Unit 8 B Stress and Health
Stress and Causes of Death Prolonged stress combined with unhealthy behaviors may increase our risk for one of today'ʹs four leading diseases.
Stress and Health (Obj.11) Do you have control over your own health? 50% of deaths in US attributed to behaviors smoking, lack of exercise, nutrition, unprotected sex, drugs, alcoholism
Behavioral Medicine - integrates and applies behavior and medical knowledge Health Psychology - psychology’s contribution to behavioral medicine (Wellness) Personality (Type A / Type B) Behaviors (prevent illness / put us at risk of illness) Perceptions / Appraisal
Health Psychology Health psychology is a field of psychology that contributes to behavioral medicine. The field studies stress-‐‑related aspects of disease and asks the following questions: 1. How do emotions and personality factors influence the risk of disease? 2. What aJitudes and behaviors prevent illness and promote health and well-‐‑being? 3. How do our perceptions determine stress? 4. How can we reduce or control stress?
What is Stress? (Obj.11) Stress - process by which we perceive and respond to certain events (stressors) Stressors – what we appraise as threatening or challenging personality affects appraisal
Stressors Catastrophes Life changes Hassles
Intervening factors Appraisal Perceived control Personality Social support Coping behaviors
Stress reactions Physiological Emotional Behavioral
Eustress / Distress shopping?, traffic?, exams?
Stress Response System Two-track (Obj.11) 1.
Cannon’s (Fight or Flight) Sympathetic Nervous System (Arousal) adrenal glands release epinephrine (adrenaline) Increases heart rate, respiration, and blood to muscles, mobilizing sugar and fat, and dulling pain.
Stress Response System Two-track (Obj.11) 2. Cerebral cortex (hypothalamus & pituitary) Stress triggers the hypothalamus and pituitary slowly to tell the adrenal glands to release stress hormones glucocorticoid (cortisol)
Stress and Illness? (Obj.12) General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) – The body’s resistance to stress can only Last so long before exhaustion sets in body’s adaptive response to stress Stress resistance
Stressor occurs
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Alarm Resistance Exhaustion reaction (cope with (reserves (mobilize stressor) depleted) Resources)
Hans Selye 1. Alarm – heart rate zooms, blood to muscles 2. Resistance – blood pressure, respiration high, outpouring of hormones 3. Exhaustion – deplete your body’s reserves
Vulnerable to Illness/Death
Stressful Life Events Catastrophic Events earthquakes, combat stress, floods Life Changes death of a loved one, divorce, loss of job, promotion
Stressful Life Events Daily Hassles rush hour traffic, long lines, job stress, burnout Pressure Occurs when we feel forced to speed up or shift focus of our behavior Frustration Occurs when a person is prevented from reaching a goal • Delays • Lack of Resources • Losses • Failure • Discrimination
Sources of Stress Conflict Simultaneous existence of incompatible demands, opportunities, goals, or needs Approach/approach conflict occurs when there is a conflict between two appealing possibilities • Regret
Avoidance/avoidance conflict occurs when there is a choice between two undesirable possibilities • Escape
Approach/avoidance conflict is the result of being simultaneously attracted to and repelled by the same goal • Paralysis
Stress and Individual Differences Hardiness A characteristic of people who can tolerate stress well or even thrive on it Open to change Welcome a challenge
Resilience Ability of a person to “bounce back” after a stressful event Social connections Varied interests
Self-imposed stress Must be loved or approved by everyone for everything I do I must be successful at everything I do
Stress and Heart Disease (Obj. 14) Psychophysiological Illness “mind-body” illness any stress-related physical illness some forms of hypertension (high blood pressure) some headaches
Not Psychosomatic or psychologically caused physical symptoms
Stress and Heart Disease (Obj.14) Coronary Heart Disease - clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle leading cause of death in the United States Personality drives appraisal Type A - are competitive, hard-driving, impatient aggressive, anger-prone • aggression & anger = physiologically more reactive = more stress hormones = constriction of arteries = plaque on arteries = increase blood pressure = stroke & heart attacks = death
Type B - are easygoing, relaxed people
Pessimist are twice as likely as optimists to develop heart disease
Correlation? FINDINGS: Of the original sample of 3200, 257 participants had developed coronary heart disease during the 8½ years 70% of them had been classified as Type A. Type As were found to have higher levels of cholesterol, adrenaline, and noradrenaline than Type Bs. A significant but moderate correlation was found between personality type and coronary heart disease. CONCLUSIONS: The research shows that Type A behaviour pattern is fairly strongly linked to CHD. Friedman and Rosenman concluded that the Type A behaviour pattern increases the individual’s experience of stress, which increases physiological reactivity, and that in turn increases vulnerability to CHD. The high levels of the stress hormones suggest that they do experience more stress than Type Bs. The stress response inhibits digestion, which leads to the higher level of cholesterol in the blood, and this places Type As at risk of CHD. Implications include the need to reduce the “harmful” Type A characteristics.
Scoring online tests
Type A/B Personality Test Type B 35-120 Mildly Type B 120-205 Mildly Type A 205-295 Type A 295-380
Stress and Immune System Psycho-neuro-immun-ology (PNI) (Obj.15) Secretion of stress hormones, suppress the disease-fighting lymphocytes (immune system) Lymphocytes - two types of white blood cells, body’s immune system B lymphocytes - Bone marrow, fight Bacterial infections T lymphocytes - Tissue , attack cancer cells, foreign substances, Tumors
Stress and Immune System Psycho-neuro-immun-ology (PNI) (Obj.15) Stress diverts energy from our immune systems Stress and Aids – Increase progression of HIV to AIDS Stress and Cancer - Increase cancer’s progression
Stress and Colds People with the highest life stress scores were also the most vulnerable when exposed to an experimental cold virus.
Stress / Immune System Conditioning the Immune System
Promoting Health
Coping – Alleviating stress using emotional (feelings), cognitive (thinking) or behavioral (acting) methods Perceived lack of control (External locus) Increase (Internal locus) of control Take control of your time
Optimists feel more control over stressors than pessimists There is a bright side, it’s not all bad & it will improve
Social support = lower blood pressure Tend and befriend
Aerobic exercise = lower blood pressure Exercise 3 days a week, start today!
Biofeedback and mediation = lower blood pressure Focus your thoughts in a positive direction
Religious people = social support, hope and optimism Bad things are not personal there is a greater plan
Life events Personal appraisal Challenge
Threat
Personality type Hostile Depressed Pessimistic
Easy going Nondepressed Optimistic Personality habits
Smoking Sedentary Poor nutrition
Nonsmoking Regular exercise Good nutrition
Level of social support Close, enduring
Lacking
Tendency toward Health
Illness
Health-promoting programs Smoking Who? = teens Why? = social rewards “have friends that smoke” Addiction to nicotine Release of epinephrine and norepinephrine • Suppress appetite & boost alertness
Calms anxiety and reduce pain Stimulates dopamine = reward