unit 4 - Psych to health (stress and wellbeing)

stress (according to Selye (1936))

stress is the non-specific response of the body to any demand (psychological or physiological)

experiencing stress

to experience a stress there must be a stressor present. when a person perceives that the demands of the stressor exceed their ability to cope, they will then experience stress.

order of events

stressor —cant cope—> stress } stressor —can cope—> no stress

there are 2 types of stress

distress, eustress

distress

negative stress response typically accompanies by physiological reactivity and negative emotions

*this stress impedes ability to perform and cope at an optimal level, often associated with maladaptive coping/health risks

causes of distress

loss of a loved one, conflict, financial difficulties

eustress

positive stress response that motivates and enhances functioning

*an individual feels stressed yet prepared to complete a task for deal with a situation

causes of eustress

new job, exercising, receiving an award, moving house.

stressors

sources of stress from internal or external factors

*any person, object or event that challenges or threatens them, thus causing stress

there are 4 types of stressors

environmental, psychological, social, cultural

environmental

arise form the conditions and physical surroundings of an individual

*e.g. noise, extreme temperatures, war, flooding

psychological

caused by emotional and cognitive factors

*e.g. buying a house, break-up, pressure at work

social

stem from relationships and interaction with society

*e.g. conflicts with family and friends, pressure to be accepted by others

cultural

emerge from cultural identity, values and cultural norms

*e.g. discrimination due to cultural beliefs and practices.

there are 3 characteristics of stressors

source, duration, strength/intensity

source

stressors can come from external sources (events or situations) or internal sources (thoughts, emotions, beliefs and attitudes)

duration

stressors can be acute: they occur suddenly and are short term

or

stressors can be chronic: they persist over a love period of time

strength/intensity

stressors vary in their level of severity, ranging from mild to highly intense, with more intense stressors generally being more difficult to cope with.

The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) use

used to describe the physiological changes that the body automatically does through when it responds to stress

Selye (1936): who was he?

conducted years of research on the short and long term affects of stress. his theory being that stress was not only an environmental stressor, but a set of processes that act as a response.

*stressor = physical reactions = stress as a response

the 2 physiological responses to stress

increase heart rate, increased breathing rate

3 stages to Selye’s GAS model

alarm, resistance, exhaustion

alarm

the initial response to the stressor

2 phases:

• shock: physiological activity temporarily falls below normal functioning

e.g. blood pressure and body temp temporarily decrease

• counter shock: body realises there is a stressor and it prepares to cope with it

amygdala detects threat, hypothalamus initiated sympathetic ns, adrenal glands secrete cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline = fight or flight response.

resistance

when the stressor persists, the body attempts to repair from initial shock and the parasympathetic ns is activated to restore the body to normal, homeostatic functioning

*adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol continue to be secreted

exhaustion

stress persists over a prolonged period of time, beginning this phase. physical and mental reserved are depleted reducing effectiveness of adrenal glands, lowering blood sugar and impairing physical health.

immediate effects: fatigue, anxiety, depression, reduced motivation, weakened immune system, increase chance of heart disease and diabetes.

Holmes and Rahe )1967)

described stress as a significant change in life that requires response or adjustment to be made.

they assumed that:

• life changes are stressful

• you will develop illness if cannot adjust to changes/stress

• adjustment needs are similar across events for different individuals

they believed that personality, life experience and social support, do not affect the impact of stress or adjustment needed

Social Readjustment Scale (SRRS)

assesses the amount of stress that has been experienced in the past year of life by an adult.

consists of 43 common life events, each with a score out of 10 to 100, and Life Change Units (LCU) to measure the amount of change/stress one has experienced (via their LCU score)

Evaluation of SRRS

strength: easily statistically analysed due to numerical data

limitation: it measures subjective data so participants may lie about experiencing things or tick things if they are almost done something (not totally reliable), and does not allow for context with answers (due to quantitative data being collected)

Lazarus and Folkman (1984)

suggested that individuals utilize their *perception of a stressful situation and their subjective past experience to help them cope.

