Key Concepts in Nursing: Stress, Identity, and Spirituality

Adaptation

Ongoing process of adjusting to stressors to maintain balance and well-being.

Allostasis

The process of achieving stability through change; the body's ability to adapt to stressors.

Anxiety

A vague, uneasy feeling of dread or discomfort, often without a specific known cause.

Burnout

Physical and emotional exhaustion resulting from prolonged stress in caregiving roles.

Caregiver Burden

The strain experienced by those caring for chronically ill or dependent individuals.

Coping Mechanisms

Conscious strategies people use to manage stress (e.g., exercise, humor, problem-solving).

Crisis

A situation where coping mechanisms fail, overwhelming the person's ability to function.

Crisis Intervention

Short-term, active support to help individuals return to pre-crisis levels of functioning.

Defense Mechanisms

Unconscious psychological strategies that protect from anxiety or emotional distress (e.g., denial, repression).

Fear

A known, definite, immediate threat; a response to a specific danger.

Fight-or-Flight Response

The body's automatic, acute stress response that prepares for action (increased heart rate, BP, blood flow to muscles).

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

The body's response to stress, involving three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.

Homeostasis

A state of internal stability and balance in physiological processes.

Inflammatory Response

Local physiological reaction to injury or infection (redness, swelling, pain, heat).

Local Adaptation Syndrome (LAS)

A localized response to stress, such as the inflammatory response or reflex pain response.

Psychosomatic Disorders

Physical illnesses believed to be caused or worsened by psychological factors (e.g., stress-induced ulcers).

Reflex Pain Response

An automatic response of the central nervous system to prevent injury (e.g., pulling away from something hot).

Stress

A condition in which the human system responds to changes in its normal balanced state.

Stressor

Any physical, emotional, environmental, or social event or condition that produces stress.

Body Image

How a person perceives their physical appearance and function.

Depersonalization

A sense of detachment from oneself; feeling like an outside observer of one's body or thoughts.

False Self

When a person behaves in ways that are not true to themselves to meet others' expectations.

Global Self

The collective beliefs and images a person holds about themselves.

Ideal Self

The self a person wants to be or aspires to become.

Personal Identity

A person's sense of individuality and uniqueness.

Role Performance

How individuals fulfill expected roles in society (e.g., student, parent, employee).

Self-Actualization

The highest level of Maslow's hierarchy—reaching one's full potential and personal growth.

Self-Compassion

Being kind and understanding toward oneself in instances of pain or failure.

Self-Concept

The overall view a person has of themselves; includes body image, identity, and role performance.

Self-Esteem

How much a person values themselves; their judgment of self-worth.

Loss

The experience of separation from something of value.

Actual Loss

A loss that can be recognized by others (e.g., death, job loss).

Perceived Loss

Felt by the person but intangible to others (e.g., loss of independence, youth).

Anticipatory Loss

Grieving a loss before it occurs (e.g., terminal illness diagnosis).

Grief

Emotional response to loss.

Mourning

The outward, social expressions of grief (e.g., funerals, rituals).

Bereavement

The state of grieving and coping with the death of someone significant.

Dysfunctional Grief

Abnormal, prolonged, or unresolved grief that interferes with functioning.

Death

The cessation of all biological functions that sustain life.

Palliative Care

Holistic care focused on relief of symptoms, pain, and stress for serious illnesses, regardless of the prognosis.

Hospice Care

Care for individuals in the final phases of a terminal illness focusing on comfort, not cure.

Advance Care Planning (ACP)

Process of planning for future medical care in case the patient becomes unable to communicate their decisions.

Advance Directives

Legal documents expressing a person's wishes about medical care (e.g., living will, durable power of attorney).

POLST Form

(Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) Medical orders for seriously ill patients specifying desired treatments.

MOLST Form

(Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment) Similar to POLST; varies by state.

Do-Not-Resuscitate (DNR)

An order indicating no CPR if breathing or heart stops.

Terminal Weaning

Gradual withdrawal of life-sustaining treatments (e.g., mechanical ventilation) for a dying patient.

Euthanasia

The act of deliberately ending someone's life to relieve suffering.

Active Euthanasia

Taking specific steps to cause a patient's death (e.g., administering a lethal dose of medication).

Abstinence

Choosing not to engage in sexual activity.

Bisexual

Attracted to both males and females.

Cisgender

A person whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth.

Contraception

Methods or devices used to prevent pregnancy.

Erogenous Zones

Areas of the body that are highly sensitive to stimulation (e.g., lips, nipples, genitals).

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

The partial or total removal of external female genitalia for non-medical reasons; a human rights violation.

Gay

Typically refers to a man who is attracted to other men but can also refer to homosexual women.

Gender Dysphoria

Distress that arises from a mismatch between one's gender identity and assigned sex at birth.

Gender Identity

A person's internal sense of being male, female, both, neither, or somewhere along the gender spectrum.

Heterosexual

Attraction to members of the opposite sex.

Impotence

Inability for a male to achieve or maintain an erection.

Intercourse

Sexual activity, typically vaginal, anal, or oral penetration.

Lesbian

A woman who is sexually and romantically attracted to other women.

Masturbation

Self-stimulation of the genitals for sexual pleasure.

Menarche

The first menstrual period.

Menopause

The natural cessation of menstruation, marking the end of reproductive capacity.

Menstruation

The shedding of the uterine lining through the vagina, occurring cyclically in females of reproductive age.

Orgasm

The peak of sexual pleasure with rhythmic muscular contractions.

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

Physical and emotional symptoms occurring in the luteal phase of the menstrual cycle (before menstruation).

Sexual Dysfunction

Problems that interfere with sexual response, desire, arousal, or satisfaction.

Sexual Harassment

Unwanted sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature.

Sexual Health

A state of physical, emotional, mental, and social well-being related to sexuality.

Sexual Orientation

A person's pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attraction to others.

Sexuality

Encompasses sexual orientation, gender identity, intimacy, reproduction, and sensuality.

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs)

Infections spread through sexual contact (e.g., chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV).

Agnostic

A person who believes the existence of a higher power cannot be proved or disproved.

Atheist

A person who does not believe in the existence of a higher power.

Faith

A belief in something that cannot be proven; often refers to trust in a higher power or spiritual belief system.

Hope

An optimistic feeling that something desired will happen; a component of spiritual well-being.

Presencing

Being physically and emotionally present with another person as a therapeutic presence.

Religion

A formal organized system of beliefs and practices related to a higher power.

Spiritual Beliefs

Personal beliefs related to the meaning of life, death, and existence beyond the physical self.

Spiritual Healing

The use of spiritual practices to promote wellness or recovery.

Spiritual Health

The ability to experience and integrate meaning, purpose, and connection in life through relationships and faith.

Spiritual Needs

Needs related to finding meaning, purpose, hope, love, and forgiveness.

Spirituality

A person's unique experience of finding meaning, purpose, and connection, which may or may not involve religion.

Suffering

A state of severe distress associated with loss, pain, or helplessness; can be physical, emotional, or spiritual.

Spiritual Suffering

Deep distress related to loss of meaning, purpose, connection, or belief.