gotten larger as result. However, diets often don't work - they either are crash diets or completely asinine ones (cabbage soup diet anyone?) that lose water weight and a little more, and then people gain in all back, and no diets help with long term weight loss (and most are usually insanely unhealthy) and people usually stray from these plans and gain weight after six months. Instead, it is better to exercise, monitor total calories and weight, eat foods with good fats, lower salt and caffeine intake, and high fibre food, use social network and watch proportions (don't overeat! Intuitive eating!) 4. Exercise Do it, its good for you. It can lower BP and risk for CHD, improve lung function, relieve arthritic symptoms, decrease diabetes risk and cut risk of Brest and colon cancer, and has a role in relieving depression and anxiety. Simply being in motion for about 30minutes most days of the week (gardening, walking etc.) qualifies, and will help you live longer! Where does the intrinsic satisfaction come from? Intrinsic satisfaction come from working out; the gym kinda sucks, its embarrassing and physically uncomfortable for some people, so health advocates and exercise people try to argue that you just gotta go until you like it. Intrinsically rewarding because you can see and feel a change even though it sucks at the time. However, the people who study it like it - phys ed programs etc. are gym nuts Can't empathize with people who don't like going, need one out-of-shape, cantankerous person to study it to see it from another perspective 4. Follow medical advice Do it? The reason a lot of people don't is because it means your health and life derailed hard enough to need to go to the doctor and have to seek them out. Even then, 30-70% don't follow the advice. If it is a lifestyle change, require you to change diet, start exercising etc. 80% of people WON'T TAKE THE ADVICE Why'd you seek them out and ignore them? With for the "not-me" fallacy - you kinda do the same things with the cars...driving in all season tires, don't go change the oil regularly, here is how you student, nah Brian imma do the flashcards.

What do ulcers have do to with stress/emotions?

A common myth for a long time was that ulcers were associated with adulthood reoccurrence of childhood emotions like feelings of dependancy, and reawakened and activate the GI system, causing the ulcer. However, it is not quite as emotionally related as we once thought - it was found that Helicobacter pylori causes most of the ulcers. However, stress could still play a role because it reduces the efficiency of the immune system, and not everyone with the bacteria develops ulcers.

What is asthma? How is it effected by stress?

A lung disease where the bronchial tubes are inflamed, spasm, and are clogged with mucus making it difficult to breathe. Moments of fear/stress can aggravate these symptoms (again, organs working hard)

What is hardiness?

A measure of generalized stress resistance, quantified by a set of attitudes that cause a person to see change as a challenge rather than a threat, committed to life and work and believe they can control events - studies seem to show that even though people are in high-stress situations, some of them get sick less often. However, its possible that when we are ill, we just don't feel as hardy and thus think negative things and create negative attitudes.

What is the biopsychosocial model of stress-related illnesses?

A model that proposes most medical conditions are neither all physical nor all psychological. The model follows the theory that human behaviour is multiply determined, all intertwined and correlated amongst themselves, and so numerous physical illnesses depend on interplay of genes lifestyle, immunity, social support, everyday stressors and self perceptions. It also believes emotions can contribute to, maintain, or aggravate illness. It is the bio (your body) , the psych (thoughts and beliefs) and the social (having more people around) things that affect stress, and just having people in your life is advantageous. For example, they would see the previous example of a stomach ulcer as a result of stress and anxiety causing acid to be high, low social support causing it to remain high, the unhealthy lifestyle of the stressed person, genetic predisposition to ulcers, instead of simply just being physical or psychological.

Who discovered the general adaptation syndrome, and what did he theorize?

A physician called Hans Selye believed that too much stress leads to breakdown, and argues that we have a system go physiology that responds to stressful circumstances by heightening our body into high gear using the autonomic nervous system in a fight-or-flight response as the body reacts to the stressor.

What is post traumatic stress disorder?

A stress response that follows extremely stressful life events. Symptoms include vivid memories, feelings, and images of traumatic experiences known as flashbacks and an effort to avoid reminders of the event Stressor and individual together make this stress happen, and be more susceptible The reason it occurs is because of a life threatening event with a complete lack of control - and the illusion of control is violated and makes it hard to feel in control again. Modern theorists = PTSD is increasingly researched, as it is becoming more common in certain professions and they are becoming aware of trauma. Still unsure and bickering about what PTSD is

What is the stress as a response theory?

