Health, Psychological Wellness, and Stress Management

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, models, and theories from health, psychological wellness, and human stress response lecture notes.

Wellness

A state of living with vitality and meaning that is actively determined by the conscious decisions an individual makes about how they live.

Ottawa Charter Definition of Health

A conceptualization formulated in $1986$ defining health as an everyday resource for living rather than the objective of life, emphasizing physical capacities as well as social and personal resources.

Dimensions of Wellness

A holistic model comprising nine interrelated domains of personal well-being: physical, emotional, intellectual, interpersonal, cultural, spiritual, environmental, financial, and occupational.

Healthy Life Expectancy

The expected number of years an individual lives in good health and full functional capacity, free from chronic disability or disease.

Chronic Disease

A non-communicable medical disorder that develops and worsens over a long duration, often influenced by lifestyle factors such as smoking, physical inactivity, and poor diet.

Transtheoretical Model of Behavior Change

A framework developed by Prochaska and DiClemente explaining that individuals modify long-standing habits by progressing through six distinct stages: precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, maintenance, and termination.

Precontemplation Stage

The first stage in the transtheoretical model in which a person has no intention of altering their behavior within the upcoming $6$ months.

Contemplation Stage

The second stage of behavior change where an individual acknowledges a problem and intends to take action within $6$ months, but remains uncertain about how to begin.

Preparation Stage

The third stage in the transtheoretical model in which an individual develops a specific plan and intends to start taking action within a month.

Action Stage

The fourth stage of change in which observable modifications to behavior are actively practiced and sustained for up to $6$ months, accompanied by vulnerability to relapse.

Maintenance Stage

The fifth stage of the transtheoretical model characterized by the successful continuation and integration of a behavioral change lasting from $6$ months to $5$ years.

Termination Stage

The final stage of behavior change where self-efficacy is boosted to the degree that old habits no longer pose any temptation or risk of relapse.

Health Belief Model

A model that explains people are more likely to take steps to protect their health when they believe a disease is serious, feel they are at risk, and think the benefits of taking action outweigh the challenges.

Internal Locus of Control

The psychological orientation of individuals who believe that outcomes and events in their life are directly governed by their own choices and personal agency.

External Locus of Control

The orientation where an individual attributes responsibility for their life events and outcomes to external factors, fate, or circumstances beyond personal control.

Self-Efficacy

A person’s belief in their ability to successfully complete a task or handle a situation

Social Determinants of Health

A set of $14$ socioeconomic and structural life conditions—such as income, education, employment, housing, and social safety nets—that shape individual and population health outcomes.

Psychological Health

The collective capacity to think, feel, and behave in manners that allow individuals to enjoy life, realize their capabilities, and adaptively navigate daily challenges.

Self-Actualization

The highest pinnacle of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, characterized by realism, self-acceptance, autonomy, authenticity, capacity for intimacy, and creativity.

Martin Seligman's Three Dimensions of Happiness

A positive psychology model categorizing happiness into the pleasant life (optimism regarding past and future), the good life (engaging unique strengths), and the meaningful life (using strengths to serve a larger purpose).

Defense Mechanisms

Automatic psychological and coping reactions designed to protect the ego from unpleasant feelings, internal conflict, or unacceptable impulses.

Projection

A defense mechanism wherein an individual perceives their own unacceptable internal impulses or feelings as originating from outside persons or objects.

Repression

A defense mechanism involving the involuntary expulsion of unacceptable feelings, memories, or impulses entirely out of conscious awareness.

Displacement

A defense mechanism where emotional hostility or feelings are redirected away from the primary threatening source onto a secondary, less threatening target.

Rationalization

A defense mechanism involving the formulation of plausible, acceptable reasons to justify behaviors or feelings when the authentic underlying motive is unacceptable.

Cognitive Distortion

Negative or unrealistic thinking patterns that make people see situations as worse than they really are.

Intermittent Explosive Disorder (IED)

A behavioral disorder characterized by recurring impulsive and aggressive temper tantrums or outbursts that are disproportionate to the provocation and often co-occur with depression.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)

An anxiety disorder involving chronic, pervasive, and uncontrollable worry regarding everyday matters, affecting approximately $8.7\%$ of Canadians.

Dysthymic Disorder

A chronic mood disturbance characterized by the presence of persistent mild to moderate symptoms of depression for at least $2$ continuous years.

Hardiness

A stress-resistant personality composite defined by high levels of commitment to everyday goals, an internal sense of control, and viewing changes as challenges rather than threats.

Resilience

The psychological capability to recapture emotional and behavioral wellness within a reasonable timeframe after encountering acute adversity or significant trauma.

Stressor

Any physical, psychological, or environmental event or demand that triggers physiological and emotional reactions within an organism.

Stress Response

The coordinated physiological and psychological cascade of reactions (such as fight, flight, or freeze) mobilized by an organism upon encountering a stressor.

Autonomic Nervous System

The branch of the peripheral nervous system responsible for regulating involuntary bodily functions without conscious oversight, including heart rate, digestion, and respiration.

The part of the nervous system that automatically controls body functions like heartbeat, breathing, and digestion without you having to think about them.

Sympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system stimulated during arousal, crisis, anger, or exercise that releases norepinephrine and accelerates metabolic processes for emergencies.

The part of the nervous system that prepares the body for stress, danger, or physical activity by increasing heart rate, energy, and alertness.

Parasympathetic Nervous System

The division of the autonomic nervous system that moderates bodily processes when resting, promoting digestion, energy conservation, and recovery toward homeostasis.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

A universal three-phase physiological model of stress response formulated by Hans Selye in $1936$, comprising the alarm reaction, the stage of resistance, and the stage of exhaustion.

Alarm Reaction Stage

The initial phase of the General Adaptation Syndrome wherein the body experiences an initial drop in resistance before initiating the fight-or-flight mobilization.

Stage of Resistance

The second phase of the General Adaptation Syndrome in which the body establishes a sustained, elevated level of resistance to the stressor above normal baseline levels.

Stage of Exhaustion

The terminal phase of the General Adaptation Syndrome where physiological resources are completely depleted following protracted stress, resulting in sharply diminished resistance and elevated illness vulnerability.

Allostatic Load

The damage and strain on the body that builds up over time from long-term stress.

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

The study of how the nervous system, hormones, and immune system work together and affect each other during short-term and long-term stress.

Tend-and-Befriend Response

A way of dealing with stress by caring for others and seeking support from friends or family, partly influenced by the hormone oxytocin.

Burnout

A state of severe physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion brought about by prolonged and unmanaged work or life stress.