Health Psychology. Chapter 10. The Process of Stress. Stressors. Stress Responses 6/24/2015. Understanding Stress and Stressors

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1 Health Psychology Chapter 10 Link between mental state, behavior, and health Health, Stress, and Coping Understanding Stress and Stressors Stress negative emotional and physiological process that occurs as individuals try to adjust to or deal with stressors Stressors Events and situations to which people must adjust Stress reactions Physical, psychological, and behavioral responses to stressors The Process of Stress Stressors Catastrophic events e.g., military combat, natural disasters, lifethreatening attacks or accidents Life changes and strains e.g., divorce, moving to a new place Chronic stressors e.g., Having a serous illness, unable to find a job Daily hassles Stress Responses 1

2 Physical responses 1. Fight-flight reaction Response to a short-term stressor prepare the body to either face or flee an immediate threat Rapid breathing, increased heartbeat, sweating, shakiness Physical responses 2. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) Response to a long-term stressor Consists of three stages (1) Alarm reaction» Similar to fight-flight reaction» Sympatho-adreno-medullary (SAM) system: provide the energy and resources needed to cope with stressors» Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) system: release corticosteroids (for inflammation) and endorphins (natural painkillers) Physical responses 2. General adaptation syndrome (GAS) Response to a long-term stressor Consists of three stages (2) Resistance» When the stressors persist» Uses up the body s reserves of adaptive energy over time (3) Exhaustion» brings signs of physical wear and tear» Vulnerable to illnesses such as heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, colds, and flu The General Adaptation Syndrome Psychological responses Emotional changes Experience some strong emotions (e.g., fear, anger) Cognitive changes reductions in the ability to concentrate, think clearly, or remember accurately narrowed attention cling to mental sets and show more functional fixedness Behavioral responses Shaky voice, tremors, jumpiness 2

3 Stress and Psychological Disorders Burnout a pattern of physical and psychological dysfunctions in response to continuous stressors (e.g., become indifferent, disengaged, impulsive, accident-prone, oversleep, irritable, suspicious, depressed) Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) a pattern of adverse reactions following a traumatic event, commonly involving re-experiencing the event through nightmares or vivid memories Other psychological disorders Depression, certain anxiety disorders, schizophrenia Why doesn t everyone react to stressors in the same way? Coping resources our reactions to the stressors depend on how we think about them Coping resources Cognitive Influences on Stress Responses unpredictable stressors tend to have more impact than predictable ones 3

4 Brady s stress and ulcers (1958) Lessen the impact of stressors Weiss stress and ulcers (1977) Problem-focused coping: efforts to change or eliminate the source of stress (e.g., forming a community action group to reduce factory noise) Emotion-focused coping: control the negative emotional consequences of stressors (e.g., calm anger) Emotion disclosure: fully express and think about the emotions Emotional Disclosure Pennebaker s writing study (1990) Emotional Disclosure Emotional disclosure and immune system (Pennebaker, 1997) 20 minutes for three consecutive days Traumatic Trivial Number of visits to campus health center Traumatic Trivial increase immune function 4

5 Help people deal with stress Other Mediators: Personality and Gender Personality and stress Disease-prone personality Ignore stressors Perceive stressors as long-term, catastrophic threats Pessimistic about their ability to overcome Disease-resistant personality Perceive stressors as temporary challenges Do not blame themselves for causing these stressors Dispositional optimistic Other Mediators: Personality and Gender Gender Men Fight-flight pattern Get angry, avoid stressors Women Tend and befriend style Help others and make use of social support This may explain why women live longer than men (5 to 10 years) Focus on Research: Personality and Health What was the researchers question? What personality characteristics may protect or threaten one s health? How did the researchers answer the question? Examined the dates and causes of death of individuals who had participated in the Terman Life Cycle Study of Intelligence Terman s project Terman s project Starting 1921, still on-going 1,528 gifted children (856 boys and 672 girls) Ages from 3 to 19, IQ above 135 (mean = 150) Measured every 5-10 years Focus on Research: Personality and Health (cont d.) What did the researchers find? Most important predictor of longevity was conscientiousness (truthful, prudent, reliable, hard-working, humble) Children from divorced families did not live as long as nondivorce family kids (76 vs. 80 for men, 82 vs. 86 for women) Why? Children of divorce were more likely to get divorced as adults. men from divorced family were more likely to die from physical injuries women from divorced family smoked more Parental divorce sets off a negative chain of events, which may contribute to a higher mortality risk among individuals from divorced homes 5

6 Focus on Research: Personality and Health (cont d.) What do the results mean? Correlation does not mean causality Conscientiousness and social stability may reflect a general attitude of caution The Physiology and Psychology of Health and Illness How does stress affect your immune system? Psychoneuroimmunology Examines the interaction of psychological and physiological processes that strengthen or weaken the body s ability to defend itself against disease Stress, Illness, and the Immune System Immune system is the first line of biological defense kill or inactivate foreign or harmful substances in the body Inflammation an immune system response that helps to fight infectious agents and promote the healing of injuries Prolonged inflammatory response can worsen chronic conditions and diseases such as asthma, coronary artery disease The Body s Internal Defense System Stress, Illness, and the Immune System HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) disables the immune system HIV leads to AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) and leave the patient defenseless against other infections or cancers Autoimmune disorders cells of the immune system attack and destroy normal body cells 6

7 Stress, Illness, and the Immune System Stress can impair or suppress the immune system, leaving us vulnerable to disease Stress can be critical to people who are HIV positive but do not have AIDS factors can help sustain immune system Stress and the Cardiovascular System Sympatho-adreno-medullary (SAM) system is linked to the cardiovascular system Repeated activation of the cardiovascular system in response to stress is linked to cardiovascular problems (coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, etc.) Especially for those who display strong physical reactions to stressors Type A personality and Heart Disease Type A vs. Type B personality heart disease (Friedman & Rosenman, 1956) 9-year study of 3000 healthy men aged Type A: competitive, impatient, aggressive, harddriving Type B: relaxed, easy-going, less easily angered 70% of 257 men who had suffered from heart attack were Type A individuals No cases among pure Type B people Developing Coping Strategies 4 different types of coping strategies Cognitive coping strategies Cognitive restructuring Emotional coping strategies finding social support Behavioral coping strategies Changing behaviors to minimize the negative impact of stressors (e.g., time management) Developing Coping Strategies Physical coping strategies Alter the undesirable physical responses Progressive relaxation training Physical exercise Biofeedback Yoga, meditation, and tai chi 7