Chapter 11: Health and Well-being

Coping response

any response an organism makes to avoid, escape from, or minimize an aversive stimulus.

Psychologists typically think of stress as falling into two categories: Major life stressors Daily hassles

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General Adaptation syndrome

1. Alarm stage: emergency reaction that prepares the body to fight or flee. physiological responses, like release of cortisol and epinephrine are aimed at boosting physical abilities while reducing activities that make the organism vulnerable to infection after injury. body is most likely to be exposed to infection and disease, so the immune system kicks in and the body begins fighting back. 2. Resistance stage: the defenses prepare for a longer, sustained attack against the stressor. immunity to infection and disease increases somewhat as the body maximized its defenses. 3. exhaustion stage: variety of physiological and immune system fail. body organs that were already weak before the stress are first to fail

General Adaptation syndrome

A consistent pattern of responses to stress that consist of three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

There are sex differences in how we respond to stressors

Flight-or-fight response: physiological preparedness of animals to deal with danger. within seconds or minutes, this response to a stressor allows the organism to direct all energy to dealing with a threat at hand. the HPA axis was an efficient system. physical reaction includes increased heart rate, redistribution of the blood supply from skin and viscera (digestive organs) to muscles and brain, deepening of respiration, dilation of pupils, inhibition of gastric secretions, and increase in glucose released from liver. food digestion postponed (autonomic activities) exclusion of females from flight or fight response sutdies say distorted understanding of responses to stress between sexes. most researchers avoided using women because of period patterns, they are harder to study. women's responses can be influened by fluctuations of circulating hormones that vary in cycles. Result is sex inequality in lab stress studies. Females respond to stress by protecting and caring for their offspring, as well as forming alliances with social groups to reduce risks to individuals, including themselves.

11.1 Can Psychosocial Factors Affect Health

Health and Wellness can't only be thought about in biological and medical terms. Behaviors and attitudes affect health too. Currently, psychologists and medical professionals take a more holistic and active approach to health and well-being. They believe our behaviors and attitudes are critical in keeping us healthy.

Stress has physiological components

Hypothalamic-pituary-adrenal (HPA)- biological system responsible for stress response. A stressor activates a complex chain of events, known has the HPA axis. Stress begins in the brain. A stressful event is perceived. Various brain areas activated and hypothalamus activated. In the HPA axis, the hypothalamus sends a chemical message to the pituitary gland (a major gland located just below the brain). In turn, the pituitary gland secretes the hormone ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) ACTH travels through the bloodstream and eventually reaches the adrenal glands (located near the kidneys). Adrenal glands secrete cortisol which increases the amount of glucose in the blood stream. The adrenal glands also release norepinephrine and epinephrine, which activate the sympathetic nervous system, increasing blood pressure, heart rate, and other sympathetic responses. All of these actions help the body prepare to respond to the stressor. Hormones have long lasting effects, stress therefore affects organs after the stressor has been removed. in human and nonhuman animals, excessive stress disrupts working memory, an effect that is especially noticeable when the demands on working memory are high. chronic stress has been associated with long term memory impairments: cortisol damages neruons in brain areas such as hippocampus, which is important for storing long term memories. stress also interferes with the ability to retrieve info from long term memory.

Behavior contributes to the leading causes of death

Many people are anxious about flying. according to statistics abt the leading causes of death, we probs are fearing the wrong things After 9/11 attacks, people avoided flying and instead drove. number of people who died in car accidents was higher than those that died in the attacks. People are likely to die from causes that stem from their own behaviors, which they learn to modify. Most common cause of death in US in 2007 was heart disease. obesity, lack of exercise, smoking, high fat diets, and personality traits contribute. (behavior) we can all change our behaviors in a way to reduce likelihood of heart disease or postpone it until late in life. Life style behaviors that begin in childhod and teen years may decrease health or even lead to death. Back in day leading causes of death were childbirth, infectious diseases, and accidents. Now, abundance of cheap bad food. homicide and death leading causes of death in teens and young adults. many are accidents that can be preventable. placebos affect our neural processes in ways similar to biologically active treatments

Primary Appraisals

Part of the coping process that involves making decisions about whether a stimulus is stressful, benign, or irrelevant. When we decide that stimuli are stressful we use secondary appraisals.

