health, stress, and coping chapter 15. health, stress, and coping what is stress? the stress-illness...
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Health, stress, and coping What is stress? The stress-illness mystery The physiology of stress The psychology of stress Coping with stress
What is Stress? Stress is subjective; can include:
sudden traumatic experiences continuing pressures that seem uncontrollable small irritations that wear you down
Holmes and Rahe developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) a stress scale that rates the degree to which
life events are stressful
Daily Hassles SRRS considers both positive and negative
events as stressful. Most stress, however, comes from a series
of little stressors, or daily hassles, that include irritations and demands that occur in daily life.
Stress reactions to hassles may predict one’s stress toward major life events.
The Stress-Illness Mystery
Stressors can increase illness when they: severely disrupt a person’s life are uncontrollable are chronic (i.e., lasting at least 6 months)
Stressors and the Body
Noise Bereavement and Loss Work-Related Problems Poverty and Powerlessness Recent Immigration
The Physiology of Stress
General adaptation syndrome. (Selye’s Theory) There are three phases in responding to stressors:
Alarm Resistance Exhaustion
Goal is to minimize wear and tear on the system.
Current Approaches HPA (Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal
cortex axis) A system activated to energize the body to
respond to stressors. The hypothalamus sends chemical
messengers to the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland prompts the adrenal
cortex to produce cortisol and other hormones.
The Mind-Body Link Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
The study of the relationships among psychology, the nervous and endocrine systems and the immune system.
Psychological factors explain why not all people are stressed the same amount by the same things.
The Psychology of Stress Emotions and illness Letting grievances go Explanatory styles The sense of control
The benefits of control The limits of control
Emotions and Illness Hostility and heart disease.
Type A Personality: Determined to achieve, sense of time urgency, irritable, respond to threat or challenge very quickly, and impatient with obstacles.
Type B Personality: Calmer and less intense. Personality type is less predictive of health
problems than is hostility. Proneness to anger is a major risk factor.
Hostility and Heart Disease Men with highest
hostility scores as young medical students had higher rates of heart disease 25 years later.
Hostility is more hazardous than a heavy workload.
Depression and Disease Two studies followed 1000 people for many
years. Those who had been clinically depressed at
the outset were 2-4X more likely to have a heart attack than nondepressed people were.
Other research failed to find the link.
Emotional Inhibition Emotional Inhibition: A personality trait
involving a tendency to deny feelings of anger, anxiety, or fear; in stressful situations, physiological responses such as heart rate and blood pressure rise sharply.
People who display this trait are at greater risk of becoming ill than people who can acknowledge feelings.
Letting Grievances Go Research on confession: divulging private
thoughts and feelings that make you ashamed or depressed. First-year students who wrote about their fears
reported greater short term homesickness and anxiety. By end of year they had fewer bouts of flu and visits to the infirmary.
Can also give up thoughts that produce grudges and replace them with different perspectives.
Forgiving thoughts.
Explanatory Styles 2 styles: optimistic and pessimistic
explanatory style Optimism seems to produce good health and
even prolong life. Pessimism is associated with early death. Optimists take better care of themselves when
they get sick, cope better, and draw on social support.
Pessimists often engage in self-destructive behaviours.
The Sense of Control Locus of Control
A general expectation about whether the results of your actions are under your own control (internal locus) or beyond your control (external locus).
Feelings of control can reduce or even eliminate the relationship between stressors and health.
The Benefits of Control Among people exposed to cold viruses, those who
feel in control of their lives are 1/2 as likely to develop colds.
Low-income people with a strong sense of control are as healthy as people from higher-income groups.
People with more control over their work pace and activities have fewer illnesses and stress symptoms.
Residents of nursing homes show more alertness, happiness, and longevity when given more choices and control over their activities.
The Limits of Control Primary Control (Western Cultures)
An effort to modify reality by changing other people, the situation, or events; a “fighting back” philosophy.
Secondary Control (Eastern Cultures) An effort to accept reality by changing your own
attitudes, goals, or emotions; a “learn to live with it” philosophy.
Cooling Off Relaxation Training
Learning to alternately tense and relax muscles, lie or sit quietly, or meditate by clearing the mind; has beneficial effects by lowering stress hormones and enhancing immune function.
Massage therapy Exercise is also an excellent stress reliever
Fitness and Health Among those with low
stress, fit and less-fit people had similar levels of health problems.
Among those with high stress, there were fewer health problems among people who were more fit.
Solving the Problem
Emotion-focused and problem-focused coping.
Effective Cognitive Coping Methods: Reappraising the situation Learning from the experience Making social comparisons Cultivating a sense of humor
Drawing On Social Support Friends can help with coping:
People with network of close connections live longer than those who do not.
After heart attack, those with no close contacts were twice as likely to die.
Relationships can also cause stress. Giving support to others can be a valuable
source of comfort.