Health Psychology Stress

Give your own definition of stress? A state of mental or emotional strain or suspense; "he suffered from fatigue and emotional tension difficulty that causes worry or emotional tension; "she endured the stresses and strains of life

Stress List the causes… Now list the effects…

Brainstorm Chapter 4 Stress

Biological theories of Stress

Causes and Sources of Stress Cannon's Fight or Flight response Walter Cannon (1914) described the basic physiological process which goes on when we are confronted with a stressor. When being chased by a tiger or by the police with a water cannon (stressor) the body needs to give quick energy to the muscles either to run away (flight) or defend oneself (fight). So the body produces a stress response by pumping out lots of adrenaline, and other hormones.

Explain this theory with your own idea and explain why it is important to understand this theory? Causes and Sources of Stress

What is happening to the body during stress and explain the LT and ST effects Causes and Sources of Stress

The fight or flight response activates both the autonomic nervous system (regulates key functions of the body including the activity of the heart muscle, the smooth muscle, and the glands) and the endocrine system (A system of glands and cells that make hormones that are released directly into the blood). Between them they stop some functions of the body and activate others. So the digestion system is turned off, the bowels evacuate themselves and the immune system closes down. On the other hand the heart rate, blood sugar levels and perspiration all increase. Causes and Sources of Stress:

When the stressful situation passes, the body returns to equilibrium but if stress is prolonged it does not, and the result can be raised blood pressure, cardiovascular problems and atherosclerosis. Can you link this to the war Causes and Sources of Stress:

Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome A similar physiological approach is taken by Hans Selye ( ,). He observed in animals (rats mostly) a process which they all went through in response to a prolonged stressor no matter what that stressor was. It is important to note that the stressor need not be the physical threat that Cannon described, it could equally be a bad employer, a nagging husband, unemployment, poverty etc.

Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome According to Selye the stress process always went through three stages: Alarm stageResistanceExhaustion The presence of the stressor is registered The flight or fight response takes place. This deals with the stress in the short term If the stressor is still there, the body has lost the ability to deal with it. The body has become exhausted. At this stage stress-related illness may occur

Personality Theories of Stress

Cognitive Appraisal Theory (Lazarus 1970s) The cognitive approach looks at meanings and perceptions. Arnold Lazarus developed CAT which is similar to HBM where the person evaluates a stressor and then evaluates their own ability to cope with it.

Cognitive Appraisal Theory (Lazarus 1970s) StressorPrimary AppraisalSecondary AppraisalStress External event  Is the event a threat? If so, how threatening? YES  Are coping resources sufficient to cope with the threat? NO  Stress results in bio, cog, emotional and behavioural responses. Use this example to explain a situation…

Lazarus follows Rotter’s work on locus of control. Someone with a high level of self-efficacy and a strong internal LOC will feel less stress than someone with low self efficacy and an external LOC They would also not sap your energy!

Friedman & Rosenman (1974) Type A individuals tended to be ambitious, competitive, easily angered, time- conscious, wanting recognition, and demanding of perfection in both themselves and others. Type B individuals tended to be relaxed, easy-going and not driven to achieve perfection.

Stress Management List some stressors and the coping mechanisms put in place

Biological approaches to stress management:

a) Drugs The main group of drugs used for controlling blood pressure are beta- blockers which act directly on the peripheral nervous system to reduce arousal.

b) Biofeedback This is an alternative physical technique where the person is taught meditation or relaxation while being wired up (like the lie-detector test). The patient then can see the results (‘the feedback’) which encourages them to continue. Gradually the person can learn to control inner features such as heart rate by taking note of the feedback. Biological approaches to stress management:

Stress Management

c) Exercise Exercise can reduce the levels of fatty acids that the stress-response builds up. Jennings (1986) found a correlation between high levels of exercise and low levels of stress. Why? Biological approaches to stress management:

Evaluation a) Effectiveness: Drugs reduce arousal, anxiety and sleeplessness. However, long term use can lead to dependence. Also drugs do not deal with the stressor, ie the underlying cause of the problem. Biological approaches to stress management:

Evaluation B) Approaches: Biofeedback does have elements of behaviourism. Gaining the ‘reward’ of seeing biological progress means that the reinforcement of operant conditioning is taking place. So this method is not just biological but also psychological. Therefore it is not reductionist. Biological approaches to stress management:

Psychological approaches to stress management:

1) Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) CBT (pioneered by Aaron Beck) focuses on the secondary appraisal stage of the cognitive appraisal theory of stress in that it has the dual aim of encouraging participants to be realistic about the nature of the stressor and their ability to cope.

