PSYCH101 Lecture 22 Health Brief PDF

9/10/2024 The exam… I will discuss the exam in...

9/10/2024 The exam… I will discuss the exam in detail in Friday’s lecture If you have questions, please see the paper outline and/or ‘Announcements’ on Moodle. ‘Compulsory’ means it is compulsory to sit the exam; it Health, Stress & Coping does not mean you need to achieve a passing mark. If you can’t find the PSYCH101: Social & Developmental Psychology answer to your question, However, as it’s worth 30%, you there will be time during will want to get a good mark. Friday’s lecture. 1 2 Today’s lecture: Health Psychology  Good and bad stress The application of psychology to the promotion of physical health  Eustress (Selye) and the prevention and treatment of illness.  Micro-stressors  General Adaptation Syndrome Health Promotion: “the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. It moves beyond a focus  Links Between Stress and Illness on individual behaviour towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions.” – World Health Organisation.  Attributions and Explanatory Styles  Learned helplessness (Seligman) But isn’t physical illness a purely biological event?  Depressive Explanatory Style (Abramson)  Self-Efficacy (Bandura)  Dealing with stress https://www.who.int/westernpacific/about/how-we- work/programmes/health-promotion  Coping styles 3 4 An unpleasant state of arousal Good stress – Eustress (Selye) that arises when we perceive that the demands of an event Stress isn’t always bad! threaten our ability to cope effectively. Improves functioning Stress Improves motivation and performance Subjective appraisal of the Overcomes inertia and procrastination situation determines: Can enhance creative potential How we will What coping experience the strategies we will stress use Can improve adaptive responses But in this lecture we will be focusing on unhealthy stress… 5 6 1  9/10/2024 Overview: The Stress-and-Coping Process Unhealthy Stress Prolonged sense of unease or heightened mental and physical agitation Preoccupation with the situation The inability to create sufficient calm or rest Sudden or unexpected unpleasant events or changes Being overwhelmed by a life situation and seeing no escape or improvement 7 8 Crises and Catastrophes Change itself may cause stress by forcing us to adapt to new circumstances. Stressors: Anything that causes stress. Is change, positive or Post-Traumatic Stress negative, necessarily Major harmful? Disorder (PTSD): A person experiences enduring Life No support that positive “stressors” physical and psychological Events are as harmful as negative symptoms after an stressors. extremely stressful event. Impact of change depends on person and how change is appraised (interpreted ). 9 10 Micro-stressors: The Hassles of Everyday Life Most common source of stress arises from the daily hassles that irritate us. The accumulation of daily hassles does more to make people sick than catastrophes or e.g., environmental factors. major life changes. “Micro-stressors” place a constant strain on us. The accumulation of daily hassles contributes more to illness than do major life events – e.g., job, commuting, paying the bills, etc. Therefore, the answer is… 11 12 2  9/10/2024 Work Stress  Having no work is stressful, but so is having too much…  ‘Successful’ people and stress:  high pressure jobs significantly increase the likelihood of clinical depression or anxiety.  The increase in working from home As well as psychological impacts, stress can has blurred boundaries affect our physical well-being. 13 14 Links Between Stress and General Adaptation Syndrome Illness  Three-stage bodily response to stress  Research has shown that  Alarm stress breaks down a  Resistance body’s immune system  Exhaustion The longer a stressor persists, the more likely the person is to get sick  Personal characteristics can buffer adverse  Stress may be a short-term reaction to a threat, but over time effects. it compromises health and well- being. 15 16  Cardiovascular system What Stress Does to becomes overworked. the Heart Why Are  Hostile people are less health- conscious. Hostility  Type A Behaviour Pattern:  Hostile people are Characterized by extremes of and physiologically reactive. competitive striving for CHD In tense social situations, achievement, a sense of time they exhibit more intense urgency, hostility, and Linked? cardiovascular reactions. aggression.  Psychocardiology is a new A risk factor for coronary field that has emerged from heart disease (CHD)? this research that attempts to merge the heart and the mind.  Hostility appears to be the main toxic ingredient in CHD. 17 18 3  9/10/2024 Stress can weaken the heart, but it cannot affect the immune system. How “Hostile” Is Your Pattern of Behaviour? 19 20 What  Stress compromises the body’s Stress immune system.  Seligman (1975): Depression Does to results from learned the helplessness: Initial response  Psychoneuroimmunology ineffective, so stop trying. Immune (PNI): A subfield of psychology System that examines the links among Attributions psychological factors, the and  Abramson et al. (1989): brain and nervous system, and Explanatory Depression is a state of the immune system. Styles hopelessness brought on by the negative self-attributions people make for failure. Depressive explanatory style 21 22 A habitual tendency to attribute Self-Efficacy negative events to causes that are: Stable (unchanging) Global (impacts all / most areas The expectation that our A state of mind that varies behaviors can produce of life), and satisfying outcomes; a from one specific task and situation to another Internal (“my fault”) feeling of competence Depressive Particularly concerning when Explanatory coupled with hopelessness Research has shown the Style more self-efficacy one has, the more willing to take on a Major depression is twice as task, persist, and succeed common in women Is a key cause of disability globally (WHO) A self-fulfilling prophecy. 