1. Module 43: Stress and Health

2. Stress
Stress – the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging
How we think about an event influences how much stress we experience and how effectively we respond
“I’ve got to pass this test. If I don’t my college aspirations are over!” OR
“This is just one test of many I’ll need to take. If it doesn’t go well, I can always do some test corrections and try studying with a partner next time”
Two types of stress
Distress – stress that is perceived as negative; those events we typically think of when we think of “stress”
A job with a horrible boss or a family member with cancer
Eustress – stress perceived as positive, but it still involves heightened arousal
Playing for the state championship in your sport
Both can be bad for us if we endure them over a long period of time.

3. The Effects of Stress
When short-lived, or we perceive them as challenges, stressors can have positive effects
Mobilize the immune system
Arouses and motivates us to solve problems
Adversity (such as rebounding from a lost job) can beget growth
But extreme or prolonged stress can harm us by lowering our resistance to infections and threatening our mental and physical well-being
People who lose their jobs (especially later in their career) have been found to have a higher risk of heart problems and death
Troops who have PTSD have higher rates of circulatory, digestive, respiratory, and infectious diseases
Brain’s production of new neurons slows and some neural circuits degenerate with prolonged stress
Telomeres (pieces of DNA at the end of chromosomes) may also shorten

4. Stressors Three main types of stressors: Catastrophes
Unpredictable large-scale events, such as wars,
earthquakes, floods, wildfires, and famines
Can negatively affect physical and mental health
Significant life changes
Life transitions can cause stress
More vulnerable to diseases around big life changes
Daily hassles
Ex: rush-hour traffic, aggravating siblings, long lunch
lines, too many things to do, and family frustrations – these
can add up and cause stress
Counterparts to daily hassles are daily uplifts – pleasant
and satisfying experiences, like hearing good news, getting a good night of
sleep, or solving a difficult problem

5. The Stress Response System
Fight or flight – sympathetic nervous system increases heart rate and respiration, diverts blood from digestion to skeletal muscles, dulls feelings of pain, and release sugar and fat from the body’s stores
The hypothalamus and pituitary gland tell the the adrenal glands to secrete glucocorticoid stress hormones such as cortisol
General adaptation syndrome (on next slide)

6. General Adaptation Syndrome
General adaptation syndrome (GAS) – Hans Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three phases–alarm, resistance, exhaustion
Seyle proposed that the body’s response to stress is so general that it sounds no matter what the stressor is
The human body copes well with temporary stress, but prolonged stress can damage it

7. General Adaptation Syndrome
General adaptation syndrome (GAS)
Phase 1: alarm reaction – body mobilizes resources
Sympathetic nervous system is activated
Heart rate increases, blood goes to skeletal muscles
Phase 2: resistance – fully engaged, summoning all your resources to meet the challenge
Adrenal glands release hormones into bloodstream
Temperature, blood pressure, and respiration remain high
Phase 3: exhaustion – body’s reserves run out
More vulnerable to illness or collapse and death in extreme cases
Try describing the General Adaptation Syndrome for taking a final exam or asking someone out on a date

8. G.A.S. – An Example

9. The Stress Response System
Can deal with stress by withdrawing, pulling back, and conversing energy
Or seek and give support
Tend-and-befriend response – under stress, people (especially women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with and seek support from others (befriend)
Ex: help after a natural disaster
Men more often than women tend to socially withdrawn, turn to alcohol, or become aggressive when faced with stress
Women more often respond by nurturing and banding together
Oxytocin (a stress-moderating hormone released by cuddling between humans) may play a role in this
Women’s brains become more active in areas used for face processing and empathy while men’s becomes less active