Those suffering stress often exaggerate the stressor. For example: over-generalisation – eg if one person doesn’t like me then everyone hates me catastrophisation - eg if I have a headache it means I am about to die of a brain tumour Psychological approaches to stress management:

The cognitive techniques include (ie the ‘C’ in CBT) (i) Get patients to be realistic. This can be done by one-to-one discussions in which alternative explanations are considered. It might involve building up evidence of the stressor, like keeping a diary, so that the real level can be demonstrated. Psychological approaches to stress management:

(ii) Design experiments to test interpretations, eg see how others react. The behavioural techniques include (ie the ‘B’ in CBT) (i) Setting targets and gaining positive reinforcement when meeting them. Psychological approaches to stress management:

Kobasa: Hardiness Kobasa 1984 suggested that individuals can use three cognitive techniques to make them more resistant to stress: Psychological approaches to stress management:

Focusing: The patient is trained to recognise physical symptoms of stress like pressure in the temples, neck tightness or stomach knots. Then they mentally review the situations that might be stressful (we encourage group members to ask themselves questions like: "What's keeping me from feeling terrific today?") This focusing increases their sense of control over stress and puts them in a better position to change. Psychological approaches to stress management:

Reconstructing stressful situations. Think about a recent episode of distress, then write down three ways it could have gone better and three ways it could have gone worse. If you have trouble thinking of what you could have done differently, focus on someone you know who handles stress well and ask what he or she would have done. It's important to realize that things did not go as badly as they could have - and even more important to realize that you can think of ways to cope better. Now do this… Psychological approaches to stress management:

Compensating through self-improvement. Sometimes you come face to face with stress, like illness or impending divorce, that you cannot avoid. It's important to distinguish between what you can and cannot control. But when life feels out of control, you can regain your grip by taking on a new challenge. Choosing a new task to master, like learning how to swim or tutoring a foreign student in English, can reassure you that you still can cope. Psychological approaches to stress management:

Stress Measurement How do you measure stress?

Stress Measurement Physiological Measures According to the biological models of Cannon and Seyle, stress is characterised by distinctive physiological symptoms which can be measure using polygraphs (like lie detectors) A polygraph involves wiring the person up to a series of sensors. These are used to measure external physiological symptoms such as respiration and heart rate, blood pressure and sweatiness.

A polygraph Evaluation a) These are reliable and objective and produce quantitative results. b) Demand characteristics. The act of being tested may create a stress response which can bias the results. This is why lie-detector results are not admissible evidence in British courts. c) Generalisability: bodily arousal can come from many non-stress causes, weight, activity, drug consumption. Also it is possible to feel stress without having physiological arousal. Stress Measurement

Psychological Measures (psychometric tests) Psychological measures are self-report measures using psychometric tests. Stress Measurement

(i) Holmes and Rahe (1967) Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS). H&R defined stress in terms of the change caused to a person’s life (change can be positive, negative or neutral but would still be stressful by their definition). H&R argued that whenever an individual had to make “a substantial adjustment to the environment, the likelihood of stress is high”. Stress Measurement

Holmes & Rahe first examined the medical records of around 5000 people. They found that, in many cases, significant life changes occurred in the months preceding the onset of illness. They selected 43 of these life events and asked a sample of 394 people to rate the degree of ‘social readjustment’ required for each event (death of spouse was given the arbitrary value of 100 and marriage the arbitrary value of 50). Based on these results, they constructed the SRRS. Stress Measurement

Holmes & Rahe first examined the medical records of around 5000 people. They found that, in many cases, significant life changes occurred in the months preceding the onset of illness. They selected 43 of these life events and asked a sample of 394 people to rate the degree of ‘social readjustment’ required for each event (death of spouse was given the arbitrary value of 100 and marriage the arbitrary value of 50). Based on these results, they constructed the SRRS. Stress Measurement

A person’s stress score is the sum of all the life change units for events they have experienced within a period of 12 months. Stress Measurement

(ii) Kanner et al, 1981: Daily Hassles & Uplifts An alternative self-report measure for stress was designed by Kanner. He argued that H&R focused on the big but rare events which are not central to people’s everyday experience. Instead he believed that the small but frequent ‘daily hassles’ were a more important source of stress, eg losing keys, oversleeping, having to write an essay etc On the other hand, certain day-to-day events can have positive effects on stress levels. So, in addition to hassles, Kanner's scale also takes into account uplifts - such as a compliment or a present. Stress Measurement

Daily HasslesDaily Uplifts 1Concerns about weight 1Relating well to spouse or partner 2Health of a family member 2Relating well to friends 3Rising price of common goods 3Completing a task 4Home maintenance 4Feeling healthy 5Too many things to do 5Getting enough sleep 6Misplacing or losing things 6Eating out 7Outside home maintenance 7Meeting your responsibilities 8Property, investment or taxes 8Visiting, phoning or writing to someone 9Crime 9Spending time with the family 10Physical appearance10Finding your home a pleasant environment