Stress

What Is Stress?

 Your definition…  Stimulus or Response? Or interaction?

 Stressor — (stimulus) event or situation that triggers coping adjustments  Stress reaction – How do you respond to stress? What are your “symptoms?”  physiological, cognitive, emotional, behavioral  Stress as process – interaction between event, perception, and reaction

The Physiology of Stress

Walter Cannon (1932)  Fight-or-flight reaction  Outpouring of substances that prepare an organism to defend against a threat  Adaptive for our ancestors (but contributes to stress-related illnesses in modern times)

Brain and Endocrine System in Stress

 Sympathoadreno-Medullary (SAM) System  The body’s initial, rapid-acting response to stress -- epinephrine and norepinephrine from the adrenal medulla  Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenocortical (HPAC) System  The body’s second response to stress - secretion of corticosteroid adrenal cortex hormones from the

Stress Pathways

Measuring Stress

 Physiological Measures 

Polygraph or Biofeedback machine—

skin’s resistance to electricity) records several arousal responses, including heart rate, blood pressure, respiration rate, and GSR (measure of the 

Fluid samples

– (e.g., saliva) to test for catecholamine and cortisol production  Subjective Measures  Stress questionnaires

Variability in stress response

 Stress reactivity: people vary in their sweating, pupil dilation and changes in heart rate when stressed.

 Stress recovery: People vary in the speed with which they return to normal after being stressed.

 Stress resistance: People vary in their stress responses due to coping, social support etc

Sources of Stress

 List your top five stressors  Stressors  Common hassles  School demands   Noise – residents near airports have higher BP & stress Crowding   Relationship issues Sleep deprivation  Job stress (next slides)

Job-Related Stress

 Job-related stress costs:  absenteeism  reduced productivity  worker compensation benefits

Research study: “Overload in Working Mothers”

 BCBS workers  Measures:  Urine samples (to look for metabolites of stress hormones)  Daily mood scale  Results: feel stressed (esp w/ children at home)  High stress (low perceived control + high demand)  increased urinary neurohormones

Sources of Stress

 Stressors (continued)   Major life events (e.g., divorce, moves) Catastrophic stressors (next slide)

Sources of Stress: Catastrophes

 Oklahoma City, 9/11, Katrina, etc.  Increased incidence of hypertension, heart disease, and other stress-related ailments  Rates of depression, anxiety, and other psychological disorders increase

New Orleans Suicide Rate May Be Up

Associated Press - September 14, 2006 – New Orleans' suicide rate appears to have gone up in the first six months after Hurricane Katrina evacuees were allowed back home

How does a potential stressor lead to stress?

Perception and stress “I have had a great many troubles in my life… And most never happened…” Mark Twain

Perceiving Stress

 Many situations are not inherently stressful… depends on appraisal: • •

Primary appraisal meaning — determination of an event’s Secondary appraisal — evaluation of one’s ability to meet the demands of a challenging event

 Cognitive appraisals are extremely susceptible to one’s current state of mood, health, motivation

Stress and Illness (next powerpoint)