Stress & Health Psychology PDF

Stress & health PSYCHOLOGY FAREZADI ZAFRY FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, UiTM  LEARNING OUTCOMES Upon successful completion of this lesson students will be able to: 1. Define and explain stress and stressors 2. Discuss the relationship betwee...

Stress & health PSYCHOLOGY FAREZADI ZAFRY FACULTY OF HEALTH SCIENCES, UiTM  LEARNING OUTCOMES Upon successful completion of this lesson students will be able to: 1. Define and explain stress and stressors 2. Discuss the relationship between stress and illness 3. Define health psychology 4. Discuss the management of health and stress Understanding Stress What is Stress? Stress is a: –nonspecific response of the body to any demand made on it; –the arousal to situations or events that we perceive as threatening or challenging; Understanding Stress Stressor: trigger that prompts stressful reactions Eustress: pleasant, desirable stress e.g. exercise Distress: unpleasant, objectionable, non- beneficial stress e.g. ???  Signs and Symptoms of Ongoing Stress Emotional signs: Anxiety, apathy, irritability, mental fatigue Behavioral signs: Avoidance of responsibilities and relationships, extreme or self-destructive behavior, self-neglect, poor judgment Physical signs: Excessive worry about illness, frequent illness, overuse of medicines  Sources of Stress 1. LIFE CHANGES: life events that require some adjustment in behavior or lifestyle; The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) measures stress related to changes brought about by major life events  Sources of Stress 2. CHRONIC STRESSORS: ongoing, long unpleasant events; e.g. bad marriage, poor working conditions 3. HASSLES: small, everyday problems that accumulate; e.g. traffic jams, finding parking, scheduling conflicts Burnout: physical, emotional & mental exhaustion, attributable to persistent hassles e.g. doctors, police officers Sources of Stress 4. FRUSTRATION: unpleasant tension, negative emotional state that results from a blocked goal; e.g ??? More motivated: more frustration In recent years constantly changing technology has increased the hassles and frustrations of day-to-day living 5. CONFLICT: having to choose between two or more incompatible goals or impulses; Amount of stress depends on the complexity of the conflict itself & the difficulty involved in resolving it 3 Types of Conflict 1.Approach-approach: having to choose between two or more favorable alternatives that will lead to desirable result; e.g. choosing two jobs 2.Avoidance-avoidance: having to choose between two or more undesirable alternatives that will lead to negative results; e.g. ? 3.Approach-avoidance: having to choose between two or more alternatives which have desirable and undesirable results; e.g. ?  Sources of Stress The longer any conflict exists or the more important the decision, the more stress it will be Approach-approach; easiest to resolve & produce least stress Avoidance-avoidance; most difficult because all choices lead to unpleasant results Approach-avoidance; less stressful than avoidance-avoidance, moderately difficult to resolve Effects of Stress: a Dual System When stressed, the body undergoes physiological changes. The sympathetic part of the autonomic nervous system is activated, increasing heart rate, blood pressure, & hormone levels. This sympathetic activation is beneficial if people need to fight or flee (“fight or flight response”), but it can have negative consequences to health. A second stress response system - The HPA Axis (Hypothalamus, Pituitary Gland and Adrenal Cortex System) reacts more slowly. Effects of Stress: a Dual System a. activation of the sympathetic nervous system; b. the HPA Axis (Hypothalamus, Pituitary gland & Adrenal cortex system) Effects of Stress: a dual system Elevated cortisol: is linked to increased levels of depression, memory problems & is directly related to impairment of immune system functioning; Prolonged stress can suppress the immune system and render the body vulnerable to many diseases; from colds & flu to cancer & cardiovascular disorders. Psychoneuroimmunology studies the effects of psychological factors, the nervous and endocrine systems, and the immune system.  The General Adaptation Syndrome Hans Selye described a generalized physiological reaction to severe stressors, called the general adaptation syndrome (GAS). The GAS has three phases: the alarm reaction, the resistance phase, and the exhaustion phase In the case of prolonged/chronic stress: adaptation energy depleted, may lead to exhaustion (susceptibility to diseases The General Adaptation Syndrome 3 stages developed by Selye: a. alarm reaction b. resistance stage c. exhaustion stage  Stress & Illness 1.Cancer caused by hereditary disposition and environmental factors can be caused by environmental factors (e.g. cigarette smoke or asbestos), or by changes in body chemistry that affect how certain cells within the body replicate. during times of stress, the body may be less able to check cancerous cell changes because the immune system is suppressed  Stress & Illness 2. Cardiovascular Disorders heart disease includes all illnesses that affect the heart muscle and lead to heart failure. One major cause of heart disease is the blockage of coronary arteries. contributing risk factors are stress hormones, smoking, Type A personality traits, obesity, a high- fat diet, & lack of exercise reducing stress, increasing exercise, & maintaining a low-fat diet can help minimize the build-up of fatty deposits in the arteries and the risk for cardiovascular disease personality types can play a major role in the effects of stress.  