Health Psychology: Stress and Moderators of Stress
Stress: distress
Physical, psychological, emotional distress
Stressor: causes stress
Person-Environment Fit: assessment of personal resources vs. environmental demand
What you have vs what the environment demands from you
Theories of Stress
Walter Cannon: Fight or Flight
Fight: aggressive response to perceived stress
Flight: withdrawal/distracting activity
Freeze and Fawn
Freeze: similar to withdrawal “deer in the headlights”
Fawning: giving extra special attention to the point that it seems too much attention
Over the top response that involves attention to the person who is undergoing stress
Overreaction from third party point of view
Exaggerated attention and affection
Reaction from somebody removed from the stressful situation
Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome
All stressors produce the same patterns of physiological changes
3 Phases
Alarm: an organism is mobilized to meet the threat
Resistance: an organism makes an effort to cope with the threat
Physical confrontation
Exhaustion: an organism fails to overcome the threat and the resources become depleted
Criticisms
Everyone respond to stress the same way
Not considering that stress is not only an outcome or endpoint
S.E. Taylor’s Tend-and-Befriend
Especially true of women
“We’re in the same boat” or “i feel better despite the situation because I’m not the only person in the situation”
Conscious process but not everybody appraises the situation, they just tend to react
Primary Appraisal: Harm, Threat, Challenge
Harmful: something damaging has already occurred; negative
Threat: something that may happen in the future; negative
Challenge: positive connotation; potential to overcome said challenge
Trying to distinguish between, harm, threat, challenge
If positive, some people may feel motivated to tackle the challenge
If negative, withdraw or retreat from the situation
Secondary Appraisal: Personal resources and Coping Mechanisms vs. Primary Appraisal of the stressful event
Evaluate whether you have enough resources and coping mechanisms to cope with something you consider as harm, threat, or challenge
3 types of responses
Cognitive: you talk about your beliefs, value systems; take those into consideration and ask yourself “will this help me cope?”
Emotional: fear, frustration, anger, irritation, worry, disappointment, anxiety, embarrassment, annoyed, overwhelmed
Behavioral: panic, vent, rent, cry, confrontation, withdraw
Sympathetic Activation
Fight or flight
Preparing your body to confront stressful situations
Breathing gets more rapid, muscles are primed for action, increased blood flow to the muscles, heart rate goes up, from some people pupils contract
HPA Activation (hypothalamic pituitary adrenal)
Neurotransmitters come into play
Epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin
sympathetic nervous system and neurotransmitters associated with sympathetic activity: cortisol
Too much cortisol leads to inflammation in the body
Cushing syndrome
Obesity: stress eating, affects insulin production, decreased insulin sensitivity
Physiological framework is available for it
Stress Reactivity
Effects of long term stress = high levels of cortisol
Physiological recovery
Return to baseline
Parasympathetic system is responsible for this
Allostatic Load
Body’s response to prolonged exposure to stress
No definite structures associated with this
More general than HPA activity
Negative events
The more negative, the more it will affect us
Uncontrollable events
Acts of God
Ambiguous events
Vague events
Overload
Overload of physical, emotional, psychological stress
They would perceive that as more stressful than any other event
Factors that would influence how you perceive stressful events
Effects of chronic stress
Stress and the workplace
Work + Sedentary lifestyle
Overload
Ambiguity and Role conflict
Work + Multiple Roles
No two people handle stress in the same way.
Personality and Coping
Negative affectivity (Neuroticism): pervasive; anxiety, depression, hostility
Type D personality: experiences negative emotions yet inhibits the expression of these emotions
Martyrs: they don’t express their negative emotions
Disease-prone personality: the psychological distress that often involves depression, anger, hostility and anxiety is at the core of this “personality type”; individual is more prone to “all causes” mortality
Negativity may lead to the false impression of ill health when there is no evidence of such.
Negativity = worry, “awareness” of symptoms = new or existing health condition
In summary, people who are chronically negative MAY be more likely to get sick on occasion BUT their symptoms MAY or MAY NOT actually be indicative of ill health.
Optimism
healthier immune system;
optimists often seek out social support
reframe stressful situations in a positive light;
more active and persistent coping efforts;
sense of self-control;
problem-focused coping
Self-control vs. Self-efficacy
Self-control: belief that one can control one’s behavior; can influence one’s environment; can bring about desired outcomes
Self-efficacy: narrower perception that one can take necessary action/s to obtain specific outcome in a specific situation
High self-esteem
Ego strength: dependability, trust, and lack of impulsivity
Conscientiousness: deal with stress proactively
Self-confidence and easy-going disposition
Intelligence: street smarts
Emotional stability
Resilience
Ability to bounce back from negative experiences (emotional and otherwise) and adapt to whatever changes result from stressful experiences.
