16 Health Psych: Abnormal Behavior and Therapies (FROM BARRONS NOTES)

Eustress

positive and motivating stress

Distress

negative and debilitating stress

stressors

certain life events (things that cause stress)

general adaptation syndrome (GAS)

general response humans and other animals have to stressful events

• Hans Selye

Stages of GAS

1) Alarm Reaction

2) Resistance

3) exhaustion

GAS Stage 1 (Alarm Reaction)

Alarm Reaction

• heart rate increase

• blood diverted away from other body functions to muscles that need to react

• prepares for challenge by activating the sympathetic nervous system

GAS Stage 2 (Resistance)

Resistance

• body remains psychologically ready (high heart rate, etc.)

• hormones are released to maintain this state of readiness

• is resistance stage lasts too long, our body can deplete its resources

GAS Stage 3 (Exhaustion)

Exhaustion

• parasympathetic nervous system returns our biological state to normal

• can be vulnerable to disease (especially if resources were depleted)

hypertension

• High blood pressure

• prolonged chronic stress causes hypertension

immune Suppression

decreasing the body’s ability to produce white blood cells to fight off infection

Tend-and-befriend theory

• manage stress

• by actively seeking ways to tend to their own self-care needs and attend to the needs of friends and family members

• meaningful social connection activities with other can help reduce stress

emotion-focused coping

• stress management

• techniques such as meditation/mindfulness exercises, breathing techniques

• or combining the techniques with medications prescribed by clinical psychologists

positive psychology

• counter negative focus on human error, weakness, and sickness

• overlaps with the optimistic focus of humanistic psychology

• however it’s committed to supporting its theories with empirical (observed) evidence from research

• how humans can flourish, maximize potential, achieve happiness, improve quality of life

happiness

a state of emotional well-being characterized by feelings of joy, contentment, and satisfaction

subjective well-being

sense of how satisfied a person is with their life overall

virtues

• 6 core virtues

• values across all major religions and philosophies

• wisdom, courage, humanity, justice, temperance, and transcendence

wisdom

not associated with having learned a lot of information BUT being able to use that information creatively, being open-minded, and retaining curiosity

courage

including persistence, integrity, bravery

humanity

Appreciation of kindness toward and interest in others

justice

striving to be a socially responsible citizen of our world and actively trying to improve it

temperance

moderation, and this virtue eschews (forgo) excess and encourages self-control

transcendence

involves seeing beyond oneself and valuing one’s connection with the world (nature beauty hope for the future)

well-being

• our perception of how effectively we function in our personal lives and our role in the groups to which we belong

• overall perception of the quality of our lives

gratitude

• expressing thankfulness toward others verbally or in writing

• associated with increases in our perceptions of happiness and satisfaction in life (increases well-being)

resilience

• some people adapt effectively when faces with trauma and extreme stress

• some people experience post-traumatic growth after these intensely negative experiences

post-traumatic growth

ability to construct a meaningful experience in response to a period of trauma