Stress and Health

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Stress and Health

• The Real Reason Peter Pan Never Grew Up

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• What makes you stressed?

Im going to be late for work!
The last bagel is gone!
Am I going to be eaten?
Is there enough to eat?
What makes a Zebra Stressed?
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Three Types of Stress

• Acute Physical Stressors Require immediate
  physiological response in order to survive.
• e.g. attack or natural disaster (Catastrophe)
• Body does well!
• Chronic Physical Stressors
• e.g. starvation, drought, dangerous living
  conditions.
• Body does OK.
• Psychological and Social Stressors pressures in
  our social, cultural and economic environment.
• e.g. marital stress, hassles or work burnout
• Can be based on thoughts alone!
• Body does not do so well.

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Reminder . . .

• The body is divided into the CENTRAL (brain and
  spinal chord) and PERIPHERAL (all the neurons
  that connect the body to the CNS) Nervous
  Systems.
• Peripheral nervous system is divided into the
  SOMATIC (voluntary) and the AUTONOMIC
  (involuntary) Nervous Systems
• The Autonomic nervous system is divided into the
  SYMPATHETIC and the PARASYMPATHETIC Nervous
  Systems.

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The Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)

• Parasympathetic Division
• Vegetative Functions
• Increased digestion
• Increased saliva
• Decreased heart rate
• Decreased breathing
• Increased blood flow to gut
• Restful state

• Sympathetic Division
• Fight or Flight Response
• Decreased digestion
• Decreased saliva
• Increased heart rate
• Increased breathing
• Shunting of blood from gut to other tissues
  (skeletal muscle, heart, brain)
• Heightened arousal and vigilance

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Results of Chronic Stress

• Increased fatigue
• Increased risk of heart disease
• Increased risk of diabetes
• Decreased reproductive function
• Decreased digestion
• Decreased growth!

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The Accidental Discovery of Stress

• Endocrinologist Hans Seyles
• poor rats.
• General Adaptation Syndrome (Three stages)
• 1. ALARM REACTION - the bodys stress response
• 2. RESISTANCE - balance is temporarily
  re-attained by adapting to the presence of the
  stressor
• 3. EXHAUSTION - if stressor remains, resources
  are depleted,leading to illness or death

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Seyles (Now Revised) General Adaption Syndrome

• Alarm Reaction
• Resistance / Adaption
• Illness -- if stressor remains, stress response
  itself begins to cause long term damage

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Is Stress Always Bad?

• Some level of arousal is stimulating and
  motivating
• People vary in how they respond to stress, based
  on things such as
• Physiological differences
• Personality variables
• Cognitive and emotional responses to stress

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Changing How We Respond To Stress

• Attributional Style
• Internal, Stable, Global vs. External, Unstable,
  Specific (Seligman)
• Perceived Control
• Survival rates for breast cancer patients
  (Taylor)
• The plant study (Langer Rodin)
• Optimism

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Coping with Stress(With a little help from your
friends)

• Social Support psychological and physical
  resources from others
• Tangible money, shelter, food
• Intangible comfort, support, advice
• Social support contributes to health and
  longevity

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More Coping Strategies

• Relaxation / Meditation

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More Coping Strategies

• Exercise
• Emotion-focused coping
• Problem-focused coping
• Cognitive reappraisal
• Social comparison

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More Coping Strategies

• Exercise
• Emotion-focused coping
• Problem-focused coping
• Cognitive reappraisal
• Social comparison
• Humor