A theory that is very behaviourist - assesses people's psychological and physical reactions to stressful circumstances, using examination of the body's reactions. They don't care about your thoughts or made up, quantifiable numbers - if an organism is stressed, regardless as to why, there will be a biological reaction, and you can recognize this and quantify it through the use of just the physiological state. They look at the heart beat, sweaty palms etc. However, it must have the entire combo, of stressful event, heartbeat, sweat, shakes etc. or there are confounds.

What is acupuncture?

Acupuncture is a practice that functions on the belief of chi - there is a flow in the body, and poking body with needles will redistribute energy/release blocked energy. Needles are placed in meridians, which channel chi/qi - they're probably wrong, and highly unfalsifiable. Even worse? Patients can't tell the difference between amateur and master acupuncturists - they feel the same either way....

Example of stress as a transaction?

Again, exams!! However, this goes further in explaining why exams are stressful. Since, generally, a student is trying to juggle many things at once, their"credit" of stress is maxed out, and the sheer amount of stressors all seem even more stressful. More strung out you are, the more strung out you'll be when the situation comes stressed out

What is stress?

Again, this is a debated. Even though it sucks, it has to exist for some kind of reason. However, is it in degrees? Or is it binary? I believe it is in degrees, there can be varying degrees of stress, depending on the scenario. I think it is an EMOTION (thus degrees, there is degrees of happiness) that prescribes to the two factor theory. Stimulus causes an undifferentiated state of arousal. We seek to explain this automatic arousal, and attribute it to the source (exam, car accident, etc.). Then, we experience an emotion (stress) by labelling it on the source (exam). Then, looking elsewhere, the emotion may change - turn to anger, surprise etc. to engage in behaviour to take the bad thing away. It is because it is a function of cognitive appraisal, and our beliefs about the stimulus (much like the learning chapter, with the variable interval conditioning), except you condition/learn what your ability to handle a stimulus is, and apply that knowledge to the stimulus at hand. Because it is universal and physiological, it is tied to a biological need to react to the stimuli

What the heck are hassles?

Although major life events are stressful at the time of their happening, they aren't the things that stress us out usually. Hassles are minor annoyances or nuisances that can strain our ability to cope. These accumulate and happen all the time. The frequency of, and perceived severity of, hassles are better predictors of physical health, depression, and anxiety than are major life events - even when these major life events are removed from life, hassles still predict the psych adjustment.

Is prevention the best way to stop unhealthy habits?

Although prevention ensures that bad habits are halted earlier, so that there's less likelihood of developing problems later on, an emphasis on the negative aspect of things coupled with positive skills (think DARE) just give kids the language to get the bad things. Instead, there should be a focus on coping skills and managing stress in general, to alleviate the needs for these substances.

What is rumination? Is there a gender difference within it?

An automatic behaviour directly related to our ability to cope with stress - recycling negative thoughts in our mind and focusing on how bad we feel, endlessly analyzing the causes and consequences of our problems. If you keep replaying it, you have to relive the stress, detrimental to health. Women more likely to be ruminators than men; possible associated with increased social intelligence, as they feel the need to replay situations until they understand it. Possibly the difference is also a cultural phenomenon; people interpret male behaviour differently, and men take this on and adopt a more direct (usually physical) approach to solving problems and coping.

What the heck are corticosteroids?

Any of a group of steroid hormones produced in the adrenal cortex or made synthetically - they are a big facet of the application of the stress as a response theory, as the adrenal cortex is what produces the hormones to make these measured physiological processes work.

What occurs during the exhaustion stage?

Any real strategy we have has to cost (calling parents for money, they will be tired of you, max out credit, run out of credit card) which will lead to exhaustion of the resource/strategy Generally though, this stage is a negative downturn in our ability to handle stress because of being in a state of prolonged stress for too long This stage changes depending on how long the person was in the stage of resistance (how maxed out they are) The brain and body has been operating high gear too long, and they start to break down. (This explains why you get sick over the holidays - you maxed out!) Whe. our resistance breaks down, our levels of activation flatlines, which can cause problems from damage to an organ (stomach ulcers) to depression.anxiety (brain breakdown) to a breakdown in immune system.

Positives of the theory of stress as a stimulus?

