Chapter three Stress and Health Psychology • Understanding stress • Stress and illness • Health psychology and stress management © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Download ReportTranscript Chapter three Stress and Health Psychology • Understanding stress • Stress and illness • Health psychology and stress management © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Chapter three Stress and Health Psychology • Understanding stress • Stress and illness • Health psychology and stress management © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. realworldpsychology Things You’ll Learn in Chapter 3 Q1 Does the use of social media lead to stress? Q2 Can loneliness make you sick? Q3 Are people with stressful jobs at increased risk of experiencing a heart attack? Q4 Does watching televised coverage of natural disasters increase symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder? Q5 Could thinking about the “silver linings” of a stressful event, or sharing it with others, reduce depression? © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. What is Stress? • Stress = the interpretation of specific events as threatening or challenging • Stressor = trigger or stimulus that induces stress What stressors cause stress for you? © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. realworldpsychology © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Chronic Stress • Chronic stress = continuous state of arousal where demands are perceived as greater than resources available • Significant source of negative stress • Examples? War, poverty, discrimination, poor working conditions, repressive political climate, environmental discomfort/noise © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. realworldpsychology Q1 Does the use of social media lead to stress? • Social life can be both rewarding and stressful, even online. Survey of college student attitude about Facebook (Charles, 2011): – Facebook makes them anxious – Delay responses to friend requests – Rejecting friend requests creates guilt © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Conflict as Stressor • Approach-approach = choosing between two desirable options • Avoidance-avoidance = choosing between two undesirable options • Approach-avoidance = one option has both positive and negative characteristics © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. A little can feel like a lot • Hassles = minor problems in daily life can add up to be a major stressor • Burnout = physical, mental, and emotional exhaustion from persistent hassles • Frustration = negative emotional state arises from blocked goal – The more motivated we are, the more frustrated we are when goal is blocked © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Effects of Stress General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) – Hans Selye • Bodies are well designed for temporary stress, but poorly prepared for chronic stress • Three phases: alarm, resistance, exhaustion • BUT, not all stressors have similar effects © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Stress and Illness • Cortisol is released to help you fight stressor, but chronically high cortisol suppresses the immune system • Pyschoneuroimmunology = studies effects of psychological and other factors on the immune system Q2 Can loneliness make you sick? • Loneliness is a chronic stressor that can impair the immune system (Jaremka et al., 2013) © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. realworldpsychology Even short-term stress affects cognitive functioning • Restricts the retrieval of existing memories, impedes the creation of new memories • How can you apply this? – Can stress of exam affect memory? – Difficult to think clearly during an emergency? © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. realworldpsychology Long-term stress has severe cognitive effects • Permanent damage to hippocampus • Damaged hippocampus can’t provide feedback to hypothalamus, so cortisol continues to be released © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. STRESS AND ILLNESS How stress is related to four serious illnesses: • Gastric ulcers • Cancer • Cardiovascular disorders • Posttraumatic stress disorder © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Gastric Ulcers • Ulcers = lesions to the lining of the stomach and upper small intestines • Stress itself does not cause ulcers • Bacterium (H. plyori) damages stomach wall and can be helped with antibiotics • BUT, 75% of control subjects (no ulcers) also have the same bacterium • So, bacteria cause ulcers ONLY in people compromised by stress (Fink, 2011) © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Cancer • Cancer occurs when cells divide rapidly, forming a tumor and invading healthy tissue • Immune system checks the uncontrolled growth by attacking abnormal cells • If immune system is compromised by stress, it is less able to fight cancerous growth • Note: research does not show that stress causes cancer or that positive attitudes can fight it off, but does show that stress increases the spread of cancer cells to other organs © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Cardiovascular Disorders • Heart disease includes coronary heart disease, angina, heart attack • Stress hormones (cortisol and adrenaline) in the bloodstream increase heart rate and send fat and glucose into the blood for energy • If no physical activity occurs (fight or flight), fat in bloodstream sticks to walls of blood vessels Q3 Are people with stressful jobs at increased risk of experiencing a heart attack? • Job-related stress = 23% more likely to have heart attack © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Personality Variables • Type A – intense, ambitious, driven personality. Higher stress if hostility is included. More interpersonal conflicts • Type B – less competitive, more relaxed, less stress • Positive Affect/Emotion – people with general happiness, joy, enthusiasm have fewer colds, strokes, and longer life expectancy © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) • Exposure to serious trauma (not just military service) or recurring exposure • Recurrent memories, dreams, flashbacks • Persistent avoidance of stimuli related to event • Negative changes in mood, negative self-thought, detached from others • Irritability, anger, reckless behavior, sleep disturbances © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. PTSD Q4 Does watching televised coverage of natural disasters increase symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder? • Simply watching TV coverage of natural disasters can increase PTSD symptoms, especially in kids © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY AND STRESS MANAGEMENT Health psychology studies how people stay healthy, why they become ill, and how they respond to illness © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. What Health Psychologists Do • Study the effects of stress on the immune system • Goal: reduce psychological distress and unhealthy behaviors • Employed by medical centers and as independent consultants • Educate public about health maintenance © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Coping with Stress • Problem-focused coping: decrease or eliminate stressor • Emotion-focused coping: relieve or regulate emotional reaction when stressor can’t be changed © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Coping Q5 Could thinking about the “silver linings” of a stressful event, or sharing it with others, reduce depression? • Even though emotion-focused coping doesn’t change the problem, thinking about the benefits of the stressful event increases positive mood • Must reflect accurate reappraisal, not be overused, and not distort reality © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Resources for Healthy Living • Positive attitude leads to view of stress as enhancing/ adaptive rather than debilitating • Locus of Control (LOC) – Internal LOC = belief that you control your own fate leads to effective decisions and healthy lifestyle – External LOC = belief that outside forces control fate, leading to powerlessness, higher stress © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. Resources for Healthy Living • Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSD): training consciousness to attend to ongoing events in nonjudgmental way • Social support: people with greater social support have better health outcomes, greater psychological and physical well-being, faster recovery, and longer life expectancy realworldpsychology After surgery, those with more social support have less anxiety, fewer narcotics, are released from hospital sooner © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.