Stress & Illness I. Personality Types: a)Type A personalities: competitive, ambitious, impatient/time urgency, hostile (cynical hostility e.g. constant alert, suspicious) - elevated risk of heart disease cynical hostility (constant alert, suspicious, argumentative) – the most important factor in Type A r/s to heart disease b)Type B personalities: laid-back, calm, relaxed - unlikely to have a heart attack  Stress & Illness  The two main approaches to modifying Type A behavior are the shotgun approach & the target behavior approach a. Shotgun approach: change all the related behaviors to the Type A personality e.g. slow down, perform tasks incompatible with personalities May decrease desirable Type A traits (e.g. ambitious) in addition to undesirable ones (e.g. hostility) b. Target behavior approach: focuses on only those behaviors that are likely to cause heart disease - cynical hostility  Stress and Illness Psychological hardy personality types are more resistant to the effects of stress. II. Hardiness: Resilient personality (superior stress resistance) that includes: a. strong Commitment to personal goals b. Control over life, c. viewing Change as a challenge rather than threat it is a learned behavior  Stress & Illness 3.Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is the result of a life-threatening or extreme event which includes feeling of terror and helplessness; characterized by flashbacks, nightmares, & impaired functioning severe anxiety that develops after exposure to traumatic event/extraordinary stress e.g. rape, natural disaster, war, abuse  Stress & Illness 4. Gastric Ulcers caused by bacteria or stress? recent research evidence suggests that even though most ulcer patients have the H. pylori bacterium in their stomachs, stress creates a compromising environment in the stomach & leaves it more vulnerable to the attack by the bacteria  Health Psychology Health Psychology: studies how biological, psychological and social factors affect health and illness; Major health risks include: a. Smoking tobacco b. Alcohol & binge drinking c. Chronic Pain- pain that lasts over 6 months; it responds to treatments of behavior modification, biofeedback, and relaxation;  Health Psychology a. Smoking tobacco prevention and cessation of smoking are of primary importance to health practitioners smoking prevention programs involve educating the public about short & long-term consequences of smoking, trying to make smoking less socially acceptable, & helping nonsmokers resist social pressures to smoke. approaches to help people quit smoking include cognitive & behavioral techniques to aid smokers in their withdrawal from nicotine; & techniques for dealing with social pressures  Health Psychology b. Alcohol & binge drinking The focus of prevention programs is to reduce or remove the social reinforcers that encourage binge drinking c. Chronic Pain pain that lasts over 6 months chronic pain patients can be helped by teaching them to cope with their pain through behavior modification (operant conditioning), biofeedback, and relaxation techniques  Health and Stress Management There are two different approaches to coping: 1.Emotion-focused forms of coping are emotional or cognitive strategies that change how we view stressful situations based on changing one's perceptions of stressful situations e.g. reappraising, defense mechanisms (unconscious strategies used to distort reality & relieve anxiety & guilt) try to feel better about situation use if problem out of our control & unalterable  Health and Stress Management 2. Problem-focused forms of coping deals directly with the situation or causative factors so as to decrease or eliminate the problems using problem-solving strategies to decrease stress; e.g. identifying problem, generating possible solutions managing or changing the stressor use if problem seems alterable confrontive coping Both emotion-focused & problem-focused forms of coping can be combined Is stress in the eye of the beholder?  Theories of Coping: Problem- & Emotion-Focused Lazarus & Folkman (1984) (Strategy) Problem- Emotion- Focused Focused Resolve cause Managing of problems emotional impact of Seeking info Talkproblem to friends Think of Going options Devise shopping plan Drinking Change job Relaxing Resources for Healthy Living 1. Health & exercise 2. Positive beliefs 3. Social skills 4. Social support 5. Material resources 6. Personal control Internal locus of control 7. Relaxation Resources for Healthy Living 6. Personal Control: Internal locus of External locus of control control Believing that one Believing that controls one’s own chance or outside fate forces beyond e.g. in charge of one’s control own destiny determine one’s fate e.g. luck, fate  References Coon, D. & Mitterer, J. O. (2007). Introduction to Psychology: Gateways to mind and behavior (11th ed.). CA: Wadsworth/Thomson Learning. Huffman, K. (2008). Living Psychology. NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Morris, C. G., & Maisto, A. A. (2007). Understanding psychology (8th ed.). New Jersey: Prentice Hall.