Stress, Health, and Coping PDF

Stress, Health, and Coping Experimental Psychology Course Prof. Federica Biassoni A.Y. 2024/2025 Health Psychology Health Psychology addresses factors that influence well-being and illness, as well as measures that can be taken to promote health and prevent illness....

Stress, Health, and Coping Experimental Psychology Course Prof. Federica Biassoni A.Y. 2024/2025 Health Psychology Health Psychology addresses factors that influence well-being and illness, as well as measures that can be taken to promote health and prevent illness. Health intervention: an act performed for, with or on behalf of a person or a population, whose purpose is to assess, improve, maintain, promote or modify health, functioning or health conditions. Positive Psychology «A science of positive subjective experience, positive individual traits, and positive institutions promises to improve quality of life and prevent the pathologies that arise when life is barren and meaningless. The exclusive focus on pathology that has dominated so much of our discipline results in a model of the human being lacking the positive features that make life worth living. Hope, wisdom, creativity, future mindedness, courage, spirituality, responsibility, and perseverance are ignored or explained as transformations of more authentic negative impulses.» Seligman, M. E. P., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2000). Positive psychology: An introduction. American Psychologist, 55(1), 5–14. Positive Psychology From a disease model of human functioning, typical of medical sciences, to the understanding of human flourishing. People’s development toward their full potential, to flourish in life and ripe with possibilities. People’s resilience to adversity (the process and outcome of successfully adapting to difficult or challenging life experiences, through cognitive, emotional, and behavioral flexibility and adjustment to external and internal demands). Positive emotions, positive subjective experiences, positive personality traits, positive institutions. Positive psychology à empirical methods Positive Psychology Positive emotions trigger upwards spirals toward psychological growth & flourishing. Several studies has shown a link between positive emotions and healthy longevity. Positive emotions produce success in life as much as they reflect success in life. Stress Stress à a pattern of cognitive appraisals, physiological responses, and behavioural tendencies that occurs in response to a perceived imbalance between situational demands and the resources needed to deal with them. Occurs when experiencing events that may endanger one’s physical/psychological well-being. A process (Stress Reaction Process) including: Stressors: demanding or threatening events and situations Stress responses: people’s reactions Person-situation interaction Stress Reaction Process Stressors Stressors: stimuli that place demands on us and require us to adapt in some manner. Stressors Stressors: stimuli that place demands on us and require us to adapt in some manner. Microstressors: daily hassles and minor annoyances (traffic jam, line at the grocery store, etc.) à have additive, cumulative effects Major Negative Events: personal, negative events (divorce, death of a loved one, serious illness, etc.) Catastrophic Events: tend to occur unexpectedly and affect large numbers of people (natural disasters, wars, pandemics, terroristic attacks, etc.) Characteristics of Stressful Events Aspects of common events that lead to them being perceived as stressful include: intensity, controllability, predictability, duration, chronicity. Intensity Severity of the challenge Major changes in life circumstances: any life change that requires numerous readjustments can be perceived as stressful; negative events have much greater impact on physical & psychological health than positive events Internal conflicts: unresolved issues that may be either conscious or unconscious; conflict occurs when person must choose between incompatible or mutually exclusive goals Characteristics of Stressful Events Controllability Degree to which we can stop an event or bring it about More uncontrollable event seems – more likely to perceive it as stressful Predictability Degree to which we know if & when an event will occur Ability to predict occurrence of an event reduces severity of stress Duration & chronicity The duration of a negative event seems to be a strong predictor of its stressfulness; in addition, more chronic events are perceived as more stressful than more short-term events The Stress Response Stress response has cognitive, physiological, and behavioural components. The Stress Response: Cognitive Component Cognitive Appraisal Primary Appraisal: interpreting the nature and demands of the situation (is it benign, neutral or threatening in terms of its demands and its significance for your wellbeing). Secondary Appraisal: appraising of the resources available to cope with it, your perceived ability to cope with the situation. Judgements of what the consequences of the situation could be: Psychological meaning may relate to your basic beliefs about yourself and the world Appraisal of the personal meaning, or what the outcome might imply about us. Psychological Reactions to Stress Anxiety A common response to stress but in extreme circumstances can develop into post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Symptoms include deep detachment, repeatedly reliving trauma, sleep disturbances, concentration problems & survivor guilt. PTSD may develop immediately after the trauma or may be triggered by minor stress days, weeks, or years later. Psychological Reactions to Stress Anger & aggression Another common response to stress is anger Aggression not inevitable but often response to frustration Apathy & depression Withdrawal & apathy are also reactions to stress which may lead to depression Explained by learned helplessness Cognitive impairment People often show substantial cognitive impairment when faced with serious stressors Two sources: high levels of emotional arousal & distracting thoughts Physiological Reactions to Stress The fight-or-flight response Body prepares to attack or flee from a threatening situation. The body’s metabolism increases in preparation for expending energy on physical action The liver releases extra glucose to fuel the muscles Hormones are released to stimulate the conversion of fats & proteins into sugar Heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate increase Muscles are tense Unessential activities (like digestion) are curtailed Saliva & mucus dry up to increase the size of the air passages to the lungs Body’s natural painkillers (like endorphins) are secreted Surface blood vessels constrict to reduce bleeding in case of injuries. Physiological Reactions to Stress: The fight-or-flight response A stressful situation activates the hypothalamus, which, in turn, controls two neuro-endocrine systems: the sympathetic system and the adrenal- cortical system. The sympathetic nervous system activates various organs and smooth muscles under its control. The adrenal-cortical system is activated when the hypothalamus secretes CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone), a chemical that acts on the pituitary gland, which lies just below the hypothalamus. Physiological Reactions to Stress: The fight-or-flight