Artificial boundaries and numbers, but it's useful to get an average of the amount of stress that an event can give. Findings looking at victims of natural disasters shows that stress (and the average rate of stress as a stimulus) that touch the lives of an entire community can increase social awareness and cement interpersonal bonds

What are the five types of control?

Behavioural Cognitive Decisional Informational Emotional

What is the theory of stress as a stimulus?

Believes that stress is a stimulus, events impinging on the person. Stimulus definitions also include conditions arising within the person (like hunger or sex) and arising also from neurological characteristics. Applied by identifying different types of stressful events ranging from job loss to combat, and asking participants how much stress a stimuli has in it. They average the number of stress points and use them as a predictive tools for how much stress the event causes.

What is biofeedback?

Biofeedback is the visible output of biological functioning. Since we can't feel biological happening in our body (especially in the brain) change, this process takes a biological marker and makes it visual. Used for ADHD to manage anxiety, and for migraine headaches Process Strap you to a device, often in a form of video games Intentional, conscious control to make the movie/game come back on Even though that you don't know you're controlling blood flow, learning that intention is giving them control over uncontrollable things observable output of biological functioning

How does the biopsychosocial model explain stress and coronary heart disease (CHD)?

CHD happens when cholesterol collects on the walls of the arteries, causing complete or partial blockage of arteries, and scientists have learned that stress and personality traits are part of the risk factors for this disease Stressful life events also predict heart attacks, high BP and enlargement of the heart. People with CHD show signs of a hyped up autonomic ns, and even though stress can exert a direct effect on CHD, it is also associated with the behaviour risk factors like poor diet and exercise. stress correlates with all manner of heart problems and blood pressure

What is chiropractics?

Chiropractic manipulation, the practice of manipulating the spine to treat a range of pain-related conditions and injuries. The practice was historically based on the idea that irregularities in the alignment of the spine (subluxations) , prevent the nervous and immune systems from functioning properly - this is an energy-based, pseudoscientific practice. Someone made up the "sublexation of the spine" = unhealthy, it caught on and people made it popular. It is important to note that chiropractors are NOT doing anything unique from physical therapy, and is no better.

How does spirituality and religious involvement help with health/stress/coping?

Compared with those who are not religious, they tend to be happier, live longer, have an improved immune system, readily recover from illness. Its unfalsifiable, but yes, belief system could be protecting you. However, much like optimism, because there is a perception that something is protecting you, events are perceived to be less stressful.

What does control have to do with stress?

Control is a way to know we have the ability to predict situations, which knocks out the stress of having to deal with situations on the fly/unprepared. Since stress has something to do with your belief and perception, the more you believe you have the ability to manipulate a situation in your favour, we feel less stressed.

So what are the problems with SRRS?

Doesn't consider crucial factors like interpretation f events, coping behaviours and resources, and difficulty in recalling event accurately (like c'mon memory chapter - we know that we struggle ESPECIALLY with stressful events). Doesn't take into account "chronic" stressors that people experience - like discrimination and differential treatment which are hard to just check off a list Forgets that certain stressors are CONSEQUENCES of psychological disorders, not causes

What are energy medicines?

Energy medicines are medicines based on the idea that our body is governed by "energy" (energy is a placeholder word, but power/force that no human has observed or measured and is regulating my life) and all our ailments come from when these flows are disrupted. An example of this is acupuncture

Do you believe in the stress as a response theory?

For correctness and actual accuracy of prediction, yes. It uses objective, physiological evidence to show the reaction to a stressor, giving the "stress-o-meter" ability to measure stress that the other two don't have. However, it isn't as functional as the other two, so it loses its ease of access and ability to actually apply it to any situation.

What are the positives of defining hassles?

Gives the personal element, you tell me how stressful it is to you How often it happens gives an index of stress levels that is quantifiable!! Legitimate report of numerical value, not personal opinion

What occurs during the alarm reaction stage?

In this first stage, there is an excitation of the autonomic nervous system as energy is produced and the body becomes agitated (car sliding, exam), as well as the discharge of the stress hormone adrenalin, and the physical symptoms of anxiety. Sympathetic ns phenomenon that is physiological and automatic. The amygdala fires to show vital emotional memories associated with the stressful event The hypothalamus, which regulates homeostasis and is the highest order piece of brain in limbic system, controls pituitary gland for hormones The hippocampus, which is the memory center and has a strong role in retrieval, asks "how have I handled situations like this in the past" The adrenalin ups BP, which triggers the fight-or-flight response; if we have no option to flee, fear escalates and the hypothalamus and pituitary gland releases cortisol(energy) and the hippocampus recalls a bunch of images about terrifying things. unning out of time, nothing more to give, bad at dealing with more stress

What is health psychology?

