Stress and health lecture

Overview of Stress in America

Americans and Stress: Recent surveys indicate that Americans are among the most stressed people globally.
Stress Trends: Levels of reported stress have been consistently increasing over the past fifteen years.
Generational Stress Levels:
- Recent research indicates millennials (late 20s to mid-40s) are highly stressed.
- A recent APA survey found that individuals aged 18-34 report the highest stress levels compared to older generations.
- Many parents report stress interfering with their functioning.
Post-Pandemic Effects: Stress levels have reportedly increased post-pandemic for all adult categories, particularly among those aged 65 and older.

Common Definitions:
- Stress consists of environmental events causing psychological tension and physiological disturbances.
- External forces, referred to as stressors, disrupt our normal functioning.
Types of Stressors:
- Changing Life Events: Job loss, moving houses.
- Environmental Circumstances: Living in poverty, experiencing violence.
- Chronic Conditions: Persistent stress from unhealthy environments.

Definition: Stress responses are the psychological and physiological reactions to stressors.
Common Reactions:
- Anxiety, anger, exhaustion, elevated blood pressure.
- These responses are sometimes referred to as strain.
Transactional Model of Stress:
- Stress as a transaction between a person and their environment.
- Important for understanding that perception plays a key role in stress levels.
Cognitive Appraisals:
- Primary Appraisal: Evaluation of if a situation is relevant or threatening.
  - Can involve harm, threat, or challenge evaluations.
- Secondary Appraisal: Evaluation of coping resources and options available in response to stressors.
  - Strong belief in one’s ability to manage stress can reduce stress levels.

Primary Appraisal Types:
- Harm Appraisal: Past damage inflicted by a stressor (e.g., job loss).
- Threat Appraisal: Anticipated future harm based on current stressors.
- Challenge Appraisal: View of a stressor as a problem that can be overcome.
Emotional Reactions:
- Harm: Anger or sadness. Threat: Anxiety or fear. Challenge: Mixed feelings, potential excitement.

Eustress vs. Distress:
- Eustress: Positive stress, typically manageable and perceived as exciting.
- Distress: Negative stress that can lead to negative emotional arousal and health problems.
Health Impact:
- High stress rates correlate to health issues; higher visits to healthcare professionals are due to stress-related problems.

Annual Surveys: The Stress in America survey by the APA shows high stress levels, reliance on unhealthy coping mechanisms, and a correlation between stress and health.
Top Stressors: Money, work, healthcare, current political climate.
Life Events: Significant changes such as divorce, death, and their connection to stress-related illness.
Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS): A tool used to measure life event stress in individuals, correlating higher SRRS scores with increased likelihood of illness and accidents.

Daily Hassles: Minor temporary stressors that cumulatively affect health more significantly than major life events.
Hassles and Uplift Scale Questionnaire: Assesses daily irritations and positive experiences, indicating that uplifts can mitigate hassles.
Impact on Health: Cumulative minor stressors can lead to psychological and physical health decline.

Traumatic Events: Major traumatic events can result in severe stress responses; require significant effort for coping, often leading to long-term health effects.
Childhood Stressors:
- Preschoolers: Separation anxiety, family issues.
- School Age: Academic pressures, family issues, bullying.
- Adolescents: Identity crises, peer pressure, school-related anxiety.
Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs):
- Long-term implications on physical and mental health, including the building of resilience in some cases.

Chronic Environmental Stressors: Ongoing challenges such as poverty, unsafe neighborhoods, job stress contribute to long-term health consequences.
Job Stress: High demand vs low control roles increase stress and related health risks.
- Factors making jobs stressful: role conflict, ambiguity, overload, interpersonal relationships, and adverse physical characteristics of the workplace.

Physiological, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses to stress.
Health Psychology Focus: Interaction between psychology and physical health influenced by stress.
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): The body's response patterns to stress in three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion.
Allostatic Load: Long-term effects of chronic stress on the body's systems leading to potential illnesses.

Illness Correlation: Stress is implicated in many forms of illnesses and disorders due to the body’s natural systems being activated inappropriately.
Potential Health Risks: Chronic stress linked to heart disease, diabetes, lowered immune responses, digestive issues, cognitive impairments, and insomnia.
Diathesis-Stress Model: Interaction of genetic predisposition and environmental stressors affecting health outcomes.