5.1- Introduction to Health Psychology

Health Psychology

The subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health

Stress

The process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging

Hypertension

High blood pressure

Immune Suppression

A weakening of the body's ability to fight disease

Stressor

Anything that causes stress

Eustress

Positive stress

Distress

Negative stress

Adverse Childhood Experiences

Traumatic events occurring before age 18 that can have negative, lasting effects on health and well-being

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A three-stage physiological response that appears regardless of the stressor that is encountered

Alarm Reaction Phase

The first step in GAS, where your sympathetic nervous system is suddenly activated

Resistance Phase

Second phase of the GAS, during which the body adapts to and maintains resources to cope with the stressor.

Fight-Flight-Freeze Response

An involuntary, physical response to a sudden and immediate threat (or stressor) in readiness for fight (confront), flight (escape) or freeze (avoid detection)

Exhaustion Phase

The third stage of GAS in which stress continues beyond the body's ability to adapt, leading to potential physiological and structural breakdown

Tend-and-Befriend Theory

A theory that suggests people seek social support and tend to others in times of stress (especially women)

Problem-Focused Coping

Attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor

Emotion-Focused Coping

attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction