Module 9: Stress and Health

Type D

"distressed" personality type; people who experience increased negative emotions and avoid self-expression in social interactions; negative prognostic factors for those who have experienced a heart attack

general adaptation syndrome

(GAS) theory proposed by Hans Selye that describes how the body adaptively responds to stress over prolonged periods of time

mindfulness-based stress reduction

(MBSR) a structured stress-reduction program based on the principles of meditation and mindfulness

Identify each of the biopsychosocial factors influencing stress and health. How might culture impact these factors and health/stress in general?

Biological factors: ranges from specific genes inherited by our parents to various structural or physical defects Psychological factors: include many of the intrapersonal and interpersonal cognitive, emotional, and behavioral aspects of stress Social factors: characteristics in one's surrounding environment. It is very important for people to have or at least believe that they have social relationships Culture can play a role in determining both an individual's exposure and response to stress

What is learned helplessness?

It is an example of the reciprocal relationship between stress, thoughts, and behaviors. People who have developed this are typically in a stressful situation in which they see no escape and believe that they are at fault for being in that situation.

How does stress impact diseases and disorders? How can psychological stress management affect diseases and disorders? How do the various relaxation, meditation, and exercise techniques work?

Stress can cause the brain to have increased secretion of stress hormones which then suppress the disease fighting activities of B,T and NK cells. Stress also plays a role in development and maintenance of diseases. Psychological stress management can help to decrease or control amounts of stress. Being able to recognize stress can help you manage it Perceived control: if someone believes that they have control over a situation, it often reduces stress levels. Explanatory style: this is the way in which we explain events to ourselves, to be more optimistic. Coping with stress: deciding how to cope with stress is important because you can't eliminate all stress. Meditation: practice or discipline that involves training the mind to become present, aware and open to experiences. Typically requires more practice than relaxation. Refers to the focusing of one's attention on the conscious awareness of one's experience Relaxation: involves various techniques that help the body and mind relax. Progressive muscle relaxation involves tensing and untensing muscles to relieve tension. Guided imagery is a mental relaxations strategy that involves focusing attention on a peaceful scene or image in your mind, and is often used with deep breathing Exercise: also helps reduce stress and symptoms of depression

Explain the relation between stress and the immune system.

Stress can cause your immune system to be down and therefore you are more likely to get sick. Exposure to sickness + stress = gets sick Our body can also repair itself more easily when its not under stress

What is problematic with definitions of stress? How does stress relate to stressors? What does it mean to call stress a process?

Stress can mean a lot of different things to different people. Definitions have evolved over time to mean several different things. Stress is about an individual's response to a situation they feel unprepared for or unable to navigate. The experiences we encounter in life that cause stress are referred to as stressors and they tend to involve events we perceive as threatening or challenging. Stressors cause stress. Stress is a process in the sense that it involves the interaction between an individual and their environment

What are the three phases of the general adaptation syndrome (GAS)? What is the fight or flight response, and during which phase of GAS is it activated?

The fight or flight response is a term that describes our evolutionary options when faced with a stressor- fighting back or fleeing to safety by releasing epinephrine and norepinephrine The three stages are Alarm: similar to fight or flight response; the body's initial reaction to a threat causing their heart rate to increase and blood to be diverted to the skeletal muscles; cortisol and norepinephrine and epinephrine are released. Your body mobilizes for the potential threat (bodies are great at this) Resistance: temperatures, blood pressure and respiration remain at high levels; hormones are replenished; and the body stays primed to fight the challenge Your body will nest try to resist or cope with the stressor that could not be avoided (our bodies are decent at this- prolonged stress) Exhaustion: if stress is prolonged, the exhaustion stage occurs when the body exhausts all of its coping resources and depletes its reserves; becomes exhausted both physically and mentally **Causes damage to the actual body itself

Biofeedback

a form of stress-management therapy that requires participants to monitor and adjust their own physiological states

relaxation therapy

a group of techniques aimed at helping the body and the mind

biopsychosocial perspective

a perspective in understanding stress and health that includes biological, psychological, and social factors

fight-or-flight response

a physiological response to stress triggered by the release of hormones from the adrenal glands; prepares the body to fight back or flee to safety

Antigens

a toxin or other foreign substance that induces an immune response in the body, especially the production of antibodies

explanatory style

an approach people use to explain why or how events occurred; style can be optimistic or pessimistic

problem-focused coping

an attempt to alleviate stress directly, by eliminating the source of a stressor or by changing behaviors that occur during the stressful situations

behavioral medicine

an interdisciplinary approach to medical treatment that interrates medical, psychological, and sociocultural knowledge to increase life expectancy and enhance quality of life

Psychoneuroimmunology

an interdisciplinary field of study that emphasizes the interaction of psychological, neurological/endocrine, and immunological processes in stress and illness

cognitive appraisal

cognitive interpretation and evaluation of a stressor

emotion-focused coping

influencing one's own emotional response to a stressful situation as a method of coping

primary appraisal

initial evaluation of the seriousness of the stressor and the demands it will require; part of a cognitive appraisal of stress

Antibodies

large, Y-shaped proteins used by the immune system to chemically suppress the damaging effects of antigens

Type B

personality type described as easy-going and relaxed

Type A

personality type described as more competitive, impatient, verbally aggressive, ambitious, and outgoing; more likely to experience a heart attack

Eustress

positive effects that can result from stress; often in relation to positive, yet stressful, situations

coping strategies

psychological methods used to reduce or minimize stress

secondary appraisal

reassessment of a stressful situation that focuses on the resources and actions needed to help overcome the stressor

Mediation

stress management strategy that involves training the mind to become present, aware, and open to experiences

aerobic exercise

sustained exercise that increase heart and lung fitness

social support

the comfort, caring, and helpful available to an individual experiencing stress, from a network of supportive friends and family

Stressors

the experiences we encounter in life that cause stress; events we perceive as threatening or challenging

perceived control

the extent to which an individual believes they are in control of a situation

Distress

the negative effects experienced when confronted with stress

Stress

the perceived discrepancy between the physical or psychological demands of a situation and the individual's biological, psychological, or social resources to cope with the demands

health psychology

the psychological aspect of behavioral medicine that focuses on the development of strategies to eliminate or reduce the risk of illness and disease

acculturative stress

the stress and psychological toll resulting from living in a new culture

Lymphocytes

white blood cells that attempt to attack foreign invaders (antigens) in the body; B cells, T cells, and NK cells are all the types of lymphocytes