Stress and Mental Health Flashcards

Organizations and Mental Health

• In Canada, mental health is the leading cause of short-term and long-term disability claims.
• Every year, 1 in 5 Canadians experiences a mental health issue.
• Poor mental health leads to:
  • Increased absenteeism, turnover, and expenditures.
  • Decreased productivity, performance, and job satisfaction.

Stigma and Discrimination

• At least 2 in 3 people do not seek or receive treatment for mental health issues.
• Half of people with mental health issues said they were embarrassed, and over half had experienced discrimination.
• Stigma stems from fear, untrue beliefs, and blame.
• Stigma can lead to being denied opportunities and social rejection.

Workplace: Beneficial for Mental Health

• Work is important for psychological health and wellbeing.
• Work is a source of self-identity.
• Provides economic need, need for relatedness & need for self-determination.
• Provides a sense of purpose.

Workplace: Cause of Mental Health Issues

• Lack of support, respect, or fairness.
• Lack of employee involvement and development.
• Lack of a physically and psychologically safe environment.
• Lack of positive interpersonal relationships at work.
• Lack of appropriate and fair work content and characteristics.
• Lack of work-life balance.

Stress

• A state of mental or emotional tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.
• A physiological and psychological condition that prepares us for hostile environmental conditions.

Stressor – Stress – Strain Model

• Stressors: Factors that cause stress.
  • Workload/demands
  • Control
  • Social support
  • Respect
• Stress: The psychological and emotional appraisal of events.
• Strain: Psychological, physiological, or behavioral reactions.

Models of Stress

• Stress as a response
• Stress as a stimulus
• Stress as a transaction

Stress as a Response

• General adaptation syndrome (Selye)
• Stress is a physiological response pattern.
  • Defensive mechanism
  • Follows 3 stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
  • If prolonged or severe, could result in disease or death

Stress as a Response: Stages

1. Alarm: Initiate nervous system to combat or avoid stressor (i.e., heart rate, temperature, adrenaline).
2. Resistance: Initiate physiological systems with a fight or flight reaction.
3. Exhaustion: Prolonged exposure to the state of stress depletes physiological resources.

Stress as a Response: Limitations

• Underemphasized the psychological aspect of stress.

Stress as a Stimulus

• Life Events Model (Holmes & Rahe)
• Stress is a significant life event or change that demands response, adjustment, or adaptation.
• Psychological and physiological system:
  • Alarm, resistance, exhaustion

Stress as a Stimulus: Limitations

• Assumes change is inherently stressful.
• Assumes life events demand the same adjustment across the population.
• Assumes common threshold of adjustment which illness will result.
• Viewed human subject as passive recipient of stress.

Stress as a Transaction

• Transaction Model of Stress (Lazarus)
• Stress is a dynamic tension that results from a transaction between a person (including multiple systems: cognitive, physiological, affective, psychological, neurological) and his or her environment

Stress as a Transaction: Appraisal

• Primary Appraisal: Is the stressor relevant or threatening to me?
• Secondary Appraisal: Do you have resources to address or cope with the stressor?
• Reappraisal: Ongoing and involves continually reappraising both the stressor and resources available

Stress as a Transaction: Process

• Stressor → Primary appraisal (Is this relevant or threatening to me?) → Secondary appraisal (Do I have the resources to handle it?) → Response → Reappraisal
• No stress: No to both Primary and Secondary appraisal questions
• Coping: Yes to Primary appraisal, Yes to Secondary appraisal
• Strain: Yes to Primary appraisal, No to Secondary appraisal

Workplace Stressors

• Some common workplace stressors include:
  • Organizational constraints
  • Interpersonal conflict
    • Harassment and incivility
  • Role conflict
  • Work overload
  • Low task control

Individual Differences in Stress

• People experience less stress and/or less negative stress outcomes when they have:
  • Better physical health – exercise, lifestyle
  • Appropriate stress coping strategies
  • Personality: lower neuroticism and higher extraversion
  • Positive self-concept

Consequences of Stress - Burnout

• Physical or mental collapse caused by overwork or stress.
• Psychological term for experience of long-term exhaustion and diminished interest.
• General wearing out.
• Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI):
  • Feelings of emotional exhaustion
  • Depersonalization
  • Reduced personal accomplishment

Job Demands-Resources Model of Burnout

• Work conditions:
  • Job demands: physical, social, or organizational aspects that require effort.
  • Resources: physical, social, or organizational aspects that function in achieving work goals, reduce job demands, or stimulate growth and development.

Job Demands-Resources Model of Burnout: Examples

• Job Demands:
  • Physical workload
  • Time pressure
  • Recipient contact
  • Physical environment
  • Shift work
• Job Resources:
  • Feedback
  • Rewards
  • Job control
  • Participation
  • Job security
  • Supervisor support
• Job Demands (+) and Job Resources (-) impact Burnout

Depression

• Not just sadness.
• Significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas.

Burnout vs. Depression

• Burnout and depression are very similar.
  • Symptoms and risk factors are very similar.
  • Highly correlated
• Currently, a matter of debate.

How To Deal With Stress

• Remove the stressor
• Withdraw from the stressor
• Change stress perceptions
• Control stress consequences
• Social support

Self-Compassion

• An emotionally positive self-attitude
• Protects against the negative consequences of self-judgment, isolation, and rumination
• Involves:
  • Being kind to oneself about own failures
  • Framing the imperfection of life in terms of common humanity
  • Being mindful of negative emotions

Mindsets

• Growth Mindset:
  • Believe people are changeable
  • Performance reflects current state of development, not true potential
  • Perceive failure as useful for learning
  • Less stressed, better health, cope better with social setbacks, higher grades
  • Protects against mental health problems
• Fixed Mindset:
  • Believe people are fixed
  • Performance reflects potential
  • Failure is diagnostic of ability

Work-Life Balance

• Categories:
  • Role overload
  • Work-family interference
  • Family-work interference
  • Caregiver strain
• Work-life balance initiatives are any benefits, policies, or programs that help create a better balance between the demands of the job and the healthy management (and enjoyment) of life outside work
• Not a one-size-fits-all model

Vacations – Do They Really Help?

• Yes, but…
• Strong but short-lived effects:
  • After back to work, health and wellbeing returned to pre-vacation levels
• Vacation experiences (pleasure, relaxation, savoring & control) important for strength and persistence of vacation effects
• Better to take many small vacations than one large one

Mindfulness

• Process of paying attention to the present moment in a non-judgmental manner
• Moderate effect on mental and physical health

The Importance of Sleep

• Performance
• Decision-making
• Attitudes, behaviors, and emotions

Organizational Approaches

• Selection: experience & locus of control matter in stressful occupations
• Job fit: match skills required with skills held
• Goal setting: set realistic, specific, & challenging goals, provide feedback
• Work design: give employees a sense of control by injecting autonomy, meaning, responsibility, and feedback into the work they do
• Communication: clear communication reduces ambiguity and role conflict surrounding expectations
• Wellness programs: provide workshops that foster the ability of employees to take control of their stress

UCalgary Wellness & Mental Health Support

• https://www.ucalgary.ca/wellness-services
• Student at Risk Team: sar@ucalgary.ca
  • The team is available to consult, outreach, and respond to non-urgent concerns
• If you are a student in immediate distress, you can contact:
  • 24/7 mental health support: (403) 210-9355
  • 24/7 Distress Centre: (403) 266-4357
    • Online chat: https://distresscentre.com/24-hour-crisis-support/
  • 24/7 Support (Call or text): 9-8-8