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Stress and health F2021
General Psychology (PSYC 10213)
Texas Christian University
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STRESS AND HEALTH
Health Psychology:
Maintenance of health, psychology of illnesses & health Areas in medicine, speech language pathology, nurses, etc. Concerned with well-being, strives for optimal health and life satisfaction Holistic view of health
What is Stress?
Stress: the process by which we appraise and respond (both physical and psychologically) to threatening or challenging events o Often accompanied by unpleasant states, such as anxiety or tension A stressor is a specific event or chronic pressure that places demands on a person, or threatens a person’s well-being Psychologists typically think of stressors as falling into 2 categories: o Major life stressors Changes/disruptions that strain central areas of people’s lives Foundational to your life, to your identity (i., divorce) o Daily Hassles Day-to-day irritations and annoyances, such as driving in heavy traffic, dealing with difficult people, or waiting in line
Positive Events Can Be Stressful:
Require some type of (re)adjustment and preparation that can be very stressful
o Moving off to college, into your own place for the 1st time o Getting married o Celebrating a milestone birthday Compared with negative events, positive events produce fewer physical symptoms
Chronic Stressors:
Sources of stress that occur continuously or repeatedly o Relationships, discrimination, money troubles, etc. accumulate to produce distress and illness o Being outside the in-group o Even living in a city (noise, traffic, crowding, etc.) Stressors can vary depending on how much control we have over the situation o The less control we have, the more stressed out we are
Perceived Control Over Stressful Events:
Having lack of control over the situation can ADD to the stress o Participants solved puzzles and proofread in either a quiet or noisy room (Glass & Singer, 1972) Performance was negatively affected for those who heard bursts of noise What about if participants were able to get rid of that noise? Having access to control the noise in the room, made them feel way less stressed out All about PERCEIVED CONTROL! Studies show perceived control over stressful events can be related to more effective coping
Telomeres help the process of cell division to go more smoothly Lack of cell division/impaired cell division Stressors shorten telomeres Telomeres: an enzyme that rebuilds telomeres at the tips of chromosomes o Lack of this enzyme prevents cell division o This causes aging, and ultimately cell death o Stress lowers telomerase activity Exercise helps to build up telomerase
Stress Increases the Risk of Heart Disease:
Coronary heart disease is the leading cause of death for adults in the industrialized world o Key predictors are health behaviors (lack of exercise, obesity, smoking) and personality traits relating to the way people respond to stress
Type A and Heart Disease:
Research links intensity, drive, anger, and hostility to increased rates of heart disease Personality traits o Type A behavior pattern: competitiveness, achievement orientation, aggressiveness, restlessness, impatience, inability to relax, hostility Strong predictor of heart disease as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or smoking Greater risk of death than optimistic type B people o Type B behavior pattern: noncompetitive, relaxed, easygoing, accommodating
Interpreting Stress: A 2-Step Process
To deal effectively with stressors we use cognitive appraisals o Link feelings with thoughts 2-step process (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) o Primary appraisal: interpretation of a stimulus as stressful or not o Secondary appraisal: determination of whether the stressor is something that can be handled or not Is something a threat or a challenge? Threat: fight-or-flight response o You feel like you can’t overcome it Challenge: increased motivation, active confidence o You feel fairly confident that you can overcome it After appraisal you cope The body responds differently to a threat (negative appraisal) than a challenge (positive appraisal)
What is Coping?
Coping response: any attempt to avoid, escape from, or minimize a stressor Coping reduces negative health effects of stress Can be anticipatory o Coping that occurs before the onset of the stressor
Types of Coping:
Emotion-focused coping: people try to prevent having an emotional response to a stressor o Ex: avoiding the problem by skipping class, “class isn’t that important anyway”, dropping out of college eventually (avoiding and minimizing) May not always solve the problem Problem-focused coping: people take direct steps to confront/minimize a stressor
o Reduces cognitive decline in older adults with moderate memory problems o Never too late
Stress Management – Through the Situation:
Perhaps stress is caused by a situation we’re facing. We can manage this by changing something about our life’s circumstances to reduce stress! o Social support Gained through interacting with others o Religious/spiritual practice o Humor o Avoiding procrastination
Individual Differences in Coping:
Differs between people: o How stressful life events are o Resilience Stress resistant people can adapt to life changes by viewing events constructively o High in “hardiness” → fewer negative responses to stressful events Are better able to cope with adversity People can learn to become more resilient “hardiness” stress resistant
Health Disparities:
Racial and ethnic groups can have large disparities in health o Probably due to systematic & structural factors (racism), and access to better healthcare o It’s shown that black males have a shorter lifespan than white females (expectancy)
Differences in health behaviors have long-term consequences for people’s health and expected life spans Ex: the adoption of more westernized lifestyles (e., eating junk food, exercising less) in countries like India and China has led to increases in diseases related to obesity
The Relationship Between Money and Life Expectancy:
People in poverty have a lower life expectancy than wealthy people Money does matter
Positive Psychology Emphasizes Well-Being:
Emphasizes strengths and virtues that help people thrive. Its primary aim is an understanding of psychological well-being o Scientific study of faith, values, creativity, courage, hope, happiness According to positive psychologists, happiness has 3 components: o 1. Positive emotion & pleasure o 2. Engagement in life o 3. A meaningful life High levels of hope & curiosity = reduced risk of disease Positive effect = better immune functioning
Social Support is Associated with Good Health:
Social interaction is beneficial for mental and physical health o Ill people who are socially isolated are likely to die sooner than ill people who are well-connected with others o Men and women with fewer friends were more than twice as likely to die than comparable men and women with more friends
Stress and health F2021
Course: General Psychology (PSYC 10213)
University: Texas Christian University
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