Ch 15 Health Stress and Coping

Test Items:

Disease-prone personality

Health Promoting behaviors

Definition of Stress

Stressors

Stressful situations

Physiological response to stress

Short term stress reactions

Long Term Stress reaction

Control over unpleasant events and its relationship to stress

Burnout

Emotional exhaustion

Lazarus and Appraisal system

Interpretations of Stress

Coping with Stress = Problem Focus or Emotion Focus

Definition of frustration

Responses to frustration

Displaced aggression

What’s the difference between Aggression and Assertiveness?

Conflict-

Approach-Approach Conflicts

Avoidance-Avoidance Conflicts

Approach-Avoidance Conflicts

GAS- General Adaptation Syndrome

Pg 548

Health is greatly affected by stress.

Periods of stress are commonly followed by illness.

Stress

Occurs whenever a challenge or threat forces a person to adjust or adapt.
Also a behavioral factor that directly affects personal well being.

Basic personal habits and behavior affect health

We need to minimize risk factors

Need to increase health promoting behaviors

Personality type affects amount of stress people experience

Behavioral Principles

Unhealthy behavior - causes ½ of deaths

Behavioral – medications manage medical problems

Pain control

Coping with illness

Behavioral Risk Factors-

Increase risk of death from disease

Lifestyle diseases

Obesity

Tobacco

Diet

45% of all deaths are due to unhealthy behavior = tobacco, drinking, drug use and lack of exercise

Risk Factors:

High level of stress

Increased blood pressure

Cigarette smoking

Abuse of alcohol + drugs

Overeating

Unsafe sex

Exposure to toxic substances

Violence

Disease Prone Personality

Chronic depression (less exercise, eat poorly, sleep poorly)

Anxious

Hostile

Frequently ill

Not Disease Prone (generally good health)

Intellectually resourceful

Compassionate

Optimistic

Non hostile

Health Promoting behaviors

Exercise

No excessive drinking

No tobacco

No overeating

Early prevention

Prevent smoking

Refusal skills training

Life skills training- help cope with day to day stress

Stress reduction

Decision making

Self control

Social skills

Pg 554

Stress is a major behavioral Risk Factor if prolonged + severe

Stress results as a matter of how we perceive events + react to them

Definition of stress

Stress is the mental + physical condition that occurs when a person must adapt to the environment

Examples- work, marital problems, financial problems, travel, sports, dating

Eustress

Good stress, events and issues are seen as challenges, and potentially rewarding

Stress reactions-

Autonomic nervous system,  arousal, with emotion

Stressor – an event that challenges or threatens a person

Pressure- when a person must meet urgent external demand or expectations

Variables to stress:

Control (less stress) and lack of control causes stress (less controls = more stress)

Unpredictable events add to stress

Emotional shocks- intense, repeated, pressure, unpredictable, uncontrollable=stress is magnified

Nursing, teaching, police, social work and Burnout

Burnout- being physically, mentally + emotionally drained

Emotional Exhaustion- fatigued tense +apathetic; feeling all used up
Cynicism- detached from job, “I don’t give a damn.”
Feeling of reduced personal accomplishment

Helpless, hopeless or angry, poor work performance

Burnout is the opposite of –Job engagement (work seen as important and meaningful, challenging)

To Prevent Burnout

Adjust workload

Keep social support (support gives encouragement)

Pg 555

Appraising Stressors

Ultimately- stress is determined by how a situation is perceived

Richard Lazarus- researcher said

Making the appraisal of a situation=

Primary Appraisal – Q: Am I ok or in trouble?
Decide if the situation is relevant or irrelevant positive or negative
Secondary Appraisal- Q: What can I do about this situation?
Assess resources
Choose a way to meet threat or challenge
Coping with threats=coping

Coping with Threats:

Problem-focused coping (control is the issue)
Need to manage or alter the distressing situation

Emotion-Focused Coping: (when there is no control of the situation)
People try to control their emotional reactions to the situation

Extreme Situations + Responses

Frustration-negative emotional state occurs when people are prevented from reaching desired goals (2 types)

1 External Frustration- outside force or individual impedes progress toward a goal (flat tire)

Delays success

Can be social obstacles = people

Non-social = objects

Frustration increases- as strength of blocked motive increases-frustration increases

2. Personal Frustration- personal characteristics

Coping-

Reactions to Frustration:

Aggression- any response with intent of harming a person or object

Most frequent response to frustration

*Persistence to frustration- varied efforts to overcome frustration

Displaced Aggression

Focusing aggression toward some-other person or object- whoever or whatever is available

Redirection – usually to a safe, less likely to retaliate direction

*Chains of displacement

*Hostility and violence are largely due to displaced aggression

*Scapegoating- available sources blaming

Withdrawal or Escape, Avoidance

Conflict- a person must choose between contradictory desires, needs and motive demands

1. Approach-Approach Conflicts (weak conflict)

Two positive choices

Two desirable alternatives

2. Avoidance-Avoidance Conflicts (difficult to resolve)

Choice between 2 negative undesirable alternatives

Based on personal needs or bias

3. Approach-Avoidance Conflicts (difficult to resolve)

People are attracted to

+same goal or activity

Repelled

fear + attraction—could result in ambivalence= mixed positive and negative feelings

Multiple Conflicts- neither complete positive or negative options

AKA- double approach-avoidance- each alternative has positive + negative qualities

Psychological Defense

Psycho-dynamic-Freud identified

Anxiety- comes with threatening situations

Tense, uneasy, apprehension, worried, vulnerable

Emotion-focused coping = defense mechanism helps us reduce anxiety

Defense Mechanism (definition)

Any mental process used to avoid, deny, or distort sources of threat or anxiety

Help us keep from being overwhelmed by immediate threats

Denial:

(basic) protecting oneself from unpleasant reality by refusing to accept it or believe it

Repression:

Holding memories away from unpleasant reality by refusing to accept it or believe it

Reaction Formation:

Impulses held in check by exaggerating opposite behavior – I hate you- but act over protective

Regression:

Returning to earlier less demanding situations Child like behaviors-

Projection:

Unconscious process- protects us from anxiety to see out own faults in others

Exaggerates negative traits in others

Directs attention away from personal failings

Rationalization:

Making excuses

Justifying behavior by giving rational but false reasons

Can be reasonable and convincing but false

Compensation:

Over achieving in one area to compensate for failures in another area

Defense against feelings of inferiority

Overcoming a weakness

Going to great lengths to do so

Sublimation:

Working off frustrated desires (especially sexual desires) through socially acceptable activities

Rechanneling sexual energy into productive behavior

Learned helplessness:

An acquired- learned inability to overcome obstacles and avoid aversive stimuli

Major element of depression

Learning to passively endure

Occurs when events seem to be uncontrollable especially after repeated failures

Unpredictable and unavoidable punishment

Leads to depression with feelings of learned helplessness, feelings of powerlessness, lowered aggression, decreased activity, loss of apetite, loss of sex drive, despondency, hopelessness…

Other Defense Mechanisms

Since Freud first described the original defense mechanisms, other researchers have continued to describe other methods of reducing anxiety. Some of these defense mechanisms include:

Acting out –The individual copes with stress by engaging in attention-seeking behavior to try and get notice that they crave. (School children trying to be class clown)

Affiliation – Involves turning to other people for support. (co-dependent behavior when one feels he/she can’t cope by self)

Passive-aggression – Indirectly expressing anger. (teen silently resents chores; puts dishes in washer, but does sloppy job and bangs plates around—easier for parent to take charge of chore)

Avoidance – Refusing to deal with or encounter unpleasant objects or situations. (dislike certain people at school and doesn’t join a club they’re in order to avoid contact with them)

Altruism – Satisfying internal needs through helping others.

Humor – Pointing out the funny or ironic aspects of a situation.

Psychosomatic illness:

Psychological factors contribute to actual body damage

Not hypochondrias Examples: can be caused by stress

Dyspepsia- stomach pain- not an ulcer
Eczema
Hives
Migrane headache
Rheumatoid arthritis
Hypertension
Colitis / Heart disease
Head, neck ache
Back ache
Indigestion
Chronic diarrhea
Fatigue
Insomnia / Sexual dysfunction
Type A personality
High risk of heart attack
Hard driving
Ambitious
Highly competitive
Achievement oriented
Persistent
Time urgency
Anger
Hostility
Very rigid in attitudes
These people are also prone to heart diseases because of the tensions, stress and worrying attitude. / Type B Personality
These people tend to be productive under stress.
They are very much relaxed, patient and have a lot of self control.
One of the type B personality traits is that these people do not get irritated or angry easily.
They are less competitive and their competitiveness is often productive with good intentions.
They rarely tend to be aggressive or frustrated.
People belonging to type B personality are also very much tolerant and flexible who can change in order to adapt to situations and changes.
These people do not get hyper if their time is wasted and do not mind waiting in queues or wait to get their work done.
Relaxation, enjoyment, fun comes very naturally to them. They spend their free time socializing, shopping or having a good time.
They are very calm as compared to their highly stung counterparts (type A). People of type A personality often wish they were working rather than spending their time in leisure and the type B personality traits are just the opposite.
People of B type personality tend to plan things in advance before executing them.