Tendency to deal with stressful events in a particular way
Similar to personality traits because it is a characterization of how a person behaves in general, yet different from personality traits in that coping style only becomes evident in times of STRESS.
Proactive coping: requires the ability to anticipate and detect stressors, coping skills, and self-regulatory skills (control, direct, correct actions based on whether you end up moving toward or away from your goals).
Avoidant coping style vs. Approach coping style
Avoidant coping = withdrawal; closest to denial
Not deal with the stressful situation
“If I don’t see it, it’s not real”
Approach coping = meeting/facing problems HEAD ON
Closest to problem-based coping
Problem-focused vs. Emotion-focused coping style: problem-focused coping is attempting to do something constructive about stressful situations; emotion-focused coping may or may not result in beneficial ways of dealing with stress (e.g. ruminating vs. emotional-approach coping)
Emotion-focused coping = efforts to regulate emotions experienced because of stressful event
Going by your feelings/emotions
Emotional approach coping = clarifying, focusing on, and working through emotions brought on by a stressor; results in beneficial effects on stress regulatory systems and helps people AFFIRM important aspects of “the self”/identity
When is coping successful?
Reduces harmful environmental conditions
Tolerate or adjust to negative events
Maintain a positive self-image
Maintain emotional equilibrium
Emotional equilibrium = emotionally stable state
Continue satisfying relationships with others
Successful coping = Enhances prospects of recovery
Successful coping = enhanced recovery
Types of social support
Tangible assistance – material support
Informational support – education, information
Emotional support
Invisible support – “giver” is anonymous
Forms of social support
Confidant
Marriage
Support from family
Support from community
Social support is most beneficial when the support that is given MATCHES or is responsive to the needs of the receiver; also beneficial if the “giver” is known to the receiver.
Mindfulness training
Expressive writing: eliminates rumination or obsession about negative or traumatic events
Relaxation training
Time management and planning
Assertiveness training
Regular exercise: Endorphins! Remember LEGALLY BLONDE!!!
Stress: distress
Physical, psychological, emotional distress
Stressor: causes stress
Person-Environment Fit: assessment of personal resources vs. environmental demand
What you have vs what the environment demands from you
Theories of Stress
Walter Cannon: Fight or Flight
Fight: aggressive response to perceived stress
Flight: withdrawal/distracting activity
Freeze and Fawn
Freeze: similar to withdrawal “deer in the headlights”
Fawning: giving extra special attention to the point that it seems too much attention
Over the top response that involves attention to the person who is undergoing stress
Overreaction from third party point of view
Exaggerated attention and affection
Reaction from somebody removed from the stressful situation
Hans Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome
All stressors produce the same patterns of physiological changes
3 Phases
Alarm: an organism is mobilized to meet the threat
Resistance: an organism makes an effort to cope with the threat
Physical confrontation
Exhaustion: an organism fails to overcome the threat and the resources become depleted
Criticisms
Everyone respond to stress the same way
Not considering that stress is not only an outcome or endpoint
S.E. Taylor’s Tend-and-Befriend
Especially true of women
“We’re in the same boat” or “i feel better despite the situation because I’m not the only person in the situation”
Conscious process but not everybody appraises the situation, they just tend to react
Primary Appraisal: Harm, Threat, Challenge
Harmful: something damaging has already occurred; negative
Threat: something that may happen in the future; negative
Challenge: positive connotation; potential to overcome said challenge
Trying to distinguish between, harm, threat, challenge
If positive, some people may feel motivated to tackle the challenge
If negative, withdraw or retreat from the situation
Secondary Appraisal: Personal resources and Coping Mechanisms vs. Primary Appraisal of the stressful event
Evaluate whether you have enough resources and coping mechanisms to cope with something you consider as harm, threat, or challenge
3 types of responses
Cognitive: you talk about your beliefs, value systems; take those into consideration and ask yourself “will this help me cope?”