Integrate behavioural sciences with the practice of medicine and contributed to understand the influences of stress and other psychological factors on physical disorders; thinks that our behaviour influences our health

How does social support help with stress/coping/health?

Interpersonal relations with people, groups and the larger community can provide us with emotional comfort, financial assistance and info to make decisions, solve problems and contend with stressful situations. Sizeable correlation between the number of social ties and likelihood of dying over time Amount of social support also helps with dealing with stressors However, if we keep taxing one human for stress related needs, they will get sick, and so we search out more people to spread things out - and the more friends, the more likely that one of them knows things that will help you Careful, causal arrow may go another way, or a third variable - what if you're just a p.o.s? If you don't have a lot of friends because you're a pos, gross people are more likely to die and less likely to have a lot of friends - stressed out, unpleasant turd, it is your turd lifestyle killing you, not the friends

How does the theory of hassles work?

It breaks the question of stressors into two types: 1. How often does it happen 2. How much does it piss you off. Adding these two together = how stressed you are in life.

How does the theory of general adaptation syndrome work?

It is a stage theory with three distinct stages: alarm reaction, resistance, exhaustion. There is a graph associated with it that explains how people respond to stressful situations according to time and how stressful the situation is: X = time, Y = resistance to stress - Interpreted as your ABILITY TO DEAL WITH STRESS!!!! Time (x) by ability to function/deal (y). When a stressor shows up, there is an immediate dip, as you are less able to deal with stressors once you are stressed. Ability to deal with future stresses increases after you got over your initial stress, as you get used to it, but if you keep being exposed to stressor, you will enter exhaustion

Do you believe in the stress as a transaction theory?

Its problems make it have less predictability powers, but it is usable without complicated/inefficient scientific techniques like the stress as a response theory. Its quantifying abilities (making a certain amount of stress credit available to each person, depending on amount of stressors involved will make a person more or less stressed) also puts it above the stress as a stimuli theory in my opinion, as it accounts for the reason why certain stimuli are more stressful than others for different people.

What are the problems with the stress as a response theory?

Its really difficult/clunky/ineffective because it takes a lot to measure the physiological reactions necessary to apply it. We think about stress as a stressor, but when we talk about our own stress levels, its as a stress as a transaction, so we don't ever apply it in actual life - so the lack of viable application, despite its likely correctness makes it useless.

What is the Japanese poison ivy experiment? What did it show?

Made by two Japanese physicians, to show how hypnotic and direct suggestions from a respected authority figure can produce dramatic skin reactions, also shows the deep connection with brain and body and that our belief matters - it is not the amount of stress in stimulus, but in your outlook on it. Our thoughts and beliefs are SO powerful that it can cause the body to kick in with an immune system response. The physicians rubbed (boys unaware of what leaves were on them) leaves on the boys arms, and a respected physician told the boys he was touching them with leaves from the poison tree, when really it was harmless. In the second part, this was reversed (little unethical, but its for scieeeeence). In the first phase - all of the hypnotic kids and all of the suggestion alone kids exhibited hives (remember, it was not rubbed with a poisonous plant) = nocebo effect, beliefs creating reality (body had a predictor - the plant leaves- , so it tried to save them) In the second phase, 4/5 of the hypnotic subjects and 7/8 suggestion subjects had no hives, despite the plant really being the poisonous one Showed that the stressful idea of interacting with an itchy rash can influence a physical process; ie a lot of drs will prescribe anti-depressants below medicinal value, just a sugar pill essentially. They have the belief; I have a disorder, my brain doesn't work, now I have a pill, my brain will work

What does the SRRS measure?

Most of the life events on it are major life transitions, suggesting that it may be how we adapt to changing circumstances, which then (more along the lines of the stress as transaction theory) tax coping abilities. Life events are also often associated with psychological disorders.

Do you believe in this theory of stress as a stimulus?

No - the stress just being a stimulus and being ranked subjectively, as well as the views being averaged, means that a lot of the predictive power is lost, as it misses the true mark of most of the people most of the time.