response The pituitary gland, in turn, secretes the hormone ACTH, which is carried via the bloodstream to the adrenal cortex, where it stimulates the release of a group of hormones, including cortisol, that regulate blood glucose levels. ACTH also signals the other endocrine glands to release some 30 hormones. The combined effects of the various stress hormones carried via the bloodstream plus the neural activity of the sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system constitute the fight-or-flight response. Physiological Reactions to Stress: the General Adaptation Syndrome General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS; Seyle, 1978): a physiological response pattern to strong and prolonged stressors. Alarm Phase: the body mobilizes resources to confront a threat à activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the release of stress hormones by the endocrine system. Resistance Phase: the organism attempts to cope with the threat by fleeing or fighting it. Exhaustion Phase: occurs if the organism is unable to flee from or fight the threat and depletes its resources in attempting to do so à increased vulnerability to disease in weak body systems. Physiological Reactions to Stress: the General Adaptation Syndrome A wide variety of physical and psychological stressors can trigger the GAS set of responses. A repeated and prolonged exhaustion of physiological resources, due to prolonged exposure to stressors that one cannot flee from or fight, is responsible for a wide array of diseases, called «disease of adaptation». The GAS set of responses decreases the organism ability to resist further stressors à chronic arousal can make both animals and people more susceptible to illness. Physiological Reactions to Stress: How stress affects health Attempts to adapt to the continued presence of a stressor may deplete the body’s resources and make it vulnerable to illness. Chronic stress can lead to physical disorders such as ulcers, high blood pressure, and heart disease. It may also impair the immune system, decreasing the body’s ability to fight invading bacteria and viruses. Psychophysiological disorders à physical disorders in which emotions play a central role. Coronary heart disease (CHD) Overarousal caused by chronic stressors can contribute to CHD About a third of risk for heart disease is connected to stressfulness of people’s environments Physiological Reactions to Stress: How stress affects health The immune system à Stress affects immune system’s ability to defend the body. Psychoneuroimmunology studies how immune system is affected by stress & other psychological factors One important factor appears to be the extent to which an individual can control stress à Lower controllability = greater impact on immune system Health-related behaviors Most of the diseases people die from in industrialized countries are heavily influenced by health-related behaviors (smoking, alcohol, overeating, etc.) Stress may indirectly affect health by reducing rates of positive health-related behaviors & increasing rates of negative behaviors Psychological Factors & Stress Responses Cognitive theory Optimistic attitude helps people better respond psychologically & physiologically to stress. Pessimists tend to appraise events as more stressful. Hardiness: the characteristic where people do not become physically or emotionally impaired in face of stressful events. Three components: commitment à Individuals high in commitment believe it is important to remain involved in events and people, no matter how stressful things become; control à Individuals high in control retain a belief in their ability to influence situations even in the face of obstacles; challenge à Individuals high in challenge see stresses as a normal part of living, opportunities to learn, develop, and grow in wisdom. Hardiness vs Helplessness Hardiness Helplessness People who possess hardiness possess three The feelings of being a victim in life, of basically not characteristics: having control over the world that we live in. Commitment, a sense of being involved in life as opposed to being alienated by it; à External locus of control. Control over the changes in their lives (the opposite à Feeling to have no ability to take care of or protect of helplessness); yourself from harm. Challenge – viewing change as a challenge instead à Feeling that you cannot make a difference in events of as a problem. that occur. Positive thoughts lead to feelings of strength and Negative thoughts, passive approach. competence (and consequently to an active approach). People who possess hardiness tend to do much better In one classic experiment, When rats are held down on the table and made to squirm around, but at the last minute are allowed to squirm when faced with the changes that occur and free of their own ability so that they think they are in control of the challenges posed by life events. situation, they survive for up to 60 hours before becoming exhausted. Yet when rats are held down on a table and made to feel helpless before being put in the water survive for as little as 30minutes à helplessness can also be learned. Psychological Factors & Stress Responses The type A pattern People who exhibit this behavior pattern Tend to live under great pressure and demand much of themselves and others Tend to be competitive, hostile, aggressive, impatient individuals who are over-involved with their work Are at increased risk of developing coronary heart disease Directly by increasing chronic arousal Indirectly by lowering social support Behavioural Responses: Coping Skills Coping à Refers to the process by which a person attempts to manage stressful demands Two major forms: problem-focused coping & emotion-focused coping Problem-focused coping: strategies that attempt to confront and directly deal with the demands of the situation or to change the situation so that it is no longer stressful With this type of coping, it is less likely to experience depression either during or after a stressful event Behavioural Responses: Coping Skills Emotion-focused coping: strategies that attempt to manage the emotional responses that result from the stressful event. To cope with negative emotions people can use: Behavioral strategies, e.g. physical exercise, venting anger, talking or writing about emotions & issues in life Cognitive strategies, e.g. temporarily setting problem aside (à distraction) Seeking emotional support from others is good strategy to help people adjust emotionally & physically to stressor Maladaptive strategies of coping include avoidance & rumination which can lead to longer & more severe stress Coping With Stress Problem-focused coping and seeking social support are more often associated with favorable adjustment to stressors Most successful in controllable situations Emotion-focused strategies can involve avoiding feelings or blaming others; these strategies predict depression and poorer adjustment Other emotion-focused strategies are more helpful, especially when the situation is uncontrollable à reappraisal  Coping With Stress Disclosing trauma can enhance immune system functioning, lower stress, reduce depression, and help the individual cope with stress more effectively “Bottling up” feelings can have a negative impact on health Quality of opportunities to share emotions is more significant than quantity of disclosure