Download Axia College Material Appendix D Psychological and

Axia College Material
Appendix D
Psychological and Psychophysiological Stress Disorders
Respond to the following:
1. Stress can be the root cause of psychological disorders. Name four symptoms
shared by acute and posttraumatic stress disorders.
1. Nightmares, flashbacks and otherwise re-experiencing the event through
dreams,
2. Purposeful avoidance of situations the person relates to the traumatic event.
3. Feelings of disassociation or reduced responsiveness to once pleasurable
stimuli.
4. Increased anxiety, guilt and arousal. The individual startles easily and is upset
and unable to sleep. They may experience survivor’s remorse.
2. What life events are most likely to trigger a stress disorder?
Acute stress disorder (ASD) occurs within four weeks of the event with a duration
of less than a month. Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has an onset which
can be close to the event or years later and the symptoms persist for longer
periods. Both disorders share the trigger event in common. Trigger events
include both real and perceived threats and actual harmful events to self or to a
loved one. Such events as rape, combat, natural disasters and robbery can
cause ASD and PTSD.
3. Traumatic events do not always result in a diagnosable psychological disorder.
What factors determine how a person may be affected by one such event?
A person’s ability to handle stress and trauma are influenced by both genetic and
biological factors. Studies show a correlation between biochemical changes in
brain functioning and trauma. These changes may lead to brain area damage in
areas that regulate stress responses. Profiles of personalities that include
measures of prior anxiety and psychological disorders show that some people
are more susceptible to the effects of trauma. Certain personality characteristics
give resilience to some individuals that make them more likely to maintain control
of their lives and less likely to suffer from these disorders in the event of trauma.
Social support also is a strong indicator for whether a person can recover from
trauma in a short time or not. Robust personality and a supportive network are
not always enough to allow a person to recover from some events, such as
experiences of war or severe physical abuse and the individual may be
consumed by memories and nightmares that develop into a disorder.
4. What are the four stages in meeting the psychological needs of disaster victims?
1. Normalize people’s disaster response through instruction that the person’s
natural reactions to the disaster are absolutely normal in cases of severe
trauma.
2. Encourage the individual to express their feelings of anxiety, anger and
frustration. This is done through communication directly with the person
treated.
3. Providing instruction and coaching in self-helping skills and stress
management.
4. Provide professional referrals that are appropriate for long term treatment and
counseling.
5. What is the link between personality styles and heart disease?
Type A and Type B personalities have been studied. These studies show that
Type A personality is correlated directly with coronary heart disease (CHD).
Personality characteristics for Type A are aggression, impatience, competitive,
driven and distrustful of others. This indicates that these individuals are
predisposed to create stress in their lives.
Type B personalities are
characterized by passiveness, less aggressiveness and less concern of time
constraints. These traits mean that Type B individuals are more relaxed, which
puts less stress on the person’s heart. Those coping styles described as
repressive, in which a person suppresses their feelings and anger also put an
individual at risk for CHD. Keeping any feelings bottled up increases the
individual’s stress and blood pressure as well as their heart rate, making them
more susceptible to CHD.
6. List and briefly describe four psychological treatments for physical disorders.
1. Relaxation training: The subject is instructed in relaxation of muscle groups at
will. Relaxation training reduces anxiety and treats many stress related illnesses
including headache, insomnia, asthma and generalized pain. This treatment can
be used in combination with medication to high blood pressure and to combat the
effects of cancer treatments.
2. Biofeedback training: This works in a similar way to relaxation training. In
biofeedback the patient is taught to control muscle groups at will. This is
accomplished with the use of monitored electrodes that let the patient detect their
contractions by converting the contraction into an electrical impulse that is
transmitted to an electromyograph (EMG) machine. The EMG signal is sent to
the patient as an audible tone so that the patient can gauge their response based
on the tone frequency. The patient can gain control of the muscle areas that
need to be relaxed and can be easily taught to control these areas voluntarily.
This treatment is also quite effective in treating headache, high blood pressure
and asthma. Biofeedback treatments can be used for heartbeat irregularities,
stuttering and relieving the pain in burn patients.
3. Cognitive intervention: This is a method of self instruction in which the patient
is taught to clear their negative thoughts from their mind. They replace these
negative thoughts with positive coping statements which gives relief from
physical pain. For instance, the patient would replace the thought, “the pain is
unmanageable” with the thought “I am getting better at each moment”. These
methods are effective in treating pain of headaches and severe pain in burn
patients, the effects of surgical procedures, multiple sclerosis and cancer
treatments.
4. Combination approaches: The use of combinations of therapies to treat
disorders in ways that are tailored to the individual patient is the best overall
approach that yields the best long term results. The combination of medical and
psychological interventions has proved very effective. This is true for individuals
suffering from high blood pressure, headaches, asthma. This approach can help
to reduce Type A behavior traits that are associated with coronary heart disease.
Anxiety can be reduced, symptoms of illness lessened and patient experience
better, longer lasting relief.