Example of theory of stress as a stimulus?

One person would rate a stimulus (for example, an exam) with the amount of stress they perceive it holds. Another would rate it as well, and the experimenters would then average the number of points awarded and use them as general predictive tools to apply to the stimulus as a whole.

What is optimism? How does it effect the behaviour and health of people?

Optimism is the interpretation phenomenon in which people (sometimes annoyingly) always see a silver lining. This means that their interpretation of events is not all that negative, and so stress levels aren't high. As a result, they appear to have a lower mortality rate and a more vigorous immune system. However, this could be symptomatic of just being less stressed ( because it is all due to perception!) and so body doesn't take as much wear and tear. It also might just suck less to be a positive person, since they tend to be more productive, focused, persistent, and better at handling frustration.

What is the evidence that depression is part of an anxiety disorder?

Original data came from Solitmen, showing that an organism learns that behaviour saves it from negative things in your life (light turns on, shocked on one side of room, jumps). Let it know shock is coming, and then shock both floor. Heightened anxiety, but if you keep the electrocution going on enough, it just lets it happen. If my behaviour won't help, why do anything. This is depression

What is the immune system?

Our body's defences against invading bacteria, viruses and other potentially illness-producing organisms and substances.

How does the immune system work?

Our first line of defence against these foreign invaders (antigens) is the skin, which blocks the entry of many disease-causing organisms, called pathogens. Saliva, urine, tears, perspiration (layer so things don't get in) and stomach acid also work to keep things out of the bloodstream and our body. Some viruses or bacteria can penetrate these defences, but our second line of defence (phagocytes and lymphocytes - specialized white blood cells) attack them before they hurt us. Phagocytes envelop an invader, then macrophages destroy any remaining antigens and dead tissues. There are two types of lymphocytes (t-cells and b-cells) that help keep us healthy. Cytokines signal for t0cells to attach to proteins on the virus and kill the,. B cells produce antibodies to slow the invaders progress and attract other proteins to destroy the foreign invaders.

What are the challenges of trying to change?

Personal Inertia/Immediacy: trying something new (disrupting the path you are used to travelling on) is hard to overcome, and self destructive habits don't often have immediate effects. first day of anything is the hardest. Object in stand-still want's to stay in stand-still, wants to stay in path of least resistance. Lots of pressure needed for people to take the first step . I'll be better tomorrow. Need to make it alarming today, makes you keep going. Need to make a risk on your life today Risk estimation: underestimate the most common causes of death and overestimate other risks. We are aware of health risks, but don't take them to heart (smokers like to overestimate life expectancy) and there is also rationalization - something will kill me anyway Power and control: some of us feel powerless to change, perhaps because we have been doing the habit for so long. Have to let people know they have control, hard to convince yourself that you are changing, evidence not in sight

How does stress e/affect our immunology in the short-term?

Psychoneuroimmunology shows that our brain and behaviour can affect our immune responses. Prolonged periods of stress increase our chances of catching a cold: long term stressors are especially likely to promote an inflammatory response known to increase the his of colds and other diseases. However: stress could affect health-related behaviours but not immune system - when we are anxious/strung out we are usually not being hygienic, which increases the gross things that can get in. Wounds take longer to heal if stressed out; did this with rats - cut them, put some in a nice place, the other is strung out and in a barren place and the nice place takes less time

What is complementary medicine?

Refers to products and practices used TOGETHER with conventional medicine (still with little alternative evidence)

What is homeopathy?

Remedies based on the premise that if you consume a super diluted dose of a substance known to produce and illness in a healthy person, will alleviate that illness. They believe that the "memory" of the substance is enough to stimulate a body's defence - water remembers what has been in it, the more diluted, the stronger it gets. Basically, they take one unit of medicine, and dilute it into litre of water, and dilute each 100th in it, and dilute it into another litre of water etc. so the power of the medicine is diluted hundreds of times. Probable that they are selling water that at one time had a little bit of meds and no longer does....

What is the social readjustment scale?

Scientists that prescribe to the theory of stressors as stimuli (events impinge on the person, they behave in according to their appraisals of the stimuli) developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale as a measurement for the amount of stress 43 life events puts on someone, as rated by the participant.

How do you measure religiosity to make these correlations? What are the hardships with this?

