Final terms: Section 6 - stress, coping, and health

Health psychology

Studies the psychological influences on health (how to stay healthy, why you get sick, physical impact of stress, etc.)

Percent of deaths due to preventable lifestyle illness

50% Canadian deaths (leading cause)

Stress

Any circumstance that threatens well-being and you struggle to cope with it - perception is what determines an event stressful

Eustress

Positive stress - easier to cope with

Distress

Negative stress

Physical responses to stress (physiological arousal)

Increased blood to muscles, increase blood pressure, increased heart rate, etc. - due to epinephrine and norepinephrine

• strength or response determined by stress level

• risky for ppl with chronic stress

General Adaptive Syndrome

1. Alarm reaction - sudden arousal

2. Resistance - ex. attempt to escape

3. Exhaustion - body depleted, physical deterioration

Dis order by Hans Selye

Hans Selye

Tested stress in rats and discovered General Adaptation Syndrome

Sources of stress

• conflict

• Catastrophes

• Significant life changes and transitions - more changes in a shorter amount of time = riskier for health

• Daily hassles - most significant for health (urban-high BP link)

Kinds of conflict (having to make a choice)

• Approach - Approach (2 good options)

• Avoidance - Avoidance (2 bad options - more stressful)

• Approach - Avoidance (one option: to take or not to take, that is the question) - leads to vacillation (waffling)

Psychophysical disorders (caused by stress)

• High BP

• Coronary heart disease

Coronary heart disease

The chronic blocking of blood to parts of the heart

• leading cause of US deaths as of 60s

• Increased risk due to smoking, high cholesterol, poor diet, low exercise, and being a man

Friedman and Rosenman

A pair of researchers that studies wife-husband diets and found that they ate the same cholesterol but the men’s were higher - proposed stress factor?

• studied cholesterol levels in accountants and found it was higher in April lol

• Studied men over 10 years - interviewed and measured responses and attitudes to categorize personalities and heart disease correlation

  • Type A

  • Type B

  • Type C

Personality Type A

Competitive, ambitious, hasty, work focused, rushed, etc.

• 2x more likely than type B to develop heart disease

• F 4x more likely

• More likely to use substances, sleep poorer, exhibit anger, etc.

• higher stress arousal response than B

• Most toxic trait to health being hostility

  • Hostile M 5x more likely to get heart disease ❤

Personality type B

Laid back, easy going, relaxed, accepting

Personality Type C

Positive exterior with a negative interior (mask)

• increased cancer risk? -false

• Anger turned inward linked to ❤ disease

The immune system

2 main components: B-lymphocytes (tackle bacteria, etc,), and T-lymphocytes (cancer, etc.)

2 errors: autoimmune disease or under developed immune responses

Stress - health link

• stress suppresses WBC production - more likely to get sick

• Doesn’t cause cancer but weakens body’s ability to fight it (increased diagnosis risk for 18 months after a stressful life event)

positive aspects of stress

post traumatic growth

1. Spiritual

2. Improved sense of self

3. Enhanced relationships

4. General life appreciation

5. Set on new positive life path

Gender more likely to report health symptoms

Female

Gender more likely to use over the counter or prescription drugs

Female

Gender more likely to visit a physician

Female - may feel more responsibility to be healthy (kids) whereas men may not want to admit “weakness”

Gender more aware of body and pain

Female

Gender more disease prone

Male

Reasons for in-adherence to treatment regimens

• lack of understanding

• Too much being asked of them (serious illnesses)

• Disbelief in diagnosis

More serious the diagnosis = more likely to follow advice

Advice tailored to patients life = more successful

Gender more likely to perform health behaviours

Female

Gender more likely to demonstrate risky behaviours

Male - illusion of invincibility vs F more realistic

Gender health trends with marriage

Men’s health increases after getting married, women’s health decreases

Stress coping mechanisms

• Aerobic exercise

• Relaxation

• Social support

• Each and sleeping well

Aerobic exercise

Good for heart and lung fitness and health (less stress when aroused by stress)

• provide escape/ distraction

• Boost self esteem

• Boost endorphins

Relaxation

• Benson’s relaxation response (relax body and mind 20min 2x/day, after 1month BP and overall stress decline)

• Five sense exercise

  1. 5 things you can see

  2. 4 you can touch

  3. 3 you can hear

  4. 2 small

  5. 1 taste

Social support

Reduces and helps with coping with stress (advice), encourages healthier living, and giving support is also beneficial

Eating and sleeping well

Allows for better ability to cope

Psychonutrition (?)

Why do ppl smoke?

Smoking begins as a teen (2% start after 20) - more likely in kids who are adrift, have a poor school record, who are around other smokers (even celebrities), etc.

• F teens smoke to cope with stress

Why do ppl keep smoking

Addiction to nicotine (just as addictive to cocaine) - dependency and tolerance

How to help ppl stop smoking?

• public health warnings (largely ineffective except for blindness. Psychological warnings in trial)

• Medication to reduce cravings

• Aversion/ cognitive therapy

Most not long-term solutions - half of ppl eventually succeed in quitting ( after multiple fails)

Solo cold t.turkey quitting most successful with familial motive

Smoking prevention

• inoculation

• Price increase (taxing)

Inoculation

A process for teens at risk of smoking due to being in smoking environments.

12 yr old kids partnered eith older teens and they tell the kid that cigarettes are bad and why - presents counter-argument