HLWL Midterm PDF

Chapter 1 - Stress - Demand made upon the adaptive capacities of the mind and body. - Stressor - Any event or situation that an individual perceives as a challenge or a threat that causes him or her to either adapt or start the stress response. - Yerkes-Dodson...

Chapter 1 - Stress - Demand made upon the adaptive capacities of the mind and body. - Stressor - Any event or situation that an individual perceives as a challenge or a threat that causes him or her to either adapt or start the stress response. - Yerkes-Dodson Principle - To a certain point, a specific amount of stress is healthy, useful, and even beneficial - Eustress - Positive, desirable stress that keeps life exciting and helps to motivate and inspire - Distress - Adverse effects of stress that drain us of energy - Acute stress - Short-term stressor. Appears suddenly, intense, disappears quickly - Chronic stress - Long-term stressor. Often get used to it, lose hope, give up for solutions - Episodic acute stress - When someone experience acute stress frequently. Blame problems on other - Sources of stress - Time management - Personal expectations - Family expectations and life - Employment decisions and finance - Academic demands - Home environment - Relationships - Physical health issues - Environmental stressors - Information overload - Choices - Daily hassles Chapter 3 - Fight or flight response - Describes the body's automatic response anytime we perceive a threat or danger. Gives extra strength, power, and speed to avoid physical harm. Survive physical danger. Our body protect us from pain and death in life-threatening or dangerous situation. Homeostasis go up, fight or flight response, return to homeostasis. - Physiological changes associated with the stress response - Increased heart rate - Increased cardiac output - Increased blood pressure - Increased breathing rate - Increased metabolism - Elevated oxygen to the brain - Increased muscle contraction - Blood thinning - Increased brainwave activity - Increased circulation of free fatty acids - Stages of general adaptation syndrome - Alarm stage -- the body responds (fight or flight). Homeostasis is disrupted. Body systems are activated, nervous an endocrine system. - Resistance stage -- if the stressor continues, the body mobilizes its internal resources to return to homeostasis. Since the perception of stress still exist, it does not do so. Stress response stays activated. - Exhaustion stage -- body can no longer function normally. Organ system fails, body breaks down. - How the science of stress relates to stress management and prevention - providing insights into how stressors trigger reactions in the body, allowing for targeted strategies to mitigate these effects through techniques like relaxation practices, mindfulness, and lifestyle modifications that can directly influence the stress response pathways Chapter 4 - Role of stress in disease - Cardiovascular, immune, and other systems of the body are affected. Consume more alcohol, smoke more cigarettes, drink more coffee. - Cancer, endocrine diseases, emotional disorders, other stress-related disorders - Affects blood pressure, cholesterol levels, leading to heart diseases - Less energy go to the internal environment for cell growth and repair. - Cause cortisol to slow production of lymphocytes. Making body less capable of fighting disease and infection - Effect of stress on body systems - Muscles tension and pain - Headaches - Results from muscle tension - Fatigue - Continued muscle contraction - Upset stomach - Ceases all the processes necessary to break down food efficiently - Difficulty sleeping - Minds are overthinking about things not associated with sleeping. Body stays aroused and alert. Brainwave activity stay activated. - Bruxism - Without immune system, we can catch cold and virus Chapter 5 - Perception/how it affects experiences with stress - Person's cognitive interpretation of events. Whether they perceive something as a stress or not. Is it a danger or not. Affects the fight or flight response according to it. Different cultural backgrounds can affect they way people perceive stress. Everyone has different body capability that could affect the way they respond to stress. - Cognitive restructuring - Refers to the mental act of changing the meaning or changing our interpretation of the environmental events in life. **Cognition** is a mental process that consists of thinking and reasoning skills and **Cognitive appraisal** is the deciding factor in our reaction. This process is sometimes called reframing. Change thoughts that are threatening to nonthreatening. It involves first awareness, then correction. - Between amount of stress you feel and the level of control you feel - Locus of Control, refers to the extent to which we believe that we can control events that affect us. Control is a deeply held belief that you can directly affect a situation. The more control we think we have over our circumstances, the less stress we tend to feel. As our sense of control diminishes, stress levels tend to rise. - Self limiting beliefs prevents people from pursuing worthy goals, causing more stress. Mistaken belief about ourselves. - Self-efficacy describes the confidence in our ability to realize a goal or change a behavior. This could lessen the stress. - POPP formula - Point of Positive Perception - Actual **point** in time when your thoughts activate the stress response - Choose a **positive** thought to respond to the events in your environment - Positive **perception** will stop the stress response from activating - You have **prevented** unhealthy stress Chapter 7 - Mindfulness and mindlessness - Mindfulness is defined as the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present. Appreciation for the fullness of each moment we are alive. Focus on the present moment, not past nor future. We pay attention, on purpose, nonjudgmentally. Acceptance of reality. - Mindlessness occurs when our thoughts are not in the present moment and when we tune out what is happening. Focuses on