Chapter 14: Stress and Health
Chapter 14: Stress and Health Psy 202
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This 4 page Class Notes was uploaded by Jacquelyn Corpus on Monday February 22, 2016. The Class Notes belongs to Psy 202 at Oregon State University taught by Patti Watkins in Winter 2016. Since its upload, it has received 36 views. For similar materials see General Psychology in Psychlogy at Oregon State University.
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Date Created: 02/22/16
Chapter 14: Stress and Health Health psychology: the subfield of psychology concerned with the ways psychological factors influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and maintenance of health Stress and Health Stressors: specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or threaten the person’s well-being - Antecedent situations Stress: the physical and psychological response to internal or external stressors - Anger - Anxiety - Depression The degree of life change is a significant indicator of the person’s future illness Chronic stressors: sources of stress that occur continuously or repeatedly - Effects can accumulate and be long-lasting - Chronic stressors have been shown to be linked to environments through environmental psychology Culture and Community In a study, preadolescents who had immigrated from Cuba and other Hispanic cultures were surveyed for discrimination Those who reported discrimination also reported higher levels or worrying, anxiety, and bodily stress Further research shows discrimination to be the cause Perceived Control over Stressful Events Stressors challenge you to do something about it —lack of control over the situation can add to the stress Studies show that perceived control over stressful events can be related to more effective coping Physical Stress Reactions Fight-or-flight response: an emotional and physiological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action General adaptation syndrome (GAS): a three-stage physiological response that appears regardless of the stressor that is encountered —GAS is non-specific and does not vary across stressors developed by Hans Selye (1907-1982) - Alarm phase: mobilize resources - Resistance phase: cope with stressor - Exhaustion phase: reserves depleted Stress Effects on the Immune Response Immune system: a complex response system that protects the body from bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances Lymphocytes: white blood cells that produce antibodies that fight infection Psychoneuroimmunology is the study of how the immune system responds to psychological variables (stressors) Stressors can cause glucorticoids (hormones) to flood the brain and wear down the immune system Decreased immune system response may be related to social status, studies show Stress and Cardiovascular Health The heart and circulatory system are sensitive to stress - The main cause of coronary heart disease is atherosclerosis Research links intensity, drive, anger and hostility to increased rates of heart disease - TypeAbehavior patter: the tendency toward easily aroused hostility, impatience, a sense of time urgency, and competitive achievement strivings Stress Disorders Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): a disorder characterized by chronic physical arousal, recurrent unwanted thoughts or images of the trauma, and avoidance of things that call the traumatic event to mind - 8% ofAmericans suffer from PTSD - Hippocampus may be smaller in PTSD sufferers Burnout: a state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion created by long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accompanied by lowered performance and motivation - Helping professionals exposed to emotional turmoil regularly more prone to burnout Somatic Symptom Disorders Psychosomatic illness: an interaction between mind and body that can produce illness Somatic symptom disorders: the set of psychological disorders in which the person displays physical symptoms not fully explained by a general medical condition - Somatic symptom disorder - Pin, GI symptoms - Conversion disorder - Neurologic symptoms - Paralysis, seizures, blindness - Illness anxiety disorder - Hypochondriasis Recognizing Illness and Seeking Treatment Awareness and occurrence of physical symptoms can be influenced by psychological factors Denial of illness can also come at great cost (if delay too long to seek treatment) On Being Patient Sick role: a socially recognized set of rights and obligations linked with illness - Exemptions and obligations People may feign sickness to obtain what they want, called malingering Keys to effective medical care include physician empathy and ability motivate the patient to adhere to the prescribed regiment of care - Adherence deteriorates if treatment is frequent, inconvenient, or painful, or if the number of treatments increase Stress Interpretation The interpretation of a stimulus as stressful or not is called primary appraisal Determining whether the stressor is something you can handle/have control over or not is called secondary appraisal The body responds differently to a threat (negative appraisal) than a challenge (positive appraisal) CognitiveAppraisals Cognitive appraisals that lead to stress… - Cognitive Distortions - Irrational Beliefs - Stinking Thinking - Negative Self Talk - Automatic Thoughts Stress Management Options Change thoughts (Mind Management) - Cognitive restructuring, Reframing - Asignificant part of stress management is control of the m ind - Repressive coping: avoiding situations or thoughts that are reminders of a stressor and maintaining an artificially positive viewpoint - Rational coping: involves facing the stressor and working to overcome it —involves three steps:Acceptance, exposure, and understanding - Refraining: finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its threat - Stress inoculation training (SIT): a therapy that helps people to cope wit stressful situations by developing positive ways to think about the situation Change physical reactions (Body Management) - Meditation: the practice of intentional contemplation - Relaxation therapy: a technique for reducing tension by consciously relaxing muscles of the body —developed by Edmund Jacobson (1880-1983) - Relaxation response: a condition of reduced muscle tension, cortical activity, heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure - Biofeedback: the use of an external monitoring device to obtain information about bodily function and possibly gain control over that function - Aerobic exercise promotes stress relief and psychological well-being - May increase serotonin and endorphins - Keeps body fit and healthy Change situations (Situation Management) - Change situation - Change behavior - Communication skills training - Anger management - Conflict resolution skills - Social skills training - Situation management involves changing your life situation to reduce stress - Social support: aid gained through interacting with others - Offer help in times of stress - Being in relationships correlates with mental health - Women are more likely to seek support under stress - Humor can help us cope with stress and reduce time needed to calm down The Psychology of Health: Feeling Good Health-relevant personality traits and health behavior personal health Optimism (seeing the sunny side of ever situation) is heater than pessimism (expecting things to go wrong) - Aperson’s level of optimism or pessimism tends to be stable over time Hardy individuals who are thick-skinned (committed, in control, accept challenges) tend to handle stress better and are healthier
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