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CHAPTER 14: STRESS, LIFESTYLE, & HEALTH

WAIT A MINUTE WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY? (PT 2)

  • Introduction of Khusbu, the Teaching Assistant (TA):
    • Graduated with degrees in Neuroscience and Psychology from the University of Pittsburgh.
    • Worked full-time in the Aging & Healthy Rhythms Research Lab at the University of Pittsburgh.
    • Currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Health Psychology and Clinical Science (HPCS) at the CUNY Graduate Center.
    • Personal note: Owns a cat named Orzo.

EXPERIENCE WITH STRESS

  • At the University of Pittsburgh, Khusbu worked on various projects focusing on behavioral rhythms and healthy lifestyle changes for older adults facing stressful life events, including:
    • Spousal/partner grief.
    • Stroke recovery.
    • Mild cognitive impairment situations.
    • Caregiving for dementia patients.
  • Current research interests include sleep behavior and its impact on mood disorders, such as:
    • Anxiety.
    • Depression.
    • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
    • Special medical populations (e.g., menopause, endometriosis).

HAVE YOU EVER EXPERIENCED STRESS?

WHAT IS STRESS?

  • Definition of stress: A process whereby an individual perceives and responds to events they appraise as overwhelming or threatening to their well-being.
    • Importance of cognitive appraisal in determining reaction to stressors.

STRESS AND COGNITIVE APPRAISALS

  • Primary appraisal: A judgement about the level of potential harm/threat a stressor poses to well-being.

    • Threat: A stressor capable of causing harm, loss, or negative consequences.
    • Challenge: A stressor that presents the potential for gain or personal growth.
    • Example: Graduating from college and transitioning into the workforce.

  • Secondary appraisal: A judgement regarding available coping options and their perceived effectiveness.

    • A threat becomes less stressful if the individual believes something can be done about it.

  • Cognitive appraisals overview:

    • Challenge vs. Threat based on Primary and Secondary appraisals:
    • Challenge may lead to gains, whereas threat may result in harm, loss, or negative consequences.

GOOD STRESS?

  • Eustress:

    • Definition: Positive stress that motivates and promotes well-being.
    • Associated with positive feelings, optimal health, and enhanced performance.

  • Distress:

    • Definition: Negative stress leading to burnout, fatigue, and decreased performance.

THE PREVALENCE OF STRESS

  • Stress is omnipresent and impacts various aspects of life.
  • Can evoke responses that are physiological, cognitive, and behavioral:
    • Physiological: Accelerated heart rate, headaches, gastrointestinal issues.
    • Cognitive: Difficulty concentrating; issues with decision-making.
    • Behavioral: Increased alcohol or substance use, actions aimed at eliminating stressors.

HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY

  • Definition: Subfield dedicated to understanding psychological influences on health and illness responses.

  • Key investigations include:

    • The connection between stress and illness.
    • Influences on life choices.
    • Efficacy of interventions targeting unhealthy behaviors.
    • Vulnerable groups at risk for adverse health outcomes due to psychological or behavioral factors.

  • National surveys on stress prevalence:

    • Higher stress levels found in women compared to men.
    • Increased stress among the unemployed, less educated, and those with lower income.
    • Lowest stress levels reported by retired individuals.

EARLY CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE STUDY OF STRESS

  • Walter Cannon (Early 20th Century):

    • First to identify physiological reactions to stress and articulate the fight-or-flight response.
    • Definition of fight-or-flight response: A series of physiological reactions to perceived threats, engaging the sympathetic nervous system and endocrine system.
    • Adaptive responses beneficial for survival.

  • Fight-or-Flight response:

    • Adrenal glands release epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine (noradrenaline), inducing physiological changes.

GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME (GAS)

  • Definition: The body’s nonspecific physiological response to stress.
  • Universal physiological reaction pattern irrespective of the stressor.
Stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome:

  1. Alarm Reaction:

    • Immediate physiological reactions upon encountering a threat.
    • Energy mobilization for managing the response.

  2. Stage of Resistance:

    • The body adapts and remains alert, responding with diminished intensity to the stressor.

  3. Stage of Exhaustion:

    • Inability to adapt further to the stressor, leading to exhaustion of physical resources.
    • Potential consequences include illness, disease, or death.

THE PHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF STRESS

  1. Sympathetic nervous system:

    • Triggers arousal in response to stress through adrenaline release.

