Stress, Health and Coping Study Notes

Stress, Health and Coping
Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) Function

  • Function of the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS):

    • Maintains ongoing activity and homeostasis on a daily basis. It is the everyday, typical way the nervous system manages and regulates daily activities to keep the body in balance.

    • Key functions:

      • Cardiovascular: Regulates a steady, moderate heart rate, ensuring resources flow through the body.

      • Pulmonary: Ensures steady and calm breathing, not too deep and not too shallow.

      • Digestion: Facilitates ongoing energy use required for normal digestive processes, breaking down and absorbing food daily.

      • Nervous System: Supports sensory and perceptual activity at daily levels, allowing responsiveness to stimuli and focused attention on goals.

    • Optimally, humans spend the vast majority of their waking life in parasympathetic functioning, in situations where there is no reason to be alarmed, allowing for ongoing homeostatic functioning.

Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) Functioning

  • Function of the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS):

    • Mobilizes the body to respond to challenges or threats, often described as the fight-or-flight response. This an evolved pattern of functioning, preparing individuals to fight off perceived danger or run away.

    • Key functions:

      • Cardiovascular: Increases heart rate significantly to pump nutritional resources and oxygen to "hyperactivated" locations like the brain and large muscles.

      • Pulmonary: Promotes rapid, shallower breathing to quickly pull in as much oxygen as possible, especially for the brain.

      • Digestion: Redirects resources away from digestion to muscles, leading to reduced digestive activity. Digestive control, including over sphincters, is inhibited, which can lead to involuntary bodily releases (e.g., peeing/pooping oneself from fright). Food may sit undigested, causing discomfort or loss of appetite.

      • Nervous System: Enhances sensory and perceptual activity to a heightened state of alertness, resulting in increased sensitivity to stimulants. This creates a state of "vigilance," where attention is constantly scanning for environmental changes, supporting "bottom-up control" rather than "top-down control."

    • This pattern of activation is primarily adapted for physical threats that were common in evolutionary history.

Health Psychology

  • Selye’s Concept of Stress:

    • Hans Selye proposed a model describing how the body responds to stress in three distinct stages, designed to keep us alert but also to reduce the drain of sustained sympathetic functioning.

    • Alarm: A relatively brief and immediate reaction characterized by very high arousal of the SNS, preparing the body for vigorous activity. This involves abrupt and dramatic changes: heart rate, breathing, muscle tension, and vigilance reach their highest levels. This state cannot be sustained for long due to rapid resource depletion and suppression of long-term survival activities like digestion.

    • Resistance: If the stressor persists beyond a few minutes and is not quickly resolved (e.g., by fighting, fleeing, or death), the body enters a phase of prolonged, moderate arousal. This phase attempts to adapt to the ongoing stressor while conserving resources by reducing the intensity of SNS functioning. Heart rate, breathing, and muscle tension remain heightened compared to parasympathetic functioning but are lower than during the alarm phase. Vigilance decreases but does not return to normal. Some digestive function may resume, but not at typical levels.

    • Exhaustion: Long-term exposure to stress or sustained resistance leads to the depletion of essential proteins in the immune system, resulting in fatigue, weakness, and an increased vulnerability to illness. Chronic stress, particularly from modern life stressors (relationships, work, finances) that cannot be resolved by fight or flight, can lead to prolonged resistance and eventual exhaustion, making individuals more susceptible to infections and difficult recovery.

Measuring Stress

  • Subjective Nature of Stress:

    • The perception of stress can vary significantly based on individual circumstances and history.

    • Example: A lost job may not be a significant stressor for a 16-year-old fast-food worker living at home but could be devastating for someone with dependent financial obligations.

    • The loss of a pet, often overlooked historically, is now recognized as a significant stressor, comparable in impact to the loss of human partners for many individuals, depending on the person's investment and perceived relationship with the animal. This highlights the need for social support in such circumstances.

How Stress Affects Health

  • Indirect and Direct Effects of Stress on Health:

    • Indirect Effects: These involve behavioral changes reflecting the stress experience that subsequently contribute to adverse health outcomes. Examples include:

      • Loss of sleep, leading to sleep deprivation and increased risk for accidents and reduced self-care.

