STRESS AND HEALTH Pertemuan 21 Matakuliah: L0014/Psikologi Umum Tahun: 2007

Bina Nusantara HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY The field of psychology that uses psychological principles to encourage healthy life styles and to minimize the impact of stress

Bina Nusantara STRESS Any event or circumstances than strains or exceeds an individual’s ability to cope

Bina Nusantara Source of Stress (1) 1. Life Events Psychology significant events that occur in a person life, such divorce, childbirth, or change in employment – Crime, sexual assault and violence – Loss of a family member – Natural disasters – Terrorism – Daily hassles 2. Frustration The result of being unable to satisfy a motive

Bina Nusantara Source of Stress (2) 3. Conflict The state in which two or more motives can not be satisfied because they interfere with one another – Approach – Approach conflict Conflict in which the individual must choose between two positive goals of approximately equal value – Avoidance – Avoidance conflict Conflict in which the individual must choose between two negative outcomes of approximately equal value – Approach – Avoidance conflict conflict in which achieving a positive goal will produce a negative outcome as well – Multiple Approach – Avoidance conflict Conflict that requires the individual to chose between two alternatives, each of which contains both positive and negative consequences

Bina Nusantara Source of Stress (3) 4. Pressure stress that arises from the threat of negative events 5. Environmental condition - temperature, air pollution, noise, humidity, etc. - These environmental sources of stress do not appear to be as potent as other stressor but apparently contribute to our overall stress level

Bina Nusantara General Aspect of Stress Reaction 1. We react to stress as a whole – physical & psychological reaction 2. Psychological and bodily reactions to stress are highly similar, whether the stress is physical or psychological Psychological reaction to stress changes in emotions, motivations and cognition

Bina Nusantara Physical Reaction to stress and health Biopsychosocial model of health : the theory that physical health is influenced not only by biological factors, but also by psychological and social factors General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) Hans Selye : the mobilization of the body to ward off threats, characterized by a three-stage pattern of the alarm reaction, the resistance stage and the exhaustion stage – The alarm reaction : the body initial response to any threat – The resistance stage : the body’s resources have been fully mobilized and resistance to the stress is high – The exhaustion stage : if the stress continues, the individual’s resources may become exhausted and resistance to the stress and infection is lowered Depression and Health Depression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration

Bina Nusantara Factors that Influence Reaction to stress (1) Prior experience with the stress Developmental factors Predictability and control Social Support The role played by friends and relatives in providing advice, assistance, and someone in whom to confide private feelings

Bina Nusantara Factors that Influence Reaction to stress (1) Person variables in reaction to stress all characteristics of an individual that are relatively enduring, such as ways of thinking, beliefs, or psychological reactivity to stress Cognitive and Personality – Cognitive factors – Personality Characteristic : Type A ? Type A : the pattern of behavior characterized most by intense competitiveness, hostility, overwork and a sense of time urgency Gender & Ethnicity – Women are more likely that men to experience lasting reaction to traumatic events – Married people are healthier that people who are not in committed relationship – Fight-or-fight and Tend-and-befriend – Ethnic differences

Bina Nusantara Coping with stress Coping : attempts by individuals to deal with the source of stress and/or control their reactions to it Effective Coping – Removing stress – Cognitive coping Reappraisal : changing how a person thinks about or interprets a potentially stressful event to reduce its stressfulness – Managing stress reactions Ineffective Coping – Withdrawal – Aggression – Self medication – Defense mechanism

Bina Nusantara Changing Health – Related Behavior Patterns Learning to relax – Progressive relaxation training : a method of learning to deeply relax the muscles of the body Improve eating habits Exercise regularly Medical Complience