11.4 Can a positive attitude keep us healthy

Positive psychology emphasizes well being. Happiness has 3 components: 1. positive emotion and pleasure 2. engagement in life 3. meaningful life wealthiest countries have highest levels of satisfaction

individual differences in coping: Hardiness

Some people seem stress resistant because they are so capable of adapting to life changes by viewing events constructively. This personality trait is called "hardiness". Hardiness has three components: commitment, challenge, and control. People high in hardiness are committed to their daily activities, view threats as challenges or as opportunities for growth, and see themselves as being in control of their lives. People low in hardiness typically are alienated, fear or resist change, and view events as being under external control. People high in hardiness report fewer negative responses to stressful events. in response to stressors, high in hardiness people increased the number of positive thoughts they had about themselves. those highest in resilience are able to use their emotional resources flexibly to meet the demands of the stressful situation. show emotional flexibility but they recover from threats more quickly those those low in resilience. people can become more resilient by following concrete steps. coming to understand when particular emotions are adaptive, learning specific techniques for regulating both positive and negative emotions, and working to build healthy social and emotional relations with others.

Gary Stocklaufer

Was going to adopt his cousin's son but judge said he couldn't because he was obese. AFSA asked Fath=poor parenting?? Gary went gastric bypass and lost 200 pounds. Judge reversed his earlier ruling. One of many cases where fat people denied option to adopt

Health Pscyhology

a field that integrates research on health and on psychology; it involves the application of psychological principles to promote health and well-being. importance of lifestyle factors to physical health.

The Biopsychosocial Model of Health incorporates Multiple perspectives for understanding and improving health

a model of health that integrates the effects of biological, behavioral, and social factors on health and illness. How a person's personality, thoughts, behaviors affect their health biological: genetic predisposition behavior: lifestyle, stress, health beliefs social: cultural influences, family relations, social support Our thoughts and actions affect the environments we choose to interact with, and those environments in turn affect the biological underpinnings of our thoughts and actions. Ex. say your are genetically predisposed to be anxious. you learn that one way to reduce your anxiety is to eat comfort foods like icecream. if you consume tese foods in excess, you may gain weight and eventually become overweight. overweight people often find that exercise is not very pleasant. if their extra weight makes even moderate exercise difficult, they decrease their physical activity. that decrease would slow down their metabolism. the slower metabolism would cause them to gain weight. This circle would repeat. Interplay of biological, social, and psychological factors.

Type A behavior pattern

a pattern of behavior characterized by competitiveness, achievement orientation, aggressiveness, hostility, restlessness, impatience with others, and inability to relax. more likely to have heart disease research found the original list of traits too broad and only certain components of type a behavior pattern lead to heart disease. most toxic behavior is hostility and depression, and angry. causes wear and tear on heart. identified biological pathways that lead from being angry and hostile to developing heart disease. heart suffers and so does other organs too. chronic pulmonary disease: a progressive condition in which airflow to the lungs is reduced. connection between hostility and this disease. universal

Type B behavior patern

a pattern of behavior characterized by noncompetitive, relaxed, easy going, and accommodating behavior. less likely to have heart disease

Prolem-focused coping

a type of coping in which people take direct steps to confront or minimize a stressor. generating alternative solutions, weighing their costs and benefits, choosing between them. people adopt this process when they perceive stressors as controllable and are experiencing only moderate levels of stress.

Emotion focused coping

a type of coping in which people try to prevent having an emotional response to a stressor. person adopts strategies, often passive to numb the pain, incllude avoidance, minimizing the problem, trying to distance oneself from the outcomes of the problem, or engaging in behaviors like drinking or eating. high levels of stress , uncontrollable don't solve the problem or prevent it from occuring in future

Stressor

an environmental event or stimulus that threatens an organism

Placebo effect

an improvement in health following treatment with a placebo--with a drug or treatment that has no apparent physiological effect on health condition for which it was prescribed. good example of biopsychosocial model at work

Major life stressors

are changes or disruptions that strain central areas of people's lives. choices made by individuals, not just things that happen to them. ex. buying a house or having a baby.

