STRESS, HEALTH AND COPING

STRESS - Refers to experiencing events that are perceived as endangering one’s physical or psychological well-being.

Stressor - A stimulus or event that provokes a stress response in an organism.

Hans Selye (1907-1982)

An Austrian-born physician He defined stress as “The Body’s Nonspecific response to any demand made

upon it." He stumbled upon the idea of the General Adaptation Syndrome (G.A.S.), it is

the process under which the body confronts "stress"

Characteristics of Stressful Events:

1. Traumatic Events - Situations of extreme danger that are outside the range of usual human experience. Ex: Earthquakes, floods, wars, plane crashes and rape.

2. Uncontrollable Events - The more uncontrollable an event seems, the more likely it is perceived as stressful. Ex: Death of a loved one and serious illness.

These events are stressful because if we cannot control them, we cannot stop them from happening.

3. Unpredictable Events - Being able to predict the occurrence of a stressful event usually reduces the severity of the stress. Warning signals before an aversive event allows the person to initiate a preparatory process, thus it reduces the effects of a stimulus.

4. Events challenging our limits. - Some situations are controllable and predictable but still stressful because they push us to the limits of our capabilities and challenge us. Ex: Final Exam week.

5. Internal Conflicts - These are unresolved conflicts that may be either conscious or unconscious. Conflict occurs when a person must choose between incompatible goals or course of action.

Psychological Reactions to Stress:

Anxiety – Most common response to stressors Aggression - Threatening behavior or actions Anger - A feeling of extreme annoyance Apathy - Lack of enthusiasm or energy Depression - A state of unhappiness and hopelessness

Physiological Reaction to Stress

Fight – or – Flight Response - A pattern of bodily responses that prepares the organism for an emergency. Our Sympathetic Nervous System is responsible for this response.

Generalized Adaptation Syndrome - Selye described this as the Universal response to the stressors.This involved two major systems of the body, the Nervous system and the Endocrine (or hormonal) system. It is composed of three stages:

1. The Alarm phase

The immediate reaction to stressors. This initial phase exhibits a fight-or-flight response. The function of this stage is to mobilize the body’s resources.

2. Resistance phase In this stage the body tries to adapt to the stressor. The ability to resist new stressors is impaired, so that individuals become vulnerable

to health problems resulting from impaired immune functions.

3. Exhaustion phase The true state of exhaustion occurs when the body's ability to respond is exhausted

such that recovery and resistance are no longer possible. If stress continues then death may occur

Coping Skills

The word “Coping” came from the Latin word “ Colpus ” which means “to alter.”The process by which a person attempts to manage stressful demandsIt has 2 major forms:

1. Problem-Focused Coping - A person can focus on a specific problem that has risen, trying to find some way of changing it or avoiding it in the future.

Problem Solving strategies are included.

2. Emotion-Focused Coping - A person focuses on alleviating the emotions associated with the stressful situation, even if the situation itself cannot be changed.

Behavioral strategies such as using alcohol or drugs Cognitive strategies such as temporarily setting aside the problem and reducing

the threat by changing the meaning of a situation

Defense Mechanisms Refer to strategies that people used to deal with anxiety. Unconscious self-protected processes that seek to protect/defend the ego from intense

and overwhelming feelings of affect and impulses

Classifications of Defense Mechanisms:

1. Withdrawal Reactions - Or “Flight Reactions”, wherein the individual escapes from his/her problems or frustrations

Fantasy/Daydreaming - The subject transforms his failure into something “successful” in his imagination.

Regression – Retreating back to an earlier and less mature level of developmental stage.

Reaction Formation – “Believing the opposite” or hiding a motive by giving strong expression to the opposite.

Repression – The most basic defense mechanism. It is termed as “motivated forgetting.” (Unconscious forgetting)

Denial – Involves negating or blocking external events from one’s awareness. Suppression – Conscious forgetfulness of painful and unpleasant thoughts and

feelings.

2. Aggressive Reactions - Or “Fight Reactions”, wherein the subject attacks or confronts the source of his frustrations.

Displacement – It refers to the redirection of negative impulses or feelings from an original object to a safer, less threatening or neutral substitute.

Identification – Taking into your own personality characteristics of someone else. Projection – The tendency to attribute one’s traits to other people. Introjection – Attributing to oneself the good qualities of another.

3. Compromise Reactions -They are defense reactions employed by lowering one’s goals though not totally giving up the nature of the original goal. Rationalization – The distortion of the facts to justify one’s conduct by offering

socially accepted reasons in place of real facts. This may be manifested by:a. Sour-grape mechanism – an excuse for failure.b. Sweet-lemon mechanism – One pretends to like what he really dislikes.

Intellectualization – Attempting gain detachment from a stressful situation by dealing with it in an intellectual term.

Compensation – Disguising or covering up the presence of an undesirable trait by emphasizing a desirable one.

Two Types of Compensation:1. Direct Compensation – trying to achieve success in the person’s very field of

failure.2. Indirect Compensation – Trying to gain success in other unrelated field of

failure. Sublimation – This is the replacement of unacceptable activities or goals into

socially acceptable ones.

