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General Psychology CH. 12 Stress and Health What is stress Stress is tension, discomfort or physical symptoms In response to a ..... Stressor - condition that disrupts ability to cope effectively (shots, public speaking, finals) Hassles - minor annoyances that strain our ability to cope Traumatic event - a severe stressor (death, car accident)  Both can produce long term health problems  Perceiving hassles as continual predicts health problems better than major events Study of Stress 3 approaches o Stressors as stimuli - focus is identifying types of stressful events  What is dangerous or unpredictable  Lob loss  Combat  Pregnancy  Marriage o Stress as a response - assesses reactions to stress  Measure outcome variables - like corticosteroid levels  Psychological  Depression  Hostility  Anxiety  Physical o Corticosteroid levels o Heart rate o Stress as a transaction - examines how people cope with stress  Interactions between people and environment  How we perceive/appraise events (stressful/not stressful) Assessing Stress Primary appraisal - asset if situation is harmful or dangerous Secondary - then assess how well we can cope with it Coping with Stress  Problem focused coping - use when we feel can change outcome o Grade on a test (we study more)  Emotion focused coping - use when we feel we can't change outcome o Put a positive spin on the outcome  I don't really care anyway  It worked out for the best General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) Three stages  Alarm - fight or flight o Emotional brain reaction o Arousal = limbic system activated o Adrenaline released o Anxiety  HPA axis: hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal  Fear -> activates Hypothalamus -> activates Pituitary -> triggers Adrenal gland -> releases hormones cortisol, adrenaline • Resistance - feel like flee/fight - but think better of it (running out during the test) o Thinking brain reaction o Coping with stress  Exhaustion - constant, long term stress (combat) o Run out of coping resources o Can cause serious health problems  Physical  Psychological Stress and Gender  Tend and befriend: o Nurture (tend) and/or seek social support (befriend)  More common in females than males  Fight or flight: o Aggression (fight) and/or social withdrawal (flight)  More common in males than females Coping with Stress Catharsis- disclosing painful feelings  Useful only if w/ involves problem solving Crisis debriefing- single 3-4 hr session soon after trauma  Designed to ward off PTSD  Not helpful – may increase risk of PTSD Social support > lower morality rates Maybe why women live longer (tend and befriend) Gaining control > stress  Control o Behavioral control  Ability to gain control of situation  Problem-focused  Better than avoidance orientated coping o Cognitive  Ability to think differently  “turn frown upside down”  Includes emotion-focused coping o Decisional  Ability to choose among alternatives o Informational  Able to acquire info about stress event  Proactive coping- anticipating problems and plan for solutions. o Emotional  Ability to suppress or to express emotions  Better for health to express – but not always practical Individual Differences Hardiness- set of attitudes in which:  View change as challenge not threat  External locus of control  = less anxiety proneness  Also called resilience Optimism- better immune system > less stress > mortality Spirituality- better immune system > less stress > morality (we must coexist) Ruminating- continual focus on problems