  2. Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis:

    • Sequence:
    • Stress → Hypothalamus releases corticotrophin-releasing factor → Pituitary gland releases ACTH → Adrenal glands activated → Release of cortisol.
    • Cortisol: Stress hormone providing an energy boost; chronic elevation can weaken the immune system.

STRESSORS

  • Types of Stressors: Stressors categorized based on duration:
    • Chronic Stressors: Long-term events (e.g., long-term unemployment, caregiving for a parent with dementia).
    • Acute Stressors: Brief events that leave lasting impressions (e.g., falling and breaking a leg).
Specific Types of Stressors:

  1. Traumatic Events:

    • Situations exposing individuals to death or serious injury (e.g., military combat, physical assaults, natural disasters).

  2. Life Changes:

    • Major life events such as moving, marriage, divorce, or loss of a family member.

  3. Daily Hassles:

    • Minor irritations (e.g., commuting), build-up of which can lead to significant stress; more predictive of health than major life changes.

  4. Other Stressors:

    • High-Stress Occupations: Jobs with demanding or unsafe conditions (e.g., exposure to noise, job strain, burnout).
    • Close Relationships: Sources of stress from negative exchanges, conflicts, and lack of emotional support.

STRESS AND ILLNESS

  • Psychophysiological Disorders:
    • Definition: Physical disorders worsened by stress and emotional factors.
    • Examples: Tension headaches, asthma, hypertension, coronary heart disease.
Stress Impact on the Immune System:
  • Immune System Errors:
    • Autoimmune Diseases: Body attacks its own cells.
    • Immunosuppression: Decreased immune efficacy.
  • Stressors and Immune Function:
    • Field of study: Psychoneuroimmunology examining psychological impact on immune function.

CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDERS

  • Core role of cardiovascular response in stress; hypertension as a significant risk factor for heart diseases.
  • Hypertension: Elevated blood pressure due to stressors, leading to increased heart strain.
    • Asymptomatic; can lead to severe health issues.
    • Linked to negative affectivity.
Heart Attack Symptoms:
  • For Males:
    • Symptoms include lightheadedness, perspiration, chest pain, stomach pain, and dizziness.
  • For Females:
    • Symptoms include anxiety, shortness of breath, back and neck pain, nausea, and vomiting.

STRESS & ASTHMA

  • Asthma: Chronic inflammation and narrowing of airways, linked to stressful experiences throughout life.

COPING STYLES

  • Problem-Focused Coping:

    • Strategies to manage or alter the stress-inducing problem; entails identifying problems, considering solutions, and acting on them.
    • Used when stressors are perceived as controllable.

  • Emotion-Focused Coping:

    • Strategies to reduce emotional distress, dealing more with symptoms than causes.
    • Utilized when stressors feel uncontrollable.

CONTROL & STRESS

  • Perceived Control:
    • Beliefs about influence over outcomes significantly relate to health and happiness.
    • Greater personal control correlates with better health and lower stress reactivity.

LEARNED HELPLESSNESS

  • Definition: An acquired belief of powerlessness in a situation.
    • Example: Seligman's experiment with dogs exposed to unescapable shocks, leading to a failure to escape when possible.
    • Linked to possible causes of depression.

SOCIAL SUPPORT

  • Definition: The supportive impact of social networks; includes advice, encouragement, emotional comfort, and assistance.
    • Impact on Health:
    • Individuals with strong social relationships have a 50% higher survival likelihood.
    • Associated with immune system enhancement and blood pressure reduction.

STRESS REDUCTION TECHNIQUES

  • Exercise: Reduces stress and increases resistance to adverse effects.

  • Meditation and Relaxation:

    • Techniques that lower sympathetic arousal and blood pressure.

  • Biofeedback:

    • Involves using electronic measures of involuntary activities to help gain voluntary control over these processes.

THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS

  • Happiness and Its Elements:

    • Pleasant Life: Enjoying daily pleasures.
    • Good Life: Using skills for enrichment.
    • Meaningful Life: Contributing to the greater good.

  • Life Events & Happiness:

    • Graph depicting life satisfaction over time with events like marriage, spouse death, and unemployment.
POSITIVE EFFECT & OPTIMISM
  • Positive Affect: Pleasurable engagement (happiness, joy, alertness) linked to favorable health outcomes; promotes social connectedness and adaptive coping.
  • Optimism: Tendency toward positive expectations; predicts positive health outcomes.
FLOW
  • Definition: An engaging experience worth pursuing for its own sake; marked by concentration where time feels altered.
    • Usually linked to creativity and leisure activities, contributing to happiness.