*links to unit 3: memory

Contradicts Holmes and Rahe (1967) because

they believed stress response depends on emotions and psychological factors unique to the individual. individuals interact with their environment to asses their current situation and any potential stress. this is individualised.

individual —> environment —> stressor } about all 3 combined

cognitive appraisal

involves the individual making a judgment on events in their environment. as long as they are conscious this occurs, whether they are aware of it or not.

cognitive appraisal has 2 subtypes

primary and secondary appraisal

primary appraisal can be split into 3

irrelevant appraisal, benign-positive appraisal, and stress appraisal

irrelevant

no impact on wellbeing, not + or -, it is often ignored

e.g. y7 classes on the front oval

benign positive

enhances wellbeing, perceived as +, feeling of joy, happiness and peace.

*typically some level of stress or nerves, not completely +

e.g. flash mob

stress

includes potential harm/loss, threat or challenge as subtypes

harm/loss

damage to wellbeing, illness, emergency, etc.

e.g. first aid emergency

threat

harm/loss that has not yet occurred but it is predicted to; feeling of fear, anger, anxiety.

*sometimes can be helpful. e.g. anticipatory grief
e.g. yelling

challenge

potential for growth or gain; feelings of eagerness, excitement

*eustress, offers something good to come of it.

e.g. getting an award

secondary appraisal

can be split into 2 subtypes

insufficient resources

a person perceives that they do not have the resources to deal with the event/stress.

e.g. has not studied and does not know the content

sufficient resources

a person perceives that they can deal with the event/stress

e.g. has studied and knows the content

coping with stress has 2 methods

problem-focussed method, emotion focussed method

problem-focusses method

we target the root cause of the stress using problem solving

*a teachers class does not like the way the teacher is teaching a topic, and so the teacher adjusts their teaching style to a better suited one

emotional focussed method

we manage emotional reaction to the event/stress

e.g. meditation or re-framing

*not addressing the root cause, but changing how we feel about the scenario to make us feel better

reappraisal

after using a coping strategy, reappraisal of an event occurs

consequences of stress

stress effects both physical and psychological health, the way an individual copes with stress can determine it’s impact

coping strategies can be…

maladaptive or adaptive

maladaptive strategies

involve harmful and unhealthy stress management that exacerbates its adverse effects

*avoids dealing with the problem

e.g. denial, substance abuse, procrastination

this becomes a cycle that worsens the stressor and its effects

adaptive coping strategies

beneficial and productive methods for managing stress, and can reduce it’s negative impacts

e.g. healthy diet, sleep, exercise and positive reframing

sleep

a state of partial or total loss of consciousness in which mental and physical activity are reduced

evolutionary reasons for sleep

early humans used day time to eat, drink, and reproduce because night time meant an increased injury risk. also difficult to avoid predators at night, and to conserve energy.

restorative reasons for sleep

sleep maintains homeostasis of the body allowing energy conservation, repairs and replenishes the body. this increases alertness, immunity, mood and activates growth hormones.

*NREM restores body, REM restores the brain

NREM

repairs and restores the body via process of muscle repair and restoring hormone levels

REM

repairs the brain and mental processes allowing neural connections to develop for memory formation, consolidation and learning

key functions of sleep

energy conservation, adaptations/evolutionary, physical restoration, memory consolidation

energy conservation

less muscle tension, lower heart rate, reduced metabolic activity

adaptations/evolutionary

most beneficial sleep wake cycle for humans

physical restoration

build and restore muscles, growth hormone released during slow wave, sleep helps clean the brain out.

memory consolidation

REM and slow wave (deep sleep) are important for memory and consolidation of learning

sleep wake cycle

a recurring patter of wakefulness and sleep

*16 hours of day time wakefulness, 8 hours of night time sleep

cycle is typically regulated by circadian rhythm and is regulated by body temp, metabolic rate and release of hormones

master circadian clock

located in the hypothalamus

suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN)

in the hypothalamus and acts as the body’s master clock and responds to light cues from the environment

*neurons get input about the duration and intensity of light detected by the eyes and coordinates the timing of the circadian rhythm,

melatonin

hormone released by the pineal gland which increases in the evening to promote sleepiness and decreases in the morning to promote wakefulness

cortisol

released by the adrenal glands peaking in the morning to help us wake, and decreases at night to help us rest

*other circadian rhythms such as body temp also help regulate and sleep wake cycle

circadian rhythm

a naturally occurring bodily cycle that repeats approximately every 24 hours and responds to external cues in the environment

*the master circadian clock coordinates biological processes so that they occur at a time that maximises the fitness of the individual