Types of coping: 2 categories Emotion focused coping and problem focused coping

best way to cope with stress depends on personal resources and the situation. most people use both emotion focused and problem focused. emotion focused helps for short run. problem focused works if person with the problem can do something about the situation

Biopsychosocial model

central to understanding the diff between traditional medical model and the approach taken by health psychologists traditional model : individual is passive health psychologists: individuals thoughts, feelings, behaviors are central to improving health

Restrained eating

chronic dieters prone to excessive eating in certain situations if they feel they have eaten high calorie foods, they abandon their diets. their mind sets become "i ruined my diet so i might as well just keep eating" many restrained eaters diet through the workweek. on the weekend, when they are faced with increased food temptations and less structure environments, they lose control Experiment: restrained eaters and unrestrained eaters each had a large milk shake. when the restrained eaters then viewed pictures of appetizing food, they had increased activity in brain regions connected with reward. but unrestrained eaters viewed same pictures, the reward activity in their brain was reduced. reward systems in brains of restrained eaters seems to encourage more eating after the eaters break their diets. stress is also factor. binge eating by restrained eaters depends on their "perceptions" of whether they have broken their diets. dieters can have 1000 calorie cesar salads and think their diet is fine but eating a 200 calorie chocolate bar they feel they have ruined their diet. problem is that they rely on cognitive control of food intake. rather than eating according to internal staties of hunger and satiety, they eat according to rules, like time of day, number of calories, and type of food. if they feel food is healthy, whether it is or not, they eat more of it.

Anticipatory coping

coping that occurs before the oneset of a future stressor how to tell kid when parents are planning a divorce

Heart disease

coronary heart disease is leading cause of death for adults in the industrialized world. higher in men. heart disease still number one killer in women. two important determinants are health behaviors and a small number of personality traits related to the way people respond to stress. Heart pumps 2000 gallons of blood each day. beating avg. 100,000 times. vast network of blood vessels carry oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. as people age, the arteries leading from the heart become narrow due to the buildup of fatty deposits, known as plaque. this narrowing makes harder for the heart to pump blood and leads to coronary heart disease. when pieces of plaque break off from the wall of a blood vessel, blood clots form around the plaque and interrupt blood flow. if a clot blocks a vessel that feed the heart, the blockage causes a heart attack. if a clot blocks a vessel that feeds the brain, blockage causes a stroke.

Bulimia nervosa

eating disorder characterized by dieting, binge eating, and purging. 1-2 % of women in high school/college meet definitional criteria. tend to be of average weight or a bit overweight. they regularly binge-eat, feel their eating is out of control, worry about weight, and engage in behaviors like self induced vomiting, excessive exercise, or the abuse of laxatives. binge eating behavior tends to occur secretly. dental, cardiac, fatal disorders

in Hostage situation, what would you do

emotion focused people experienced less stress because they assumed any resistance they offered would just put them in greater danger. best strategy was to remain calm. problem focused would be unuseful

Traditional medical Model

emphasizes disease states and the treatments (drugs) designed to get rid us of disease. People are considered passive recipients of disease and of the medical treatments designed to return them to health after illness. Health professionals know best and maintain control over what happens to to the patient.

binge eating disorder

engage in binge eating at least twice weekly but the don't purge. many are obese. more common among males and ethnic minorities and it tends to start at later ages. similar to bulimia but they don't purge. eating disorders tend to run in families. genetics increase in eating disorders suggests that when people have genetic predispositions for eating disorders, they will tend to develop the disorders if they live in societies with an abundance of food. bulimia: more culture bound. cultural variations anorexia: prevalent in all societies with abundance of food

NAAFA: national association to advance fat acceptance

exists to help fat people fight "size discrimination" as in being denied the right to be an adoptive parent. they do not oppose attempts to lose weight nor do they dispute the research indicating seious health risks for obese people. But after experiencing repeated disappointments with diets, they realize they are likely to be fat and that they must learn to accept themselves and to educate society about obesity.

Tend and befriend response

females tendency to protect and care for their offspring and form social alliances rather than flee or fight in response to threat.

ethnic differences in health behaviors

genetics, access to affordable health care, culture factors acculturations: extent to which individuals assimilate the customs, values, beliefs, and behaviors of mainstream culture is important in understanding why diff groups have different healths. US. compared to EU americans, hispanics/blacks are more obese. they are less likely to smoke or drink alcohol than are eu americans and asian americans. but hispanics/blacks/asians less likely to exercise eat right. japanese tend to live long lives.