Emotional: fear, frustration, anger, irritation, worry, disappointment, anxiety, embarrassment, annoyed, overwhelmed
Behavioral: panic, vent, rent, cry, confrontation, withdraw
Sympathetic Activation
Fight or flight
Preparing your body to confront stressful situations
Breathing gets more rapid, muscles are primed for action, increased blood flow to the muscles, heart rate goes up, from some people pupils contract
HPA Activation (hypothalamic pituitary adrenal)
Neurotransmitters come into play
Epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin
sympathetic nervous system and neurotransmitters associated with sympathetic activity: cortisol
Too much cortisol leads to inflammation in the body
Cushing syndrome
Obesity: stress eating, affects insulin production, decreased insulin sensitivity
Physiological framework is available for it
Stress Reactivity
Effects of long term stress = high levels of cortisol
Physiological recovery
Return to baseline
Parasympathetic system is responsible for this
Allostatic Load
Body’s response to prolonged exposure to stress
No definite structures associated with this
More general than HPA activity
Negative events
The more negative, the more it will affect us
Uncontrollable events
Acts of God
Ambiguous events
Vague events
Overload
Overload of physical, emotional, psychological stress
They would perceive that as more stressful than any other event
Factors that would influence how you perceive stressful events
Effects of chronic stress
Stress and the workplace
Work + Sedentary lifestyle
Overload
Ambiguity and Role conflict
Work + Multiple Roles
No two people handle stress in the same way.
Personality and Coping
Negative affectivity (Neuroticism): pervasive; anxiety, depression, hostility
Type D personality: experiences negative emotions yet inhibits the expression of these emotions
Martyrs: they don’t express their negative emotions
Disease-prone personality: the psychological distress that often involves depression, anger, hostility and anxiety is at the core of this “personality type”; individual is more prone to “all causes” mortality
Negativity may lead to the false impression of ill health when there is no evidence of such.
Negativity = worry, “awareness” of symptoms = new or existing health condition
In summary, people who are chronically negative MAY be more likely to get sick on occasion BUT their symptoms MAY or MAY NOT actually be indicative of ill health.
Optimism
healthier immune system;
optimists often seek out social support
reframe stressful situations in a positive light;
more active and persistent coping efforts;
sense of self-control;
problem-focused coping
Self-control vs. Self-efficacy
Self-control: belief that one can control one’s behavior; can influence one’s environment; can bring about desired outcomes
Self-efficacy: narrower perception that one can take necessary action/s to obtain specific outcome in a specific situation
High self-esteem
Ego strength: dependability, trust, and lack of impulsivity
Conscientiousness: deal with stress proactively
Self-confidence and easy-going disposition
Intelligence: street smarts
Emotional stability
Resilience
Ability to bounce back from negative experiences (emotional and otherwise) and adapt to whatever changes result from stressful experiences.
Tendency to deal with stressful events in a particular way
Similar to personality traits because it is a characterization of how a person behaves in general, yet different from personality traits in that coping style only becomes evident in times of STRESS.
Proactive coping: requires the ability to anticipate and detect stressors, coping skills, and self-regulatory skills (control, direct, correct actions based on whether you end up moving toward or away from your goals).
Avoidant coping style vs. Approach coping style
Avoidant coping = withdrawal; closest to denial
Not deal with the stressful situation
“If I don’t see it, it’s not real”
Approach coping = meeting/facing problems HEAD ON
Closest to problem-based coping
Problem-focused vs. Emotion-focused coping style: problem-focused coping is attempting to do something constructive about stressful situations; emotion-focused coping may or may not result in beneficial ways of dealing with stress (e.g. ruminating vs. emotional-approach coping)
Emotion-focused coping = efforts to regulate emotions experienced because of stressful event
Going by your feelings/emotions
Emotional approach coping = clarifying, focusing on, and working through emotions brought on by a stressor; results in beneficial effects on stress regulatory systems and helps people AFFIRM important aspects of “the self”/identity
When is coping successful?
Reduces harmful environmental conditions
Tolerate or adjust to negative events
Maintain a positive self-image
Maintain emotional equilibrium
Emotional equilibrium = emotionally stable state
Continue satisfying relationships with others
Successful coping = Enhances prospects of recovery
Successful coping = enhanced recovery
Types of social support
Tangible assistance – material support
Informational support – education, information
Emotional support
Invisible support – “giver” is anonymous
Forms of social support
Confidant
Marriage
Support from family
Support from community
Social support is most beneficial when the support that is given MATCHES or is responsive to the needs of the receiver; also beneficial if the “giver” is known to the receiver.
Mindfulness training
Expressive writing: eliminates rumination or obsession about negative or traumatic events
Relaxation training
Time management and planning
Assertiveness training
Regular exercise: Endorphins! Remember LEGALLY BLONDE!!!