      • Increased use of substances (e.g., alcohol or drugs) as coping mechanisms, which can lead to dependency and associated health risks.

      • Anxiety stemming from negative thoughts or a sense of being overwhelmed, which can reduce the likelihood of taking protective health actions.

    • Direct Effects: These result from the stress response itself compromising health. Prolonged SNS activation leads to extended exposure to cortisol, a stress hormone.

      • Negative impacts include cognitive damage (affecting memory) and significant compromises to immune system functioning, making individuals more vulnerable to illness and hindering recovery.

  • Connections between Stress and Behavior:

    • Emotions and stress do not directly cause illness but may influence individuals to engage in risky behaviors or neglect self-care, which can deteriorate health.

    • Phenomena like “curses” and “hexes” might alter a person’s beliefs and emotional states, which can result in health deterioration by influencing behavioral choices.

Stress and Specific Health Outcomes

  • Heart Disease:

    • Research from the 1970s indicated a connection between type A personality traits and heart disease, based on observations by cardiovascular specialists.

    • Type A Personality: Characterized as highly competitive, impatient, hurried, with an angry and hostile demeanor. Individuals perceive challenges as obstacles hindering them, adopting a defensively offensive approach to the world, leading to sustained high-stress responses and increased cardiovascular strain.

    • Type B Personality: Defined as easygoing, less hurried, more patient, and less likely to exhibit hostility. Type B individuals perceive challenges as problems to be solved or worked around, experiencing less stress.

  • Links to Hostility and Heart Disease:

    • A correlation exists between hostility and heart disease; however, this research is correlational, meaning it identifies risk factors but does not establish causation (due to the inability to randomly assign personality traits or induce heart disease experimentally).

    • Genetic factors, diet, and exercise (e.g., sedentary lifestyle, obesity) often play a much more significant and predictive role than personality traits alone.

    • Cultural influences also dictate lifestyle elements that may influence heart disease risk. For example, the Mediterranean diet (more fruits, vegetables, leaner meats, vegetable-based fats) is associated with a lower risk. In contrast, cultures like the Mid-Atlantic U.S., characterized by a fast pace of life and rich, high-fat, high-salt comfort foods (e.g., Philadelphia cheesesteaks), tend to have a higher risk for heart disease, though these foods were originally suited for high physical labor, which is less common today. Awareness and moderation are key to reducing risk.

  • Cancer:

    • While less significant than other factors, behavioral factors can influence the onset and progression of cancer indirectly.

    • Fear and anxiety often deter proactive measures:

      • Emotional states can hinder self-examinations (e.g., breast, prostate) and medical consultations, as individuals may "not want to know" if something is wrong. This delay in diagnosis can be critical, as early detection significantly improves prognosis and treatment effectiveness.

      • Irrational thinking, driven by fear, can lead individuals to avoid doctors even when symptoms are severe, as seen in cases where patients wrongly associate medical visits with causing or accelerating illness.

    • Stress and depression are identified as two emotional states that can compromise immune function, potentially increasing the risk for various cancers by making the body less effective at fighting off intrusions. Depression, characterized by low motivation, helplessness, and hopelessness, can also lead to inaction even when problems are suspected.

  • Role of Psychological Factors in Cancer:

    • Emotional impacts are considered far less significant compared to exposure to environmental toxins (e.g., cigarette smoke, which carries a "black box warning" due to extensive causal evidence linking it to various cancers and pulmonary diseases like emphysema and congestive heart failure) and genetic predispositions.

    • While genetics can significantly raise cancer risk (e.g., specific genetic markers increasing risk for reproductive cancers), individuals can make proactive choices like healthy lifestyles and regular screenings to improve outcomes.

    • Psychological support positively influences patient behavior post-diagnosis; increased support correlates with improved quality of life and recovery chances. This support can be emotional or instrumental (e.g., practical advice or specialized products like a camisole with pockets for post-mastectomy drains), provided by family, friends, or the medical community.

