stress definitons

Benzodiazepines

The most commonly prescribed anti-anxiety drug belongs to a family of drugs known as benzodiazepines (BZs). These are known as minor tranquillizers, and include trade names such as Librium and Valium. Anti­anxiety drugs decrease arousal and relax the body by reducing tension in the muscles. Since the stress response involves high arousal, benzodiazepines may, in some cases, reduce stress.

Beta Blockers

Long-term stress is often accompanied by high blood pressure, which can lead to hypertension and heart disease. Beta-blockers are a type of drug that stows the heart and reduce the strength of the heart contractions, thereby reducing blood pressure. They block receptors in the heart that are stimulated by noradrenaline, which in turn decreases sympathetic nervous system activity, helping an individual to stay calm and relaxed.

Biofeedback

Biofeedback is a technique that transforms some aspect of physiological behavior, (e.g. heart rate and blood pressure), into electrical signals which the person is able to see/hear. For example, they might be attached to a machine that produces art auditory or visual signal to indicate whether their heart rate is too high. A person is then trained to acquire some control to reduce their heart rate.

Cardiovascular Disorders

Cardiovascular disorders are disorders of the heart (e.g. coronary heart disease -CHD); of the circulatory system (e.g. high blood pressure); and can cause as strokes (where blood flow is restricted to parts of the brain). These disorders are linked to stress, due to the activation of the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system, leading to an increase in adrenaline. High levels of adrenaline increase heart rate, which causes further strain on the heart. This can lead to high blood pressure, which can cause the blood vessels to wear away, ft can also dislodge plaque on the walls of blood vessels, leading to blocked arteries, which can cause heart attacks and strokes.

Challenge

Welcoming a challenge is one of the characteristics of the hardy personality and refers to the tendency to view changes as opportunities for growth, rather than threats to security. People who welcome change as a challenge are less likely to perceive events as stressors, so are likely to experience lower levels of stress.

Commitment; Stress

Commitment is one of the characteristics of the hardy personality and refers to a person's sense of purpose or involvement in the events, activities and people in their life. People who have a sense of commitment and purpose in their work and social fives are less likely to perceive events as stressors, so are likely to experience lower levels of stress.

Control: Stress

Control is one of the characteristics of the hardy personality and refers to the persons belief that they cart influence events in their life. People who feel more in control of their lives are less likely to perceive events as stressors so are likely to experience lower levels of stress. Control is also related to workplace stress and refers to the extent to which a person feels able to manage aspects of their work, such as deadlines and work environment Research has shown that workers with less control over their work are more likely to show symptoms of stress. For example. Marmot et al (1997} conducted The Whitehall stud/, where they investigated over 10,000 civil servants and found low job control to be linked to coronary heart disease (CHD)

Cortisol

Cortisol is a stress hormone: it is a corticosteroid and is released by the adrenal cortex in response to a stressor. This hormone has a number of functions, including releasing stored glucose from the liver (for energy} and controlling swelling after injury. However, cortisol also suppresses the immune system.

Drug Therapies: Stress

Stress is sometimes accompanied by anxiety and depression, and drugs can be used to treat these disorders. Benzodiazepines (BZs) and beta-blockers are examples of drug therapies used to reduce stress.

Emotional

Emotional social support is when someone becomes aware of the emotions that a stressed individual is showing, and tries to offer comfort and support. This may involve listening to them, or offering advice regarding how to reduce their emotions/stress. Friends and family often offer this kind of support.

Esteem

Esteem social support occurs when someone else makes a stressed individual feel better about themselves, leading to a reduction in their feelings of being stressed. Esteem support should increase the self-esteem of the person, resulting in an increase in their feelings of self-worth, confidence and ability to cope. A loved one often offers this kind of support.

