Chronic Stress why you have ulcers and zebras don

1
Chronic Stresswhy you have ulcers and zebras
dont

• julia king tamang
• LERN annual conference
• 2008

2
The ultimate stress book

• Why Zebras
• Dont Get Ulcers Stress,
• Performance Coping
• Robert Sapolsky, PhD

3

• The zebra and the lion

The zebras stress lasts about 3 minutes
4
You and me
5
Homeostasis the ideal state

• Homeostasis
• A systemic balance continually regulated by
  bodily mechanism
• When you receive a stressor, it knocks you out of
  homeostatic balance

6
The Stress Response and its consequences

• Seven biological changes that enable the body to
  focus all its energy on immediate
  survivalwhether you need to or not!
• 1. Mobilization of Energy
• 2. Increased Cardiovascular Tone
• 3. Suppression of Digestion
• 4. Suppression of Growth
• 5. Suppression of Reproduction

7
The Stress Response and its consequences

• Seven biological changes that enable the body to
  focus all its energy on immediate
  survivalwhether you need to or not
• 6. Suppression of Immune System
• 7. Sharpening of Cognition

8
So, how are you still alive?

• Sapolsky wanted to know, so he ran experiments on
  rats.
• The rat, like a human, could recover from a
  stressor if there was
• An outlet or support for the irritation
  experienced
• A sense of predictability or control
• A perception that the situation might improve
• Social support

9
What about humans?

• The second most important predictor of mortality
  is degree of social connectedness.
• Studies show a three fold difference in
  life-length for people who have a strong social
  network
• By the way
• The top predictor is is socio-economic status
• So avoid poverty if you can ?

10
When we want stress

• Humans find mild and transient stress stimulating
• A challenge
• Tickling
• A poker game
• A scary movie
• Mild stress creates increased dopamine
  levelswhich can be addictive

11
Stress addiction

• Enjoyable stress produces dopamine, which is
  pleasurable
• But the dopamine levels decrease over time
• Then, it takes even more stress to create the
  same pleasurable experience
• Especially when people feel they are relatively
  safe
• Like roller coasters and fun houses at Halloween

12
The Big Cheese baboons

• Sapolskys studies in Africa show that higher
  ranking baboons and higher ranking humans suffer
  less from stress-related diseases
• But rank is not enough protection, personality
  also matters

13
The traits of stress hardiness

• You can tell the difference between things that
  are threatening and things that are neutral
• You do not feel immediately helpless when
  threatened you have a sense of efficacy
• You can tell when you have one or lost you can
  tell if an outcome is good or bad
• You do not tend to mope over loss

14
The baboon fountain of youth

• Younger baboons who had these traits outlived
  their cohort by up to three years
• They can live for up to 45 years

15
Who ages well?

• How society treats you well helps determine how
  well you age
• For example, in Africa, older people show little
  sign of geriatric depression, as opposed to here,
  even though their general circumstances are worse
• But in Africa, elders have a respected and
  defined role
• People aspire to this role throughout their lives
• Elders are neither isolated nor disrespected

16
Which humans cope well?

• Those who have a paradigm to make sense of things
• Like religion
• Those who can compartmentalize stress into real,
  but manageable parts
• Those who are not in denial do best in the long
  run

17
When control helps

• In a study, doctors discovered that patients who
  had unlimited access to pain medications actually
  took less
• Nursing home patients who had plants to care for
  had fewer emergency needs
• Having more access to info about what will happen
  to you creates fewer medical difficulties

18
Is there a lion or not?

• Stress can be a habit
• When youre stressed, ask
• Is there danger or not?
• Can I realistically do anything? If so, what?
• Can I make sense of this?
• Do I have control?
• Can I learn more about this?

19

• Be well!