Sometimes measured by how often people attend church etc. and found that it is associated with better physical health. Confound: sick people aren't about to attend church and spread it so....

Negatives about the stress as a transaction theory?

Still has all of the problems that the stress as a stimulus theory does; different stimuli will be differentially stressful depending on the person (low predictability) and the amount of stress dollars a stimuli will cost us is also different in each person, so the theory is just making up numbers Unusuable, no stress-ometer, will miss the mark every time

What is anxiety and depression? What does it have to do with stress?

Stress causes anxiety, and evolutionarily is meant to be an advantage, as it heightens your awareness and arousal - but if your brain cannot absolve/you cannot escape the stressful situation, the feeling persists, and the tax on the body given by anxiety can turn into learned helplessness - the body learns that behaviour (the pounding heart, etc.) cannot save you, so the solution is to "stop behaving" This sound like a familiar, but different mental health disorder? You're right - depression is probably an anxiety disorder; and its symptoms include this lack of affect, ability, investment. The longer we are exposed to stress and the longer we feel helpless or powerless to fix our situations, the higher the chance that the anxiety changes into depression

Negatives of the theory of stress as a stimulus?

Subjective of individual Can a number ever predict your stress? Miss the mark for most people most of the time

What is the problem about always suppressing and avoiding emotions?

Taking the effort to suppress and avoid negative emotions may return in full or with greater force, because it doesn't allow for natural coping mechanisms; accepting circumstances and feelings that are unchangeable and finding positive ways to think about and process our problems are the most efficient and healthy way to deal with stressful situations.

What is flexible coping?

The ability to adjust coping strategy according to the situation

What is the problems with crisis debriefing?

The gathering of people to discuss their negative emotions post trauma could encourage PTSD as it interferes with their natural coping strategies Talking about emotions when upset doesn't help us, there is no benefits unless we can think about and work thorough it in constructive environments

What is an example of using problem-focused coping vs avoidance-oriented coping?

The stressful event in this scenario is a suddenly remembered psychology final exam, Brian style, that is happening in ONE DAY. This means we know it will be cumulative, and we are expected to apply our knowledge to achieve the grade we want. Problem focused coping would mean identifying the stressful problem as not being prepared for the test, and then focusing and completing the ideas to fix the problem. This would entail talking to people about the theories, debating them over breakfast, talking them over in your room alone and chipping away chapter by chapter. This fixes the problem of not being prepared for the test in an active way Avoidance-oriented coping would mean that a student would also identify the stressful problem as not being prepared for the test, and instead of studying as much as they could in the time they had, they would hide away in Netflix because they gave up hope of ever being prepared, and distract themselves from the misery

What are manipulative and body based medicine?

These practices are a form of alternative medicine that believes the body is perfect, sacred and has capacity to keep itself healthy all of the time; just need to return body to aligned state to cure itself.

What is the tend or befriend response?

This is a pattern of coping often characterized by women where women rely on their social contacts and nurturing abilities (tending to those around them and to themselves) more than men do. While stressed out, they have an automatic need to reach out to other people. Evolutionarily explained because women tend to have more to lose then men, especially if they're pregnant nursing or caring for children), they've developed a tend and befriend response, in addition to the flight/fight response to boost their odds of survival. However, if you find yourself stressed out (which to reiterate, is a negative mental and physiological state when our ability to cope is not matched to the situation) - we think that if our friends were good enough support, we wouldn't be stressed. So we are unlikely to reach out to the people you know, expand relationships and improve odds of coping, since our current friends aren't helping.

What is informational control? What kind of coping is part of this control?

This is the ability to acquire information about a stressful event, and is the proactive control that allows us to prepare. The more you know, the more prepared you are and can control a situation, as the more information you have, the more informed decision you can make about the situation. The kind of coping that is part of this control is proactive coping, which is coping that when we anticipate stressful situations, we take steps to prevent or minimize difficulties before they arise. Perceive stressful circumstances as opportunities for growth

What is decisional control?

This is the control over how your decisions are made - we can't predict whether our ideas will turn out positively, which makes us feel bad! Since we don't want to stress about decisions, we like to shunt responsibility off to someone else to control the stress around it being YOUR decision that screws up.

What occurs during the resistance stage?