General Adaption Syndrome

Sei ye argued that stressors produce the same reaction in alt animals (including humans}. He called this the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), and identified three main stages: 1) alarm - the body is mobilized for swift 'fight or flight responses; 2) resistance-if a stressor persists, the release of hormones from the pituitary gland and the adrenal cortex increases and the alarm symptoms of the first stage subside, giving the appearance of a return to normal physiological functioning; 3) exhaustion - if the stressor persists for longer than the body’s defences can cope with, then the adrenal glands cease to function normally and there is a drastic fall in blood sugar levels.

Hardiness

Kobasa (1979) claimed that people with a certain personality type, known as hardiness, are less likely to perceive events as stressful and so are likely to experience lower levels of stress.

She found that the personal beliefs of control, commitment and challenge could be described as a 'hardy personality', e.g. someone who is better equipped to deal with stress.

Hassles and Uplifts Scale

According to Kanner et al. (1981), daily hassles are irritating, frustrating and distressing demands that humans face on a day-to-day basis. In contrast, uplifts are things like getting on well with other people, completing a task, or getting enough sleep, which give people a boost and make them feel better. The hassles and uplifts scale (HSUP) was devised by Delongis et al. (1982} to measure people's attitudes towards daily situations. The HSUP provides a way of evaluating both the positive and negative events that occur in a persona’s daily life, rather than the more serious life events.

Hypothalamic Pituitary­

Adrenal System (HPA Axis}

The hypothalamic pituitary adrenal system (H PA axis) is a system that directly influences the endocrine system to active the stress response. When the brain interprets a stressor, the hypothalamus produces a hormone called CRF (corticotropin releasing hormone}, which stimulates the pituitary gland to secrete ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone}, which stimulates the adrenal cortex, part of the adrenal glands. The adrenal cortex then secretes corticosteroids, which help to increase energy levels.

Immunosuppression

Immunosuppression is the suppression of the body's immune system. This is supported by a system of cells that is concerned with attacking viruses and bacteria so they cannot infect the body. If someone is dealing with an ongoing stressor, the HPA system becomes active, which leads to the production of cortisol. Cortisol reduces the body's immune response, making it more likely that a person will become ill.

Instrumental

Instrumental social support is when someone offers practical help to a stressed individual. This problem-focused social support may be offered by anyone, not Just a person's family or friends.

Measuring Stress

Psychologists who want to conduct research into stress need to find a method to measure stress. Some research has used physiological measures of stress, such as skin conductance response, whereas other research has used self-report scales, where the participants complete questionnaires. Two examples are the social readjustment rating scale (SRRS) and the hassles and uplifts scale (HSUP).

Personality: Stress

There are individual differences in the way that people react to stress and some people seem to be able to face horrendous stressors and still remain relatively healthy. Such differences could be down to personality, which is defined as our characteristic ways of behaving, thinking, feeling, reacting and perceiving the world. Some psychologists argue that personality determines a person's behaviour patterns and research has found that some personality characteristics make some people more vulnerable to the negative effects of stress, (e.g. Type A and Type C), whereas other personality characteristics make some people more resistant (e.g. Type B and the Hardy Personality).

Physiology of Stress

The physiology of stress refers to the biological processes in the human stress response. This includes the general adaptation syndrome (GAS); the hypothalamic pituitary-adrenal system (HPA); the sympathomedullary pathway (SAM pathway}, and the role of cortisol.

Skin Conductance Response

Skin conductance response is a measurement of the electrical conductivity of the skin. This is a measure of stress because skin conductivity increases when sweat is produced, and this can occur due to the arousal of the sympathetic nervous system (which is activated as a result of stress).

Social Readjustment Rating

Scale

The social readjustment rating scale (SRRS) was developed by Holmes and Rahe (1967), two medical doctors who noted a link between stressful live events and illness, in order to create a scale to measure this link. Holmes and Rahe constructed a list of stressful events and asked a sample of nearly 400 people to rate them in terms of their severity. Holmes and Rahe then took an average of each rating to form the SRRS (e.g. death of a spouse = 100, marriage - 50, fired from work -47, son or daughter leaves home - 29 etc.}. These numbers are known as life change units. When the scale is used in research, participants are asked to check off any of the 43 life events they have experienced over a given time period (e.g. 12 or 6 months}. The scores are then totaled and used as an index for the amount of life stress the participant has experienced.

