Stress, Lifestyle, and Health

Flashcards summarizing key concepts and terms related to stress, lifestyle, and health from the lecture notes.

Positive Psychology

A field that seeks to identify and promote qualities that lead to greater fulfillment in our lives.

Positive Affect

Pleasurable engagement with the environment, associated with happiness, joy, enthusiasm, alertness, and excitement.

Optimism

The general tendency to look on the bright side, expecting good outcomes from situations.

Flow

An engaging experience where one loses oneself in an activity, marked by concentration and a feeling that time passes quickly.

Perceived Control

Beliefs about personal capacity to influence and shape outcomes, impacting health and happiness.

Learned Helplessness

An acquired belief that one is powerless to change a situation, resulting from repeated exposure to uncontrollable events.

Social Support

The comforting impact of friends, family, and acquaintances providing emotional and tangible assistance.

Psychophysiological Disorders

Physical disorders whose symptoms are exacerbated by stress and emotional factors.

Immunosuppression

Decreased effectiveness of the immune system due to stress, making one susceptible to disease.

Psychoneuroimmunology

The field studying how psychological factors influence immune system functioning.

Eustress

Beneficial stress that serves as motivation or a positive drive.

Distress

Excessive or debilitating stress experienced when stress levels surpass manageable limits.

Chronic Stressors

Events that persist over an extended period, such as long-term unemployment.

Acute Stressors

Brief events that can continue to be overwhelming long after they end.

General Adaptation Syndrome

A three-stage physiological response to stress outlined by Hans Selye, consisting of alarm reaction, resistance, and exhaustion.

Cortisol

A hormone released during stress, providing energy to manage stress but also linked to harmful effects when sustained at high levels.

Type A Personality

A personality type characterized by competitiveness, aggression, and a higher risk of heart disease.

Type B Personality

A personality type that is more relaxed and less pressured, showing lower risk of heart disease.

Negative Affectivity

The tendency to experience negative emotional states such as anger, contempt, and anxiety.

Job Strain

A work situation that combines high job demands with low control over job decisions, increasing health risks.

Job Burnout

Emotional exhaustion and cynicism related to one's job, prevalent in human service occupations.

Daily Hassles

Minor irritations and annoyances that can accumulate and lead to significant stress.

Alarm reaction

Body’s immediate reaction

Traumatic events

Situations involving exposure to actual or threatened death or serious injury

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

A chronic stress reaction including intrusive and painful memories, lumpiness and persistent negative emotional states among other symptoms.

Holmes and Rahe

Hypothesized that life events requiring significant change are stressful, whether they are desirable or undesirable

Close relationships

Relationships with friends and family can be a source of stress

Autoimmune disease

Immune system mistakes the body’s own healthy cells for invaders repeatedly attacks them

Heart disease

A cardiovascular disorder

Problem focused coping

Individual attempts to manage or alter the problem that is causing them to experience stress

Emotional focused coping

Efforts to change or reduce the negative emotions associated with stress

Perceived control

Our beliefs about our personal capacity to exert influence over and shape outcomes

Stress

Often conceptualized as something demanding or threading situation wise

Stressors

The perception overwhelming or threat to individual well being

Primary appraisal

Judges the degree of danger or harm

Secondary appraisal

Judges the ability to cope or respond

Stage of resistance

In which the shock of the reaction has lessened due to adapting to the stressor

Stage of exhaustion

When enduring the stressor is no longer possible

High stress occupations

Difficult, demanding, or unsafe working conditions

Hypertension

High blood pressure

Negative affectivity

Tendency to experience distressed emotional states involving anger, contempt, disgust, guilty, fear, and nervousness