23 24 4  9/10/2024 Optimism is a generalised tendency to expect positive outcomes. How can optimism promote positive health outcomes? Biological – blood samples show optimists exhibit stronger immune response to stress When it comes to Behavioural – explanatory style Dispositional physical health, Optimism Positive thinking cannot guarantee research does not good health. support popular beliefs Victims of illness do not just have a “bad attitude.” (Just World Belief) about the power of positive thinking. Limits to positive thinking. Especially if it leads us to see ourselves and events in ways that are not realistic. 25 26  Positive Emotions = Broaden and Dealing with stress: Problem-Focused Build Coping  Shutting down and trying to deny or suppress the unpleasant thoughts and feelings. In dealing with essential tasks, it is better to Dealing  Distraction can be an adaptive confront and control than to avoid. with stress: form of avoidance coping. Emotion-  Concealing one’s innermost thoughts /feelings is taxing. Why is it not always a beneficial approach? Focused  Two aspects to opening up as an Can be physiologically taxing Coping emotional means for coping: Can lead to development of an over-  Must acknowledge and controlling, stress-inducing Type A pattern understand one’s emotional reactions to important events. of behavior  Must express those inner feelings to themselves and others. 27 28 A self-perpetuating feedback Dealing with stress: Proactive Coping loop can occur:  Prevention/minimisation Being in a bad mood triggers self-focus. Self-focus in people with low self-esteem  Social support (helpful further worsens the mood. Rumination. coping resources provided by friends and Self-Focus: Gender differences: Women other people). Getting brood and men act out. Trapped Has therapeutic effects vs. Getting on both our Out Healthier alternatives: Getting psychological and absorbed in difficult, demanding, physical health. and fully engaging activity  Social support and contact related to E.g., aerobic exercise, writing, reading, gardening longevity. 29 30 5  9/10/2024 Subjective  One’s happiness, or life satisfaction. What predicts Well- happiness? Being Social relationships Employment status Physical health  People in poor but equal societies are happier (on “I’d be happy if I won Lotto”. average) than people in rich but unequal societies. 31 32 Why Doesn’t Money Contribute Aiming for Good Health More to Subjective Well-Being?  Perceptions of wealth are not absolute but relative to certain standards. Social comparison theory revisited.  People use their own recent past as a basis of comparison. Also see: Ajzen, Fishbein:  The importance of EQUALITY  - Theory of planned behaviour Prochaska & DiClemente - Spiral model of behaviour change 33 34 Models of (health) behaviour change External factors Individual Desire for factors change Behaviour change Health belief model (smoking) 35 36 6  9/10/2024 Theory of reasoned action & planned behaviour Theory of Planned Behaviour 37 38 Prochaska & Promoting and maintaining mental DiClemente health Or spiralling back down 39 40 Inspirational? Or victim-blaming? The pursuit of  Key predictors of long-term: Social relationships Employment status Health  Also linked to:  High self-esteem  Sense of personal control (self- efficacy)  Positive memories  Optimism  Virtual cycle 41 42 7  9/10/2024 Maintaining health Health isn’t just about the individual –  Te whare tapa wha model  Social influence  Work  Access to resources  Social support  Safe place to exercise  $ to buy healthy food and the time and skills to prepare it  Timely and appropriate medical care… 43 44 Keeping healthy: physical Keeping healthy: psychological How can we maintain / improve our  Do things you enjoy physical health?  Two factor theory of emotion  Exercise – especially in fresh air  Posture / biofeedback and sunshine  Relaxation/meditation  Get enough rest (https://www.headspace.com)  Eat well  Mindfulness  Refrain from substance abuse  Spend time with people whose  ‘Three good things’/gratitude diary company we enjoy  Self-compassion  Religion/spirituality (whatever that means for you) 45 46  We all get sad, anxious, etc Mental  If you look for symptoms in yourself, you’ll But: health and probably find them  That doesn’t mean you’re mentally ill illness are  While all the above is good,  It does mean we all need to look after not ‘black & ourselves (and others) evidence-based advice… white’  What does self-care mean for you?  When you’re stressed, sad, anxious  Making time for a walk in the sunshine you’re less likely to do these things  Having a relaxing bath try to get into healthy habits on a  Watching funny videos daily basis  Keeping a gratitude diary… learn to recognise your signs of stress and act early.  They don’t ‘fix’ underlying issues, whether biological or social But they do make them easier to cope with on a day to day basis. 47 48 8  9/10/2024 49 50 Key points? 51 9