Anorexia nervosa

have an excessive fear of becoming fat and thus a refusal to eat. often begins at adolescence. evidence that race and class are no longer defining characteristics of eating disorders. change might have come around due to media images of a thin ideal having permeated all corners of society. fewer than 1 in 100 young girls meet clinical criteria of anorexia nervosa. criteria include both objective measures of thinness and psychological characteristics that indicate an abnormal obsession with food and body weight. they view themselves as fat despite being at least 15 percent to 25 percent underweight. medical attention needed to prevent death from starvation. difficult to treat since patients maintain the belief that they are overweight or not as thin as they would like to be. loss of bone density, and about 15-20% eventually die. literally starve themselves to death. amenorrhea: absence of at leasat 3 consecutive period cycles

exercise has physical emotional and cognitive benefits

helps control appetitie, control metabolism, burn calories essential element for any weight control program enhances neorogenesis: growth of new neurons and neural connections and syaptogenesis, production of new synaptic connections enhanced memory and cognition aerobic exercise: kind that temporarily increases breathing and heart rate-promotes neurogenesis. additional neurons created through exercise result in largerbreain and the brain region that experiences the most growth is the hippocampus (memory/cognition) also good for cardiovascular health. at least 30 min of daily exercise is associated with the most positive mental state. good for treatment of depression /alcoholism faster healing time

Oxtocin

hormone that is important for mothers in bonding to newborns and may encourage affiliation during social stress. produced in hypothalmus and released into the blood stream through the pituary gland. levels high for women not men.

Smoking is leading cause of death

increasing numbers smoking in low income countries. 5.4 million deaths caused by tobacco each year. 1 in 5 american adults was a current smoker. decreases life by 12 years. blamed for more than 440,000 deaths per year in US Many smokers begin in childhood or early adolescence last decade has seen reduction in adolescent smoking smoking causes health probs for nonsmoking bystanders. led to ban of smoking in public/private places.

General adaptation syndrome is a bodily response to stress

injecting rats with hormones from other animals. tried different types of chemicals, and he even physically restrained the animals to create stressful situations. found that each manipulation produced roughly the same pattern of physiological changes: enlarged adrenal glands, decreased levels of lymphocytes (specialized white blood cells) in the blood, and stomach ulcers. the decreased lymphocytes result from damaged lymphatic structures--damage to part of the immune system. together the enlarged adrenal glands, damage to immune system, and stomach ulcers reduce the organism's potential ability to resist additional stressors. Hallmarks of a nonspecific stress response. Called patter general adaptation syndrome.

Restrictive dieting does not work

most diets fail mostly because of the body's natural defense against weight loss. body weight is regulated around a set-point determined primarily by genetic influence. ex. prisoners challenged to increase their body weight by 25%. consumed more than 7000 calories daily doubling intake. reality should have gained like 170 pounds but few inmates gained more than 40 pounds. most lost the weight when they went back to normal eating. those who didn't lose the weight had family histories of obesity. short term and long term effects of semistarvation. although it is possible to alter body weight, the body responds to weight loss but slowing down metabolism and using less energy. after body has been deprived of food, it needs less food to maintain a given body weight. weight gain occurs much faster in previously starved animals than would be expected. Body weight is socially contagious. close friends of the same sex tend to be similar in body weight. even when close friends live far apart from each other, if one friend is obese, other one is likely to be obese as well. implicit agreement on what body weight is acceptable or normal.

The stigma of obesity

most western cultures, obese people are viewed less attractive, less socially adept, less smart, and less productive than their normal weight peers. Seeing yourself as overweight is linked to depression , anxiety, or low self esteem. most of obesity research with humans is correlational. can't say one factor causes the other. can't do experiment assign people to conditions of depression, anxiety, or low self esteem. Not all cultures stigmatize obesity. African nations being obese is a sign of upperclass. obesity may be desirable in developing countries because it helps prevent some infectious diseases, reduces likelihood of starvation, and is associated with having successful births. status symbol too. show one has money to eat luxouriously But in most industrialized cultures, food is generally abundant. being overweight is associated with lower socioeconomic status, especially for women. upper classse have thin body types. typical women in fashion industry are 5'11 and weight like 110 pounds. standard represented by models is 7 inches taller and 55 pounds lighter than avg woman in US. fat people are one of the last marginal groups that are still targeted. its ok to make fun of fat people.

