Wellbeing and Stress

wellbeing

can be defined as a state of happiness and contentment, with low levels of distress, overall good physical outlook and quality of life

Diener’s model of wellbeing

subjective wellbeing describes people’s cognitive and affective evaluation of their lives, the frequency of positive affect, the level of negative affect and the cognitive evaluation of life satisfaction

affective balance

the balance between positive and negative emotions that an individual experiences in their daily life

affect

the experience and outward expression of emotion

life satisfaction

a cognitive judgemental evaluation of one’s life circumstances and experiences

subjective wellbeing

theorises that life satisfaction and affective balance are related but distinct concepts

factors of well being

(PEPPAS) - Purpose in life, Environmental Mastery, Personal Growth, Positive relations with others, Autonomy and Self respect

Stress

the nonspecific response of the body to any demands made upon it

eustress

a positive or beneficial stress response that is perceived as motivational or energising and is associated with situations that are challenging but within an individuality’s coping abilities and resources

distress

a negative or harmful stress response that impedes our ability to perform at an optimal level, is detrimental in nature and generates psychological maladaption

stressor

any stimulus that challenges or threatens, this causing the feeling of stress

internal stressors

psychological

external stressors

environmental, social, cultural

acute duration of a stressor

short term stressor’s which are your bodies immediate response

chronic duration of stressor

long term ongoing demands, pressures or worries

General Adaptation Syndrome, Seyle 1936

the body’s typical response pattern in terms of resistance to stress over time, describes the physiological changes the body automatically goes through to alleviate the impact of a stressor (adaptation)

alarm phase

initial response to a stressor, has two substages: shock and counter shock

shock

features low resistance and momentarily reduces the ability to deal with stressors

counter shock

activation of the sympathetic nervous system to prepare for a fight or flight response, releasing adrenaline and cortisol

resistance stage

if the stressor remains the body enters resistance stage, and will continue to produce cortisol and adrenaline, during this stage the body is prepared to deal with the stressor, the immune system is suppressed and the body is more susceptible to ‘wear and tear’

exhaustion stage

where the body’s physical, emotional and mental resources are depleted and the body no longer has the strength to fight the stressor

strengths of GAS model

identifies the biological processes associated with stress and was the first to highlight that stress has a major impact on the immune system

limitations of the GAS model

assumes the stress response is biologically uniform, and places too much emphasis on the biology of stress - does not account for psychological factors

Stress as a stimulus theory - Holmes and Rahe, 1967

viewed stress as a significant life event or change that demands a response, adjustment or adaptation

Social readjustment

measures the intensity and length of time necessary to accomodate to a life event, regardless of the event’s desirability

social readjustment rating scale (Holmes and Rahe, 1967)

consists of 43 common life events, scored according to the estimated degree of personal readjustment they would demand, by adding up the Life Changing Units the likelihood of experiencing a major health breakdown in the next two years is calculated

strengths of SRRS

Consistent cross culturally, helped raise awareness of the impact of major life events on stress and contributed to an understanding of mind-body connection

limitations of SRRS

limited scope, subjectivity/bias

Transactional Theory of Stress (Lazarus and Folkman, 1984)

presents stress as a product of a transaction between an individual and their complex external environment and the stress response as a subjective experience depending on an individual’s cognitive appraisal of the stressor

appraisal

a mental evaluation/interpretation of a situation where you judge how important something is and whether it matches your goals

coping

the cognitive and behavioural efforts made by individuals to manage the demands of a stressful situation

primary appraisal

can be benign (postive), irrelevant, or stressful - harm/loss, threat, challenge

secondary appraisal

where we evaluate our coping options and resources and either adequate or inadequate