Stress and Health s1

Stress and Health

Term / Explanation / Application/Example/Extension
Types of Stress / Stress- the process of interpreting and adjusting to stressors, (circumstances or events,) which disrupt a person’s routine or outlook. / Having to get out of bed early is stressful because getting out of bed disrupts their routine. For some people this is extremely stressful, and for others it is a minor inconvenience
Health psychology- is a field of psychology that studies the effects of stress on the body, then finds solutions and better lifestyles for people to cope with stress / Coronary heart disease is the number one killer among Americans- which is often connected to stress and lifestyle.
Conflicts- decision between two choices
Approach-approach- choosing between 2 appealing choices / A person has to make a choice between viewing 2 movies, both of which the person wants to see, but only has time to see one movie.
Avoidance-avoidance- choosing between 2 unappealing choices / A student has to choose between taking Chemistry or Physics. The student wants to take neither, but one is required for graduation.
Approach-avoidance- making a decision about a choice or item that has both an appealing and unappealing aspect / A person has to make a decision about a possible prom date who has a nice car (positive aspect), but has to be home by 10:00 pm (negative aspect.) / This is often referred to as the most stressful conflict because the item has good and bad points. Realistically, most of our choices have at least one drawback.
Multiple approach-avoidance- making a decision between 2 choices each choice having a positive and negative aspect / A person who is on a diet and the only items in the fridge are pizza (taste good- positive, but high in fat- negative), and ice cream (favorite food- positive, but high in calories- negative.)
Life changes are events or situations that cause a person’s life to change / For adolescents, the number 1 life change is death of a parent. For adults, the number 1 life change is death of a spouse.
Responding to Stress / Walter Cannon- American psychologist who believed that stress affects the body both physiologically and emotionally. / When a person is stressed, he or she experiences changes in his or her body- stiff muscles, etc., while also being mentally exhausted- can’t concentrate.
Fight-or-Flight- physiological reaction, which is initiated by the sympathetic nervous system that prepares the body for fight (anger) or flight (fear.)

Acute Stress

Fight-or-flight / 1. Hypothalamus causes: / An example of acute stress would be getting into a car accident.
2. Sympathetic nervous system to trigger the: / Remember the sympathetic nervous system responds very quickly (using neural activity), allowing the body to instantly experience changes, which prepare the body for fight-or-flight.
3. Adrenal medulla to release:
4. Catecholamines, (include the neurotransmitters epinephrine and norepinephrine, and also the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline,) increase respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, blood to muscles, digestion to slow, pupils dilate / Stress affects both the brain and the body- the neurotransmitters epinephrine and norepinephrine circulate in the brain causing the brain to become more active; the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline (which have the same affects as epinephrine and norepinephrine, but are called different names because they circulate in the body) cause the body to speed up.

Prolonged Stress

/ 1. Hypothalamus causes: / An example of prolonged stress would be studying for college finals. The endocrine system (slower than the nervous system) is being activated, which is why the stress of studying for exams does not affect the body right away.
In addition, corticosteroids are constantly being released, which is why people often get sick from exposure to a long-term stressor- corticosteroids reduce the functioning of the immune system, specifically lymphocytes, which are white blood cells that fight infection.
2. Pituitary gland to trigger:
3. ACTH hormone to trigger:
4. Adrenal cortex to release:
5. Coritosteroids increase stored energy, reduce inflammation, reduce immune system and the production of endorphins
Hans Seyle- a psychologist who researched the effects of stress on the body. He referred to in 3 stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion described in the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) / A good way to remember the three stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome and the association to stress is to remember the statement, “ARE you stressed?”- A- alarm/ R- resistance/ E- exhaustion

GAS

/ Stage 1: Alarm stage- sympathetic nervous system is activated, which prepares the body for either fight-or-flight / You are notified that someone close has passed away- the sympathetic nervous system causes the adrenal medulla to release catecholamines. (Acute stress)
Stage 2: Resistance stage- outpouring of stress-related hormones (corticosteroids) / After a month of grieving, the adrenal cortex has caused the release of corticosteroids. (Prolonged stress)
Stage 3: Exhaustion stage- after prolonged exposure to a stressor, the body finally runs out of reserves to battle the stressor, resulting in burnout or severe illness / Over a period of time the person has experienced constant stress and no longer feels he or she has the energy to keep on going, resulting in seeking medical assistance. Stress also seem to shrink the hippocampus, which processes new memories, this may explain why then people have a hard time recalling stressful events in their life
Coping Strategies / Problem-focused coping- is learning to correct or eliminate a problem that is causing stress.
Individualistic cultures, like America, tend to primarily use problem-focused coping. / A student has a problem with another student in his class. He then asks his counselor to be removed from that class. This is an example of problem-focused coping- he eliminated the problem.
Emotion-focused coping- is learning to deal with certain negative emotions that are connected, or associated to the stressor.
Collectivistic cultures, who focus on the well-being of the group, tend to use more of emotion-focused coping / A student has a problem with another student in his class. Each time he sees this student he reminds himself to not get mad. This is an example of emotion-focused coping as the boy is controlling his emotions associated with the other boy- the problem.
Anger management is an example of emotion-focused coping
Explanatory Styles
Optimistic explanatory style- provides a specific reason for an outcome / A runner using an optimistic explanatory style would explain losing a race with a specific reason, such as he did not train long enough.
Pessimistic explanatory style tends to assume personal fault for an outcome- no matter what the situation / A runner using an pessimistic explanatory style would explain losing a race as a personal reason- he is not fast, he should not be running, he is no good
Personality
Type A personality- very aggressive, impatient, loud, always in a hurry / Type A personality people tend to be more of a risk for coronary heart-disease
Type B personality- relaxed, care-free

Submitted by Mike McLane, Sterling Heights High School, Michigan:

Permission to use for face-to-face instruction with students only.