Social Support; Stress

Social support refers to the help that people may receive from other people (family, friends and sometimes strangers) during times of stress. Different types of social support can be offered: instrumental (practical help}; emotional support (comfort to help deal with negative emotions}; and esteem support (making the person feel better about themselves}.

Sources of Stress: Daily

Hassles

According to banneret al. (1981) daily hassles are a source of stress that include irritating, frustrating and distressing demands that people face on a day-to-day basis. Examples of daily hassles could include concerns about weight, health of a family member, rising prices, home maintenance, too many things to do, misplacing or losing things and physical appearance, or all of the above.

Sources of Stress: Life

Changes

Life changes are a source of stress; they include major events (e.g. divorce or moving house} that require people to make large adjustments. Holmes and Rahe (1967} developed the social readjustment rating scale (SRRS) in order to measure the amount of life change a person has experienced in a given time period.

Stress and Illness

ft has long been noted that stress is related to illness. Short-term stressors lead to the production of adrenaline, which is linked to cardiovascular disorders. Long-term stressors lead to the production of cortisol, which has been linked to immunosuppression, which leaves the body open to viruses and bacteria.

Stress Inoculation Therapy

Stress inoculation therapy is a cognitive behavioural approach to stress management developed by Donald Meichenbaum (1977). He argued that

just as people can be inoculated against a flu virus, they could also be inoculated against stress and become stress-resistant Stress inoculation therapy involves three phases: 1.) conceptualization - using the cognitive interview to identify and clarify the nature of the personas stress and to educate them about the nature and effects of stress, and how stress inoculation works; 2) skills acquisition - where the person learns a series of skills for dealing with stressful situations; and 3) rehearsal and follow through or application - where the person puts into practice what they have learned.

Sympathomedullary Pathway (SAM Pathway)

The sympathomedullary pathway (SAM pathway) is the route through which the brain directs the sympathetic branch of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) to activate in response to short-term stress. The hypothalamus activates the sympathetic branch of the AN S, which then signals the adrenal medulla to secrete adrenaline and noradrenaline. The sympathetic nervous system itself has di reel connections to the heart and activation speeds up heart rate and raises blood pressure These effects are increased and sustained by the release of adrenaline and noradrenaline. The end result is that oxygen is rapidly pumped to the muscles allowing for increased physical activity. Asa result of all this the person is ready for 'fight or Night".

Type A

Type A personality refers to a pattern of behaviours and attitudes that have long been linked to a vulnerability to stress related illness. The concept evolved from work by Friedman and Rosenman (1974), who found that a particular pattern of behaviour (Type A) seemed to be associated with a vulnerability to heart disease. Someone with a Type A personality experiences constant time pressure, competitiveness in work and social situations, and anger.

Type B

Type B personality refers to a pattern of behaviours that are the opposite of Type A behaviours. The main characteristics are having an easygoing, relaxed and patient approach to life and Friedman and Rosenman (1974) found that people with this personality type seemed to be less vulnerable to heart disease.

Type C

People with a Type C personality oppress emotions, particularly negative ones and are unassertive, likeable people who rarely get into arguments and are generally helpful to others. It has been suggested that Type C individuals cope with stress in a way that ignores their own needs, even physical ones, in order to please others. This eventually has negative effects as all stresses are suppressed but still take their toll. It is thought that emotional suppression is associated with increased stress and lowered effectiveness of the immune system and illness

.

Workload

Workload refers to the amount/quantity of work a person has to complete. A distinction has been made between the actual amount of work a person Is required to complete and the Individual's perception of work. Another distinction is between quantitative workload (the amount of work to be done) and qualitative workload (the difficulty of the work}.

Workplace Stress

Workplace stress refers to factors within the working environment (e.g. The effects of overload or control} that are experienced as being stressful, and which cause a stress reaction. In recent years, the workplace has been seen as the major source of stress with millions of adults attributing their highly stressed state to the demands of their job.