The Psychosomatic Model1. ) Sensory Stimulus

is also referred to as the STRESSOR, which can be any mental or physical demand put upon our body our mind.

This can be anything from a loud noise to an exam or work load to physical activity or the in-laws coming into town.

For example, if you are stuck in a traffic jam, what is the stress and what is the stressor? 2.)Perception - the active process of bringing an external stimulus to the CNS (especially the brain) for interpretation.

A stressor is often an external event...but for a stressor to affect a human it must get into the mind-body system. It is through perception that this occurs.

3) Cognitive Appraisal - process of analyzing and processing information as well as categorizing and organizing it. Recall the section on memory - at the cognitive appraisal level we put labels on things - good, bad, dangerous, pleasant, etc. 4) Emotional Arousal - If we classify/label something as stressful, it then produces a bodily/physiological response.

Remember, anytime a subjective experience of emotion occurs, it is followed by a change in autonomic physiology. So, at this stage, we simply experience an emotion...nothing else at this point, just the production (or beginning) of an emotion.

So, any emotion we experience, be it joy, fear, excitement, anger, etc., will elicit a stress response in the body.

At a physiological level, we can not differentiate between positive and negative emotions.

5) Mind-Body Connection - here the emotional arousal is changed into a bodily change so that you may adapt to the situation and respond appropriately.

6) Physical Arousal - Once the mind-body connection has been made and the bodily changes occur, these changes are called physical arousal.

7) Physical Effects - Now the internal organs begin to be affected by the physical arousal. For example, increased heart rate, blood pressure, dilation of the pupils,

8) Disease - If the physical effects continue for a sustained period of time (this varies) the imbalance of functioning can result in disease. One or more organ can become exhausted and work inefficiently or not at al

Psychological Reactions to Stress: Anxiety – Most common response to stressors Aggression - Threatening behavior or actions Anger - A feeling of extreme annoyance Apathy - Lack of enthusiasm or energy

Depression - A state of unhappiness and hopelessness

MAJOR TYPES/SOURCES OF STRESSA) FRUSTRATION

Stress due to any situation in which the pursuit of some goal is thwarted. Frustration is usually short-lived, but some frustrations can be source of major stress:

1) Failures - we all fail. But, if we set unrealistic goals, or place too much emphasis on obtaining certain successes, failure can be devastating.2) Losses - deprivation of something that you once had and considered a "part" of your life. Can result in tremendous stress.

B) CONFLICT Two or more incompatible motivations or behavioral impulses compete for

expression. When faced with multiple motivations or goals, you must chose and this is where the problems/conflict arise.

Studies have indicated that the more conflict a person experiences, the greater the likelihood for anxiety, depression, and physical symptoms

There are 3 major types of conflicts:1. The approach-approach conflict, the least stressful, occurs when people try to choose between two desirable alternatives.

Example: A student tries to decide between two interesting classes. 2. The approach-avoidance conflict, typically more stressful and quite common, occurs when people must decide whether to do something that has both positive and negative aspects.

Example: A boy invites a girl to a party. She finds him attractive, but going to the party means she won’t have time to study for one of her final exams.

3.The avoidance-avoidance conflict, also typically stressful, occurs when people have to choose between two undesirable options.

Example: Because of his financial situation, a man might have to choose whether to keep his nice-looking car, which breaks down frequently, or buy a badly dented, but reliable, used one.

C) CHANGE Life changes are noticeable alterations in one's living circumstances that require

adjustment.

1) Holmes & Rahe (1967) - developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) to measure life changes. They found that, after interviewing thousands of people, while BIG changes like death of a loved one are very stressful, small life changes have tremendous effects.

D) Pressure Expectations or demands that one must behave in a certain way.

STRESS & PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING

A) IMPAIRED TASK PERFORMANCEBaumeister (1984) found that stress interferes with attention and therefore, performance.1) Increased stress = increased distractibility2) Increased stress = over thinking on tasks that should be "automatic".

B) BURNOUT Physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion due to work-related stress. Cause is not sudden, but prolonged exposure to stress. Increases the more

"jobs/tasks" placed upon you. For example, having multiple roles such as parent, student, spouse, etc.

C) POSTTRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER Disturbed behavior that is attributed to a major stressful event, but emerges after

the event has ended (often years later). Very common in the 70's - Vietnam war veterans had symptom usually 9-60

months later.Occurs in general population as well:1) most common - rape2) seeing someone die or severely injured3) close brush with deathSymptoms include - nightmares, sleep disturbances, jumpiness, etc.

D) Psychological Problems/Disorders usually the result of prolonged stress: insomnia, nightmares, poor academic performance, sexual dysfunctions, anxiety,

schizophrenia, depression, eating disorders, and lots more.

Stress Management

A set of techniques and programs intended to help people deal more effectively with stress in their lives by analyzing the specific stressors and taking positive actions to minimize their effects.

Relaxation techniques Meditation Exercise Biofeedback – Individuals receive information about an aspect of their physiological

state and then attempt to alter that state.