Genetic influence

obesity tends to run in families. half of variability in body weight can be considered result of genetics. found that bmi of adopted children was strongly related to bmi of their biological parents and not at all to the bmi of their adoptive parents. Heritability: proportion of variability, in a population, attributed to genetic transmission of a trait from parents to their offspring. Body weight heritability 60-80%. Similarity of body weight of identical twins does not differ for twins raised together vs. twins raised apart. genetics has far more effect on body weight than does environment then why has obesity doubled over past few decades if genes determine body weight? Genetics determines whether a person will become obesee. but environment determines whether that person will become obese. Genetics determines sensititivty to environmental influences. within twin pairs, there was a striking degree of similarity in how much weight they gained and in what parts of the body they stored the fat.

Family-focused inteventions and autonomy

one of the most stressful events in life is dealing with illness or pain. including family members in a treatment plan is often not effective. major prob is enlisting fambam is that the patient may feel as though family members are controlling his her life rather than helping. family interventions can be beneficial, when family members promote the patient's autonomy. 1. motivating patient to make his/her health and life choices and to carry out the activities of everyday living 2. modeling healthy behaviors 3. providing rewards 4. pointing out the positive consequences of caring for one's illness cane prepare food for the patient or help patient practice relaxation techniques.

Pain

pain is more than just a sensory experience. how much pain people feel depends on many variables including--- context (being on battlefiend vs. home), expectations (feeling anxious or calms about a potentially painful experience), thoughts about the pain (imagining it as less unpleasant) calm==less pain. important part of getting well is reducing anxiety. placebos can reduce pain perception when people believe they will

Secondary appraisals

part of the coping process during which people evaluate their response options and choose coping behaviors. making cognitive appraisals can help us prepare for stressful events.

Stress

pattern of behavioral psychological, and physiological responses to events, when the events match or exceed the organism's ability to respond in a healthy way. Positive and negative life changes are stressful. stress of going to college vs. stress of final exam. when too much is expected of us or when events are scary or worrisome, we perceive a discrepancy between the demands of the situation and the resources of our biological, psychological, and social systems. Divided into two types : Eustress and Distress (Duress)

Obesity results from a genetic predisposition and overeating

people are considered obese if they are 20% over ideal body weight. one measure of obesity is Body Mass Index. BMI. ratio of body weight to height. obesity is example of biopsychosocial model of health. dramatic increase in western nations. increased from 15--> 33%. numbers higher for racial and ethnic minorities with nearly half of mexican american/african american classified as obese. extreme obesity having a BMI over 40 = 1 in 20 americans. percentage of obese children has quadrupled. obesity has doubled around the globe. 1. overeating--people do when stressed but obese people try multiple diets and other "cures" for fat, but dieting is ineffective in achieving permanent weight loss. usually regain it back. Availability of food is a factor in maintenance of weight. having variety makes us eat more. and eat more when portions are larger. overweight people show more acitivity in reward regions of the brain when they look at good tasting foods than normal weight invdividuals.. 1. variety of high calorie foods 2. large portions

11.3 What behaviors affect mental and physical health?

people now most likely to die from heart disease, cancer, strokes, lung disease, and accidents. partial outcomes of lifestyle. stress plays big role in motivating each of these health threatening behaviors.

Placebos can be powerful medicine

placebo: sugar pill. you go to doctor, doctor doesn't think anything is wrong with you but to keep you happy he gives you a placebo. you think pill will work because the doctor said it would and then you feel better. have no apparent physiological effect on health condition for which they are prescribed. Scientists often study a drug or treatment by comparing it with a placebo (control group). ideally everything about experimental group and control groups is similar as possible. same looking drug, same dosages, dietary restrictions. some participants on placebo pill get well. placebo effect. when you are suffering , seek appropriate treatment. when you are well, take preventative measures. for placebo to improve health, participant must believe it will. person must not know it is a sugar pill. Strongest placebo effects: the placebos that produce a minor physical reaction that people associate with drug effects like having a dry mouth. some portion of the placebo effect is attributable to decreased anxiety that can reduce pain and help recovery. placebo effect is all in the head but the effect is real. can't separate the effects of our minds from those of our bodies.

Broaden-and-build theory

positive emotions prompt people to consider novel solutions to their problems. resilient people tend to draw on their positive emotions in dealing with setbacks or negative life experiences

Well-being

positive state that includes striving for optimal health and life satisfaction where we feel our best. to achieve this we have to actively participate in health-enhancing behaviors.

starting smoking

powerful social influences as leading cause of adolescent smoking false consensus effect: overestimate the number of adolescent and adult smokers being a smoker--> tough, sociable, good with members of opp. sex. tough cool. enhance self images and public images. smokers on tv and movies shown as glamorous and appeal. casual smokers become addicted. drug nicotine in tobacco is important in motivating and maintaiing smoking behavior.