times and places other than the here and now. - Qualities of mindfulness - Beginner's Mind - Seeing things as if for the first time. Observation full of curiosity, interest, and joy. Without filters of our beliefs, assumptions, expectations, and desire. - Nonjudging - We do not make up stories about the things we observe, we do not evaluate the observation at all. We simply notice with calmness the direct experiences as they unfold. Without adding analysis, see things more accurately. Notice what you notice. (detached observation) - Acceptance of what is happening - Nonjudging is accepting what is happening. It is holistic and unconditional. Acknowledge experiences as they are. Attending to and allowing what is happening now. - Nonattachment - Nonidentification with the object of our attention. Not getting carried away with thoughts or emotionally holding onto experiences. - Nonstriving - Not goal-oriented. Giving up our need to try to change things that can't be changed. Allow this moment to be exactly s it is and allow all things to be just as they are. No doing, just being. - Benefits of mindfulness - Focusing on the moment helps to clear your mind of clutter. - Turns off stress response, facilitates relaxation, reduces stress hormones, boosts the immune system - Reduce pain, anxiety, depression, binge eating, and stress. - Maintain nonjudgmental awareness, higher levels of positive states of mind - Reduced emotional exhaustion, psychological distress, depression - Improves personal accomplishment, quality of sleep, and relaxation. Chapter 8 - How negative emotions affect body and mind - can create chronic stress, which upsets the body\'s hormone balance, depletes the brain chemicals required for happiness, and damages the immune system - Triggers and basis for anger - Anger is an emotional response based on the way we choose to think about events, people, or circumstances. When our expectancy is not met. Result of our interpretation, based on the perception of our own. - Frustration - Stress - Physical discomfort - Jealousy - Hormonal changes - Mental health problems - Strategies for managing anger - Remind yourself that you don't have to think that way - Try to postpone your anger - Remind yourself that everyone has a right to be what he or she chooses - Ask someone you trust to help you - Try being physically close to someone that you love at the moment of your anger - Get rid of unrealistic expectations - Love yourself - Value of fear - State of escalated apprehension about a future event. Provides us with direction and clarity about what we\'d like to move towards, instead of only showing us what we\'d like to move away from. It makes us alert to danger and prepares us to deal with it. Feeling afraid is very natural --- and helpful --- in some situations. Fear can be like a warning, a signal that cautions us to be careful. - Strategies for challenging fear - Admit you are afraid. Learn to disassociate the pain from the event - Confront your fear. Do whatever it is that you are so afraid of. - Do it at least three times - Call it something else, excitement or a challenge. - Effective and ineffective ways of responding to stress - Acceptance: A study found that acceptance coping was more effective than other strategies in promoting good mental health.  - Social support: Seeking social support is a positive way to manage stress.  - Healthy lifestyle: Healthy lifestyle habits, such as regular physical activity, healthy food choices, and enough sleep, can help manage stress.  - Relaxation techniques: Practicing relaxation techniques and mindfulness can help manage stress.  - Time management: Prioritizing and managing time can help manage stress.  - Taking a break: Taking a break can help you come back refreshed, especially if you\'re feeling exhausted and unfocused.  - Ineffective - Lashing out: Lashing out at others can release some tension, but it can also negatively impact relationships.  - Excessive screen time: Too much screen time can increase stress levels.  - Substance abuse: Substance abuse is an unhealthy way to manage stress.  - Denial: Denial and self-criticism can exacerbate the effects of stressors.  - Criticism: Criticism, name-calling, and devaluing others can create conflict and bad feelings.  Key Terms - Self-Efficacy - Belief in one's ability to accomplish a goal or change a behavior - Cognitive Restructuring - Changing the meaning or interpretation of stressors - Allostatic Load - Physiological tear on the body that results from ongoing adaptive efforts to maintain homeostasis in response to stressors - Placebo Effect - A result created by the belief that one will benefit from an intervention - Locus of Control (LOC) - The way we ascribe our changes of success or failure venture to either internal or external causes - Fight or Flight Response - Automatic response that prepares the individual to take action upon facing a perceived threat or danger - Homeostasis - The body's natural state of balance or stability - Sympathetic Nervous System - Branch of the autonomic nervous system responsible for initiating the fight or flight response each time one perceives potential danger or pain - Autonomic Nervous System - Responsible for many functions in the body that occur involuntarily, such as digestion, heart rate, blood pressure, and body temperature. - Parasympathetic Nervous System - Branch of ANS that returns the physiology to a state of homeostasis - Yerkes -- Dodson Principle - Certain amount of stress is healthy, useful. When it is exceeded, bring inefficiency, and health problems. - Eustress - Positive, desirable stress that keeps life interesting and helps to motivate and inspire - Distress - The negative effects of stress that drain us of energy and surpass our capacity to cope - Chronic Stress  - Continuing stress provoked by unrelating demands and pressures that go on for an extended time - Techno-Stress - Feelings of dependence, incompetence, anxiety, and frustration associated with technology - College-Stress - Stress that is experienced by college students