Coping with Stress

  • Coping Strategies: Psychologists categorize stress management approaches into two main types, neither of which is universally "best"; effectiveness depends on the stressor's nature and controllability.

    • Problem-Focused Coping: Involves actively addressing and tackling the source of stress. The individual sees the stressor as a problem to solve and takes action to eliminate or modify it, thus reducing stress.

      • Example: Studying in groups, getting a tutor, or completing assignments for an upcoming psychology test focuses on constructive actions for a controllable stressor.

    • Emotion-Focused Coping: Involves managing the emotional response to stress rather than attempting to change the stressor itself. This is typically used when stressors are unavoidable or uncontrollable.

      • Example: In stress-inducing situations like traffic jams, managing emotions by listening to music or a podcast is more effective than trying to change the untameable situation, unlike problematic behaviors like honking or erratically changing lanes. Stranded individuals during a major storm, for instance, used emotion-focused coping by building community and maintaining morale, as they couldn't control the weather or road conditions.

Problem-Focused Strategies

  • Predictability and Control:

    • Engaging in predictable, controllable activities lowers perceived stress. Knowing what to expect and how to adjust in response reduces feelings of anxiety surrounding an event.

    • Recognizing that one has choices (e.g., choosing to attend college for specific goals) and can take action empowers individuals and reduces perceived stress. Accessing information about what to expect (e.g., surgery recovery protocols, course schedules) also enhances predictability.

Importance of Social Support

  • Relief through Communication:

    • Talking with someone trustworthy (friends, family, or even distant acquaintances) can relieve stress.

    • The effectiveness of social support is enhanced in discussions with individuals who share similar stress experiences, as they can offer alternative strategies, reduce isolation, and provide both emotional and instrumental support (e.g., sharing practical solutions like specialized post-surgery garments).

    • However, one must carefully select support systems, as some interactions can escalate negative emotions rather than reduce stress.

Emotion-Focused Strategies

  • When to Use Emotion-Focused Strategies:

    • Commonly applied when stressors are unavoidable or uncontrollable. These strategies manage emotional responses rather than changing the stressor itself, reorienting internal functioning toward a more parasympathetic pattern.

  • Relaxation Techniques:

    • Range from simple practices (e.g., finding quiet time for reflection, entering a relaxing environment) to complex organized meditation techniques and guided protocols.

    • Breathing Control: Consciously regulating breathing (slowing and deepening it) is the most direct way to influence physiological changes like heart rate, promoting a parasympathetic state.

    • Progressive Muscle Relaxation: Systematically tensing and then relaxing muscle groups promotes deeper relaxation and increases awareness of muscle tension, helping individuals recognize and address tension in daily life.

    • Imagination/Guided Imagery: Mentally transporting oneself to a peaceful, safe, and secure place (e.g., a beach, a quiet car ride) can provide a temporary relaxation break, a customized "imaginary vacation."

    • Play-Doh/Kneading: Engaging in tactile activities like kneading Play-Doh can provide muscle relaxation (tensing and releasing muscles in hands/arms), evoke positive childhood associations through smell (classical conditioning), and support playfulness, which is antithetical to stress. It's inexpensive, portable, and requires minimal investment.

  • Role of Exercise:

    • Short-term, exercise activates the SNS (increasing heart rate, quickening breathing, muscle tension). However, this is an activating response, not a stress response to a stressor. Long-term, consistent aerobic exercise (followed by cool-down) provides resilience against stress, leads to deeper overall relaxation, and helps individuals handle stressful challenges more effectively.

  • Distraction Techniques:

    • Similar to hypnotic methods, distraction strategies can decrease focus on unpleasant stimuli by redirecting attention elsewhere, thereby blunting stress responses (e.g., listening to music or podcasts to cope with a traffic jam).

    • Caution: Effective distraction is not procrastination. Using distraction to avoid necessary problem-focused strategies is maladaptive. Individuals should be mindful of "overindulgence" in distracting activities (e.g., streaming shows, video games) that can consume excessive time and energy without awareness, leading to sleep deprivation and unaddressed responsibilities. Setting timers can help regulate engagement with distraction techniques.