Download APSI-Stress-Coping-Health

What do these things have in
common?
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August 2007
Chronic neck pain
March 2011
Vertigo
Hashimoto’s Disease
Lupus
•STRESS
& ME!!!
STRESS
• What “stresses” you out?
• What is stress?
– The physical & psychological
response to circumstances that
disrupt or threaten to disrupt a
person’s equilibrium
• Stressors = events or situations,
unique to the individual, that
produces stress
What is stress? 3 mins
Eustress
• A stress that is
positive or
motivating
• Examples from
your life?
Distress
• A stress that is
negative or
damaging
• Examples from
your life?
Sources of stress
• Catastrophic Events: life
threatening experience or trauma
• Life Changes & Strains: divorce,
death of loved one
• Chronic Stressors: long-term
stressor such as high-crime
neighborhood, serious illness,
financial stress
• Acute Stressors: medical
procedures, job pressures
• Daily Hassles
Approach/Approach Conflict
– individual is faced with the necessity of making a choice
between two (or more) desirable goals
– EX: "Shall I fly or drive to Vegas for the weekend?"
– least stressful situation
Avoidance/Avoidance Conflict
– individual is faced with two goals, both of which are
negative
– EX: "Either you do your homework or you go to bed
without dinner.“
Approach/Avoidance Conflict
– individual is both attracted and repelled by the same
goal which has qualities that make the individual want to
approach it and other qualities that make him want to
avoid it
– EX: tempted to eat a certain food but know from
experience that it gives you the heartburn
Multiple (Double) Approach/Avoidance Conflicts
– In real life, the individual frequently is faced with having to
choose between two (or more) goals, each of which has
both attracting and repelling aspects.
– EX: Choosing a house in the country = fresh air, room to
live, peace and quiet. It also means many hours of
commuting to work in heavy traffic and long distances
from city amenities and cultural events
– Choosing to live in the city = problems and the advantages
of city life
Physical Effects of Stress
• Stress activates the
hypothalamus
• Which triggers the pituitary
gland & hormones are secreted
and endorphins are released
• Overall effect of stress
systems = create emergency
energy
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Heart rate increases
Respiration rapid and shallow
Pupils dilate
Goosebumps
Muscle tightness
THEORIES OF PHYSIOLOGICAL REACTIONS TO
STRESS
Walter Cannon
• Stress is a unified mind-body
experience (1930s)
• Not the first to think it, but pushed
idea forward
• Emotion arousing incidents =
outpouring of epinephrine and
norepinephrine
• Sympathetic NS activated
• Fight or Flight Response
• Homeostasis (stable, steady
physiological system)
Hans Selye
• Studied animals’ reaction to stress (1936)
• Maintained the body’s adaptive response to stress
is “generalized” (General Adaptation Syndrome)
• Three phases:
– Alarm
– Resistance
– Exhaustion
PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL REACTIONS TO
STRESS
Friedman and Rosenman (1959)
• Conducted longitudinal studies
• Found a correlation between stress and heart
disease
• Found that people with type A personality run a
higher risk of heart disease and high blood pressure
than type Bs
Type A and Type B Behaviors
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Type A
Competitive
Self-Critical
High work involvement
Hard-driving
Constant sense of urgency
Impatient
Anger prone
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Type B
Easygoing
Relaxed
More patient
Express Feelings
Remain calm when stressed
Focus on one thing at a time
Psychoneuroimmunology
• Examining the interaction of
psychological and physiological
processes that affect the body’s
ability to defend itself against
disease
• External defense system
– Skin
– Mucus linings
• Internal defense system
– Immune system
Psychological Reactions to Stress
• Stress factors
• Work, school and relationships
• Short term effects
• Emotional reactions (anger, anxiety,
embarrassment)
• Cognitive reactions (concentration,
distractibility)
• Long term effects
• Psychophysical (asthma, chronic pain,
insomnia, anxiety disorders, panic attack,
depression, infertility and/or PMS)
COPING WITH STRESS
Cognitive Strategies
• Reevaluate: think of stressors as challenges not
threats
• Locus of Control (Internal vs. External)
• Problem Solving (recall conflict resolution)
Emotional Strategies
• Used in situations that are perceived as
unchangeable
• Make it a goal to regulate distress
• Seek social support, get advice
Behavioral Strategies
• Time management (effective and efficient use of
time)
• Behavior modification/life changes (application of
operant and classical conditioning to make positive
behavioral changes)
Physical Strategies
• Relaxation Training (progressive relaxation)
• Biofeedback (recording and recognizing information
about changes in one’s physiological state)
• Meditation (technique used to promote inner peace and
tranquility)
• Exercise (sustained exercise to increase cardiovascular
and lung fitness)
• Diet and Nutrition (eating healthy choices and wellbalanced meals)
Remember…
In moderation, of course!!!
Take care
of yourself!