Psychology - Stress

Stress It is the anxious or threatening feeling resulting from our appraisal of a situation and our reaction to demands placed upon us. Stressors – are items that cause stress – it can be an event or a situation Stress Reaction – the body’s response to a stressor These are different for everybody and they differ from time to time for individuals. What causes a stress reaction one day might not the next. Is it possible to live a totally stress free life?

Types of Stress Hans Selye began the first studies on stress and identified two types of stress 1- Distress – stress that stems from acute anxiety or pressure 2 – Eustress – positive stress - which results from motivating strivings and challenges

Sources of Stress Another component of stress is cognitive – How a person perceives and evaluates an event makes a difference. They then label how they think the event will affect them. Conflict Situations – These were identified by Millar and Dollard After evaluating a situation we often have to make a decision. These decisions can be seen as conflicts and they can create stress. Categories Approach-Approach – the decision needs to be made between two attractive choices Avoidance-Avoidance – the decision is between two unattractive choices Approach-Avoidance – the decision is between an attractive and an unattractive choice Double(multi) Approach-Avoidance – the decision is between multiple elements that each have attractive and unattractive items

Appraising the Situation The level of stress a person feels depends on how they appraise the situation Primary appraisal refers to the immediate evaluation of a situation It can be appraised as - Irrelevant - Positive - Negative Secondary appraisal involves deciding on how to deal with a potentially stressful situation. This leads to coping behaviors

Environmental Stressors The physical environment can add elements that increase a persons stress level. Examples would be – noise levels, crowding, heat or cold Life Changes Another source of stress is major life changes. This is a cumulative element over a years time. The more changes that occur in that time the greater the stress reactions. This was studied by Holmes and Rahe and they developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale based on their studies. They list 43 events and provide a mean value or score. A person is to add these up for each one experienced over a given year. They found that people who score over a certain number often got sick. They concluded that stress is linked to illness – over time – it was people who scored over the number for a few years in a row. Not just in one year. Hassles – These are the small daily items that cause relative minor stress reactions. These can accumulate over time. Examples would include misplacing your keys, traffic etc.

Stress at Work Most people identify work as one of their main sources of stress. Here are the areas of stress generation 1.Nature of the job – basically what type of job is it – police/firefighter most stressful 2.Pay – do you feel you are being adequately compensated 3.Challenge of the job – does it make you feel useful – are you satisfied at work? 4.Getting along with co-workers – the highest area of stress 5.Environmental issues – is it a comfortable place to be 6.Long term commitment – is it something the can do for a career 7.Ability for advancement – can I move up in the company 8.Relationship with management – do the workers get along with the boss In schools these areas can be applied to students – how?

Reactions to Stress Once a person identifies that they are experiencing stress they will react to the stress. These fall into a few categories – instinctual, Psychological – emotional, cognitive and behavioral, and Physical. Instinctual Fight or Flight response – the natural protective behavior. The body becomes aware of the stressor and decides how to quickly handle it – fight it or leave General Adaptive Syndrome Developed by Hans Selye identified 3 stages in the bodies reaction 1 – Alarm Stage – mobilization of the fight or flight system 2 – Resistance – when the person uses behaviors to try and combat the stress 3- Exhaustion – if the stressor continues after the resistance stage the person will become physically drained. This often has many physical side effects – such as lack of sleep and illness.

Psychological Reactions – emotional and cognitive responses These are often short term reactions. Emotional reactions would include - Anxietylack of happiness for a positive event Fearoverreaction to simple irritations Angershort tempers Cognitive reactions would include – An inability to concentrate recurring thoughts poor decision making distrust in others suspicions of others Frustration Frustration that continues over time can lead to people feeling burned out – leading to mental and physical wear and tear – hurting their psychological and physiological health.

Behavioral Reactions There tends to be short term behavioral changes – such as nervous habits – trembling or pacing eating quickly smoke or drink more feeling tired lack of grooming aggression towards others Escape – leave the situation Positive elements – helping in disasters or emergency situations Long term behavioral reactions tend to be in the negative because the individual has not dealt with the stress in a timely fashion – Alcoholism Drug Addiction Chronic unemployment Personality changes

Physical Reactions This is the realm of the debate over whether stress can make you ill. Stress can be partly responsible for almost any disease affecting an individual. The issue is does it cause the illness (trigger), make you more susceptible to the illness or aggravate the illness. Rahe and Arthur came up with six stages of how stress can cause disease 1.Perception of the situation 2.Physiological responses 3.Psychological responses 4.Protective behaviors -Over 85% of the population handles stress at this point 5. Signs of illness – symptoms begin to be seen and felt 6. Frank Disease - the person is sick with a disease

Some of the Diseases in this area include- 1. Peptic Ulcers 2. Cancer 3. Hypertension 4. Asthma 5. Arthritis 6. Heart Disease 7. Migraines 8. Immune System Deficiencies 9. Diabetes 10. Eczema 11. Allergies 12. Insomnia 13. Dementia 14. Baldness Describe the disease and the symptoms and identify the link to stress.

Factors that influence stress reactions -Personality Type There are two personality types that stress psychologists study Type A – a person who is constantly in a fight or flight pattern they have free floating anxiety they are quick to anger and are easily irritated they are impatient and they to do multiple things at once. Type B – these are people who are generally relaxed, patient and do not easily anger Which of these seem to develop the physical illnesses? Type A – there body is in a constant state of stress reaction – both physically and mentally. This can weaken the immune system and allow the to get sick. -Perceived control over stressors -Social Support

Coping With Stress How a person handles stress in their life is called a coping strategy or mechanism Everyone has their own method for handling the stress in their lives. No two people do this in the exact same way. Strategies Cognitive Appraisal –our interpretation of the event helps to determine the impact of the stress Defense mechanisms – developed by Freud – there are a number of these Hardiness – the personality traits of control, commitment and challenge help to reduce stress Controlling stressful situations - controlling our exposure to stressful situations Problem Solving – developing methods for solving the issue of stress Explanatory style – your optimistic and pessimistic thinking pattern determines how you react Relaxation – using progressive relaxation techniques to lower the physiological reaction Biofeedback – monitoring specific body functions and then reacting to the results Support Groups – social support helps lower stress Training – preparing for the stressful situation helps reduce the stress reaction Improved interpersonal skills - learning how to react to and interact with people Humor – laughing helps to naturally reduce stress levels Exercise – physical activity can also reduce the chemicals in the body generated by stress