Daily hassles

small, day to day irritations and annoyances like waiting in line or getting stuck in traffic. are stressful and their combined effects can be comparable to the effects of major life changes. they pose a threat to coping responses by slowly wearing down personal resources. More intense and frequent hassles, the poorer the physical and mental health of the participant. people may habituate to some hassles but not to others

Being positive has health benefits

social support is associated with good health marriage is good for health. one small diff between countries , collectivist countries benefits of marriage higher trusting others is associated with better health hormone oxytocin appears to increase trust spirituality contributes to wellbeing being socially integrated in a group==better health

The immune system

stress alters the functions of the immune system. When foreign substances such as viruses, bacteria, or allergens enter the body, the immune system launches into action to destroy the invaders. Stress interferes with this natural process. Field of psychoneuroimmunology studies the response of body's immune system to psychological variables. short term stress boosts immune system. chronic stress weakens it, leaving body less able to deal with infection. Bad effects of long term stress on health due to decreased lymphocyte production. this decrease renders the body less capable of warding off foreign substances. Those who reported highest levels of stress before being exposed to cold viruses, developed worse symptoms. More desirable events a person reported, the greater the antibody production against a virus.

Heart Disease

stress and negative emotions increase risk of coronary heart disease. 1. people often cope with these states through behaviors that are bad for health like overeating, drinking a lot, or smoking. 2. over time stress causes wear and tear on the heart, making the heart more likely to fail. chronic stress leads to overstimulation of the sympathetic nervous system causing higher blood pressure, constriction of blood vessels, and greater buildup of plaque on arteries. People who tend to be sstressed out are more likeley to have heart disease compared to those who tend to be laid-back

Stress affects health

stress hormones are essential to normal health, but long term they negatively affect health. Stress can mess up immune system, cardiac disease, diabetes, declining sexual interest, and dwarifsm in kids. chronic stress associated with initiation and progression of disease like cancer aids and cardiac disease many people cope with stress by engaging in damaging behaviors. number one reason problem drinkers give for abusing alcohol is coping with distress.

11.2 how do we cope with stress

stress is a daily part of our lives but it doesn't exist objectively out in the world. it results directly from the ways we think about events in our lives.

Distress (Duress)

stress of negative events. studying for final exams Most people use stress in terms of referring to negative events, but both distress and eustress put strains on the bodies.

Eustress

stress of positive events. going to college.

11.5 action plan for health and well-being

taking care of mind and body to be healthy, people need to cope with stress, regulate their emotions, and control their daily habits 1. eat natural foods: whole grains, fruits, veggies, meats. avoid artificial/trans fats 2. watch portion size. eat only when you're hungry. eat small snacks in between meals helps you not to overeat 3. drink alcohol in moderation, if at all. 4. keep active 5. no smoking 6. practice safe sex 7. learn to relax 8. learn to cope 9. build stronger support network 10. consider your spiritual life.

Immune system

the body's mechanism for dealing with invading microorganisms, such as allergens, bacteria, and viruses.

Coping is a process.

to deal effectively with the stressors in our lives, we use cognitive appraisals that link feelings and thoughts. help us think about and manage our feelings more objectively.

positive reappraisal

using this cognitive process, a person focuses on possible good things in his or her current situation. person looks for the proverbial silver lining 1. Downward comparisons: comparing oneself to those who are worse off. help people with serious illnesses. 2. creation of positive events: is a strategy of giving positive meaning to ordinary events. if you were diagnosed with diabetes, you could focus on how having diabetes would force you to eat a health diet and exercise regularly (positive reappraisal). you could recognize that diabetes is not as serious as heat disease (downward comparisons) and you can take joy in everyday activies (creation of positive events)

Disordered eating

when dieters fail to lose weight they often blame their lack of willpower. may promise to work harder next diet. repeated dietary failures = harmful/permanent phsyiological/psychological consequences. Weight loss and weight gain cycles alter the dieter's metabolism and may make future weight loss more difficult. psychologically, decrease satisfaction and self-esteem. some engage in more extreme behaviors like drugs or fasting. may lead to eating disorders like anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa.