Stress & Health | Lecture Notes

Associate Professor Dr. Ahmad Shahrul Nizam Bin Isha @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Topics 1. What Is Stress? 2. What Is Health? 3. The Impact of Stress on Health and Performance 4. The Impact of Stress and Lifestyle on...

Associate Professor Dr. Ahmad Shahrul Nizam Bin Isha @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Topics 1. What Is Stress? 2. What Is Health? 3. The Impact of Stress on Health and Performance 4. The Impact of Stress and Lifestyle on Longevity 5. The Physiology of Stress 6. The Psychology of Stress @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  WHAT IS STRESS? @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  What Is Stress? Stress can be experienced emotionally, physiologically, behaviorally, and cognitively Most healthy people return to their homeostatic baseline after a stressful experience Fight or flight: the body’s physiological response to fight a stressor or flee from it General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): Selye’s (1956) three stage model of chronic stress @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  What Is Stress? (cont'd.) Stages of stress – Alarm stage – Resistance stage: body deals with stressors until its natural resources begin to deplete – Exhaustion stage: body’s systems break down and illness or premature death ensue Selye thought there were two types of stress: distress (negative) and eustress (positive) @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  What Is Stress? (cont'd.) Appraisal: make a judgment about the relative significance of the event and evaluate as a threat or challenge Appraisal patterns are linked to particular emotional responses Example: experiencing a demeaning offense results in anger Lazarus identified 15 of these appraisals, called core relational themes @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  What Is Stress? (cont'd.) In most cases, the term stress is thought of as negative (distress) General definition of stress: the constellation of cognitive, emotional, physiological, and behavioral reactions the organism experiences as it interacts with perceived threats and challenges @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  WHAT IS HEALTH? @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  What Is Health? Biopsychosocial model: a newer model of health that views it as a product of biological, psychological, and social influences – Continuum of the very ill to super well – Mind and body are an interactive whole – Sees mind and body as separate (mind- body dualism) @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  What Is Health? (cont'd.) Psychosomatic medicine: intrapsychic conflict can lead to somatic conversions expressed as physical symptoms – Inspired by Freud, was one of the first areas to challenge mind-body dualism – Social and psychological factors can also cause illness – Individual more responsible for own health in biopsychosocial model @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  What Is Health? (cont'd.) Behavioral medicine: applies elements of the behavioral sciences to illness prevention and treatment – A multi-disciplinary field that helps people maximize their health goals Health psychology: uses scientific and professional knowledge of psychology to promote and maintain health and treat illness @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  What Is Health? (cont'd.) Wellness: a global approach to health that includes stress management, healthy living (nutrition and exercise), and activities for personal growth Health as defined by WHO: “a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease of infirmity” @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  THE IMPACT OF STRESS ON HEALTH AND PERFORMANCE @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  The Impact of Stress on Health and Performance Stressors can produce detrimental physical and psychological changes: worry, inability to make decisions, anxiety, depression, etc. Physiological reactions to stress can include increased heart rate, headaches, and frequent illnesses There is an optimal zone of mid-level physiological arousal, neither under- stimulated or over-stimulated @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  THE IMPACT OF STRESS AND LIFESTYLE ON LONGEVITY @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  The Impact of Stress and Lifestyle on Longevity Lifestyle related variables found to have impact on lifespan Exercise increases chances of living long; smoking, diabetes, and obesity lowers it Stress can interrupt healthy decisions A vicious cycle of stress contributing to poor health and poor health contributing to stress can begin Exercise is good for health and reduces stress @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  THE PHYSIOLOGY OF STRESS @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Cannon’s Fight or Flight Model Stressors evoke fight-or-flight reactions in different systems of the body Autonomic nervous system: enervates the organ systems of the body Sympathetic nervous system: responsible for the arousal response of organ systems Norepinephrine and epinephrine primes the body to fight or flee from a stressor Food stores converted into glucose for energy @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Cannon’s Fight or Flight Model (cont’d.) Today’s stressors are primarily the saber-toothed tigers of our minds. @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Selye’s General Adaptation System Selye described physiological changes as stress reactions Non-specific responses: common patterns to a host of different stressors When first subjected to a stressor, organism activates fight-or-flight response – Activation brings on alarm stage – With repeated stress comes the resistance stage @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Selye’s General Adaptation System (cont'd.) Allostatic load: chronic stress begins to wear down the systems – In exhaustion stage, repeated stress leads to illness and possibly death Diathesis-stress model: similar to GAS, it suggests that illness may result from interaction of biology and environment – Therefore, each case is unique @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Figure 1.2: Stages of Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome. According to Selye’s general adaptation syndrome (GAS), chronic stress leads to an increasing allostatic load that over time can move an individual through all three stages of the GAS. @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Selye’s General Adaptation System (cont'd.) Limitations of GAS: – Does not address psychological processes and how they can affect appraisal – Selye claimed universality: all stressors should have the same effects However, this is not the case – Overly general in explaining responses to everyday stressors – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtRrxNTnyh8 – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jEHwB1PG_-Q – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZTc8_FwHGM @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  THE PSYCHOLOGY OF STRESS @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Lazarus’s Appraisal and Coping Model Three process cognitive model of stress and coping: – Primary appraisal: person evaluates present and potential harm or loss from event – Secondary appraisal: person evaluates coping resources; if not enough resources are available, threat is experienced – Reappraisal: person may change meaning of event to minimize stress reactions @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Figure 1.3: Weight Loss, Secondary Appraisal, and Self-Efficacy. High self-efficacy is related to high secondary appraisal. High self-efficacy is a result of having a high outcome expectation and a high efficacy expectation. People with high self-efficacy believe they have the coping resources to deal with a challenge like weight loss. @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Summary Stress models evolved from biological to cognitive Cannon’s model focused on fight-or-flight response Selye’s GAS model showed how stress adversely effects organisms Lazarus’s model focused on constant appraisal and subjective experience of stress Biopsychosocial model is health on continuum @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage  Summary (cont'd.) Health and wellness effected by cognitive, emotional, psychological, physiological, and behavioral changes Overall healthy lifestyle can lead to longevity @ 2012 Wadsworth, Cengage