Health Psychology: Coping with Stress

Introduction to Health Psychology

• Focus on coping with stress.

Coping with Stress

• Coping: Alleviating stress via emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods.

• Problem-focused coping: Directly addressing and changing the stressor or interactions with it.

• Emotion-focused coping: Avoiding the stressor and addressing emotional needs.

Perceived Control and Health

• Personal control: Sense of controlling the environment.

• Learned helplessness: Feeling of helplessness after repeated failures to avoid stressors.

• Internal locus of control: Belief one controls their fate; linked to better health and success.

• External locus of control: Belief that external factors determine fate; linked to stress and anxiety levels.

Importance of Self-Control

• Self-control: Ability to control impulses for long-term benefits.

• Belief in personal control enhances self-control and coping ability.

• Self-control linked to better health, success, and resilience; may experience temporary depletion.

Optimism vs. Pessimism

• Pessimism: Expecting negative outcomes; believes struggles relate to personal inability.

• Optimism: Believing in positive outcomes and personal control; enhances health, mood, and coping skills.

• Optimism can be cultivated through training and goal-setting.

Social Support and Health

• Social support positively influences health and can reduce stress.

• Intimate relationships contribute to happiness, better immune function, and reduced health issues.

• Strong connections allow for sharing emotions and alleviating stress.