Chapter 4: Developing Mastery over Stress

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Chapter 4 Developing Mastery over Stress

• Dr. M. Davis-Brantley

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Understanding Stress

• Difference between Stress Mastery and Stress
  Management
• Stress Managementdealing with stress is just
  another thing we have to learn to do includes
  exercises that you must do. Takes too much time.
• Stress Masteryshould become part of your life
  and is not work and understanding stress can help
  you to master it. Increases awareness

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What is Stress?

• Tension, nervousness, headaches, having deadlines
  to meet, etc
• Stress is an inescapable aspect of life
• Boredom is stressful
• Official Definition Stress is anything that
  requires an adaptive response on the part of the
  organism
• Anything that requires you to respond, to make a
  change or an adjustment is stressful
• Stress as the spice of life

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What is Stress?

• Positive and Negative Stress
• Eustress is referred to as positive stress
• Some of stress can help motivate you to perform
  and meet the challenges of life
• The physiological and psychological aspects of
  the arousal produced by stress can be useful but
  also can harm you
• Over arousal leads to the negative stress of
  anxiety
• Under arousal leads to the negative
  stressboredom
• Life Readjustment Scale

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Physical Consequences of Stress

• Glucocorticoid is a stress hormone
• High levels of this hormone cause white blood
  cells to migrate to the bone marrow and so they
  are not available later to combat disease

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Physical Consequences Contd

• Hypertension is a stress related which afflicts
  50 million
• Cholesterol levels rise during periods of stress
• Overproduction of ACTH (result of stress) can
  impede endorphin production which is a natural
  pain killer

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Psychological Consequences

• Stress is a major factor in the development of
  anxiety, depression, insomnia, etc
• Depression is the 1 cause of disability in the
  U.S.
• Correlation between stress and alcohol/drug
  problems

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Fight or Flight Response
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Physiology of Stress

• Fight or Flight Response
• A survival mechanism in humans and most animals
  which prepares us to deal with physical danger
• Importance of Homeostasis

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Fight or Flight Limitations

• System should only be elicited in the event of
  actual physical danger
• Daily stressor begins to elicit an autonomic
  response
• Heart rate increases when boss calls you into
  their office
• Past stressors used to have a clear beginning and
  end this is not the case recently

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Fight or Flight Physical Responses

• Body Part
• Heart
• Lungs
• Muscles
• Stomach
• Sweat Glands
• Adrenal Gland
• Immune System

• Stress Response
• Faster pulse/ stronger contraction
• Faster/Shallow Breathing
• Tightened Stiff
• Decreased Digestion
• Increased Perspiration
• Increased Adrenaline
• Decreased Resistance to Disease

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Stress Sensitization

• General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) explains the
  current phenomenon of how we cope with stress
  (See figure 4.4, p. 77)
• Stage 1 Alarm Reaction
• Activation of the fight/flight response
• Stage 2 Stage of Resistance
• Fight/flight response should deactivate but with
  modern day stressors, subtle signs of the
  stressor persist
• During this time our neural/glandular systems
  remain active and leave us overstimulated
• Stage 3 Stage of Exhaustion
• When the stressor has existed for chronic period
  and body begins to harm itself I.e., immune
  system, heart, brain
• Stress Sensitization
• The body becomes sensitive to stress and the
  smallest amount of stress leads to chemical
  reactions in our brain/body which results in the
  triggering of a physiological response
• Book example running late for an appointment,
  calls the body to react as if this was a life or
  death situation

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Mind-Body Connection

• Placebo Effect
• Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)
• The study of the relationship between stress, our
  immune system and health
• Research and PNI
• Biopsy wounds healed more slowly in women who
  were under high levels of stress
• HIV/AIDs patients with high cortisol levels
  (stress hormone) have been found to have more
  illness as a result of their disorder

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Chapter 5 Part II

• Techniques to Master Stress

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Mind-Body Connection

• Mind and Body were previously believed to be
  completely separate entities
• Later discovered to be extremely interconnected
  and interdependent
• as historically thought
• Our bodies trigger our thoughts (mind) and our
  minds trigger bodily reactions

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De-Stressing

• First step is to change the way we view stressful
  situations and then learning to actually relax
  the body
• Several strategies and techniques which can be
  beneficial in allowing the body to de-stress

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How Do We Change Our View of Stressful Events
By Changing our Perception
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Relaxation

• Active Relaxation vs. Passive Relaxation
• Active Relaxation is necessary relaxation aimed
  at reducing the fight/flight response
• This restores the body and returns the body to
  homeostasis
• Actually must be aware of your body and the
  bodys physiological reactions
• Passive Relaxation involves simple inactivity and
  temporary distraction from stress
• Active relaxation has been found to be
  significantly more effective at reducing stress
  levels than passive relaxation

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Diaphragmatic Breathing

• Natural antidote to stress
• Physiologically the body utilizes oxygen to react
  and function adequately
• Breathing allows the body to have a balance
  between the carbon dioxide and oxygen
• One hand on your diaphragm and one on your chest.
  Focus on allowing the hand on your stomach to
  rise (like a balloon) not the chest (Practice)
• Be in the moment, focus on your breathing ad
  nothing else

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Self-Awareness

• Self-awareness involves the ability to focus on
  the self and be in the moment
• Often times, we attempt to be in the moment
  however, often get distracted by the other areas
  of our lives
• Since we are allowed to choose our responses to
  stressors, being self-aware can provide an
  individual with the opportunity to step away,
  recharge, and think of the stressor in a
  different way
• Witnessing Stance involves stepping out of
  yourself, as a witness to your own life, and
  gather a new perspective on life
• View of self from the outside of the self
• Metacognition-the ability to think about your
  thinking
• Being aware of your thinking and how you think
  can significantly influence your ability to
  change the way we think about situations

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Stress Hardiness

• Researcher Kobasa outlined attitudes possessed by
  individuals who appeared to be resistant to
  negative stress. These individuals exhibited the
  following
• Controlthese individuals believe they are in
  control of their lives and do not allow the
  stressor to control their lives
• These individuals recognize that they dont have
  direct control over events, but they know they
  can control their reaction to the stressor
• Involves engaging in proactive behavior and
  possessing an internal locus of control
• Commitmentthis involves believing that what you
  do is of value and importance
• These individuals have a zest for life and
  realize that Happiness is not about getting what
  you want, but about appreciating what you have
• ChallengeAlthough we all encounter difficulties,
  these individuals see difficulties as challenges
  and the opportunity to improve oneself

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Other Relaxation Strategies

• Progressive Muscle Relaxation
• Intuitive Stretching
• Guided Imagery
• Staying HealthyNot just a technique but a way of
  life
• Exercise releases pent up energy and muscle
  tension and helps the body return to homeostasis
• Benefits of Exercise include Decrease in stress
  hormones (cortisol), Decrease in Depression,
  Increase in self-esteem, Increased sense of
  well-being, and Decease in Anxiety
• Vitamins Diet can impact the effect of stress
  on the body, in that stress demands an increase
  for vitamins