This is the stage in which you adapt to stressor and finds ways to cope with it As soon as hippocampus detected danger opened up a gateway to cerebral cortex, which is the logic, problem-solving, anything "executive" part of the brain that allows this to be the problem solving stage. We begin to search for old coping strategies and endeavour to rationalize actions with our reactions, and start employing any techniques we have as we ask: "What have I done in the past? What can I do now?" Basal ganglia (control of voluntary motor movements, procedural learning, habit learning, eye movements, cognition, and emotion) control for any thoughts of unnecessary movement (rationalizing of our actions to reaction). This is when we start to think about the positive and calming facts (statistically safer to fly then to drive, etc.) and force ourselves to start breathing.

What in the heck is psychoneuroimmunology?

This is the study of the relationship between the immune system and the central nervous system, a health psychology perspective that try to understand why immune issues are happening.

What is behavioural control? What are the two kinds of coping we see used with this kind of control?

This is your ability to step up and control your behaviour (you know what to do to make yourself do something) in order to calm down in a stressful situation or prevent the situation from reoccurring. We see 2 kinds of coping: either an active kind called problem-focused that entails, well, actually solving the problem or... Avoidance-oriented coping = avoiding action to solve problems, make ourselves feel calmer in the moment.

What is the theory of stress as a transaction?

This theory emphasizes that stress is subjective, and argues that because people react differently to stressors, stress isn't just a stimulus, but a transaction between people and their environments. Certain situations demand a certain amount of your resources to handle them. A critical factor of this is our appraisal of our situation of the event. There is a primary appraisal, deifying whether the event is harmful, and then make a second appraisal of our ability to cope/figuring out how many resources you have to expend on the stress. This explains the variance between people. If the situation is too stressful, or there is too many stressful events, you do not have enough resources, and begin to break down, but if you have enough "stress" credit remaining, you won't be stressed.

How do personality types factor in to CHD?

Type A personality? Type D personality? Research (biopsychosocial) suggests that behaviour patterns can contribute to risk - especially those with personalities that are competitive, ambitious and impatient... ie type A. The "full speed ahead" personality means organs are also working in high gear all of the time Now its a question of which part of the Type A personality traits are associated with higher risk

What is emotional control? What is the coping mechanism (a specific thing!) associated with this kind of control?

ability to suppress and express emotions. If we can't control immediate decisions, at least we get to control who we express our emotions (which often renders us vulnerable) to. Catharsis

What is cognitive control? What kind of coping does this type of control include?

control the thought you want, not your automatic, but can change your interpretation; Think differently about negative emotions that arise in response to stress-provoking events. Emotion-focused coping: comes when we adjust to uncertain situations or aversive events we can't control. It involves trying to reduce the negative emotional responses associated with stress such as embarrassment, fear, anxiety, depression, excitement and frustration, which may be the only realistic option when the source of stress is outside the person's control. Emotion focused coping techniques include: Distraction, emotional disclosure, praying, meditation, Eacomfort food. ting more, e.g. Drinking alcohol. Using drugs. Journaling, e.g. writing a gratitude diary (Cheng, Tsui, & Lam, 2015). Cognitive reappraisal. This is a form of cognitive change that involves construing a potentially emotion-eliciting situation in a way that changes its emotional impact (Lazarus & Alfert, 1964). Suppressing (stopping/inhibition of) negative thoughts or emotions. Suppressing emotions over an extended period of time compromises immune competence and leads to poor physical health (Petrie, K. J., Booth, R. J., & Pennebaker, 1988).

What is cognitive control?

control the thought you want, not your automatic, but can change your interpretation; Thinking differently and controlling the way you perceive negative emotions that come with response to stress-provoking events, With this kind of control, we see emotion-focused coping, which helps us adjust to uncertain, unpredictable events we can't control. So instead, we control our emotions. This kind of coping involves trying to reduce the negative emotional responses associated with stress such as embarrassment, fear, anxiety, depression, excitement and frustration, which may be the only realistic option when the source of stress is outside the person's control; this includes: Distraction Talking/writing about your emotions Praying for guidance and strength. Meditation Eating more, usually comfort food. Drinking/drugs Suppressing. HOWEVER: suppressing emotions over an extended period of time compromises immune competence and leads to poor physical health.

What is alternative medicine?

health care practices and products used IN PLACE of conventional medicine with much less evidence of safety and effectiveness (*cough* essential oils *cough*)