Stress

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Stress
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Stress

• Stress reactions
• Idiosyncratic reactions to stress
• Stress immunity links
• Healthy lifestyle

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The story of two frogs...

• Once upon a time, there was a frog who was
  dropped into a pot of hot water. Feeling the
  intense heat, she immediately jumped out and
  saved her life.
• But, there was another frog who was put into a
  pot of cold water which was set on a burner over
  low heat. One degree at a time the temperature
  increased, but the frog became accustomed to the
  heat, stayed in the pot and eventually was boiled.

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Stress Definitions

• Negative processes triggered by an event
• Stressors are environmental events (can be
  objectively good or bad)
• Stress reactions are the physical, psychological,
  and behavioral responses

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Figure 10.1 The Process of Stress
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Psychological Stressors

• event forces a person to change or adapt
• Examples
• Catastrophic events
• Life changes and strains
• Chronic stressors
• Daily hassles

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Measuring Stressors

• Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
• Life Experiences Survey (events and perceptions
  of them)
• Students and stress
• Interviews and Dairies

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Stress Responses
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Figure 10.2 GeneralAdaptation Syndrome
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Organ SystemsInvolved in the GAS
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HPA Axis
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Psychological Responses to Stress

• Emotional
• Cognitive
• ruminative thinking
• catastrophizing
• other processes
• problem-solving errors
• impaired decision making
• Behavioral Stress Responses

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Stress andPsychological Disorders

• Burnout/Depression/Anxiety
• Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a prime
  example
• vivid memories of trauma
• anxiety
• mood

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PTSD

• Determined by
• Perception of a dangerous situation
• Inability to cope
• Result
• Effects on general state of physical and mental
  health
• Causes
• War
• Sexual abuse

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PTSD Symptoms

• Nightmares
• Flashbacks
• Memory and concentration problems
• Hyperarousal
• Hypervigilance
• Intrusive memories
• Abnormal startle responses

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Hippocampal Volume Loss

• Fragmentation of new memory
• Inability to recall old memories
• Cortisol is the culprit

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Stress Mediators
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How Stressors Are Perceived

• Cognitive appraisal of the stressor
• Influence of cognitive factors weakens somewhat
  as stressors become more severe

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Cognitive Appraisal
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Cognitive Influenceson Stress Responses
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Prediction and Control

• predictable versus unpredictable
• intense and relatively short period, especially
• controllable versus uncontrollable
• perception of control reduces stress

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Coping Resourcesand Coping Methods

• Resources
• money
• time
• Methods
• problem-focused
• emotion-focused

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Social Support

• quantity
• quality
• situation
• right type

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Stress, Blood Pressure, and Support
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Stress and Personality

• Disease-prone personalities tend to
• stress viewed as long-term, catastrophic threats,
  brought on by self.
• pessimistic about ability to overcome
• Stress-hardy or disease-resistant
• stress is short term
• dispositional optimism (adds four years to life)

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Stress and Gender

• Males tend to get angry and/or avoid stressors
• fight-or-flight pattern.
• Females are more likely to help and get help
• tend and befriend style.

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Stress and Health
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Immune System

• Specific
• Lymphocytes (memory cells)
• T-cells
• B-cells

• Nonspecific
• high temperature
• macrophages (big eaters)

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Acute or Good Stress

• Increased traffic of lymphocytes and macrophages
• related adrenal secretion (SAM)
• enhances responses for which there is an
  immunologic memory
• beneficial for cancer tumour cell, but
  pathologic for autoimmune or allergic responses

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Chronic or Bad Stress

• Reduced traffic of lymphocytes and macrophages
• Associated with increased HPA activity
• increased severity of many common illnesses

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Stress, Illness, and the Cardiovascular System

• Repeated activation of fight or flight linked
  to coronary heart disease, hypertension, and
  stroke.
• Physical reactions depend partly on ones
  personality (hostility)