©2002 Prentice Hall Health, Stress, and Coping Chapter 15.

©2002 Prentice Hall

Health, Stress, and Coping

Chapter 15


Health, stress and coping The physiology of stress. The psychology of stress. Coping with stress.


The Stress-Illness Mystery

Stressors can increase illness when they: severely disrupt a person’s life. are uncontrollable. are chronic (i.e., lasting at least 6 months).


Stressors and the Body

Noise. Bereavement and Loss. Work-Related Problems. Poverty, Powerlessness, and

Racism.


Stress and the Common Cold


The Physiology of Stress

General adaptation syndrome. There are three phases in responding to stressors:

Alarm. Resistance. Exhaustion.

Goal is to minimize wear and tear on the system.


Current Approaches HPA (Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal

cortex axis) A system activated to energize the body to

respond to stressors. The hypothalamus sends chemical

messengers to the pituitary gland. The pituitary gland prompts the adrenal

cortex to produce cortisol and other hormones.


The Brain and the Body Under Stress


The Mind-Body Link Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

The study of the relationships among psychology, the nervous and endocrine systems and the immune system.

Psychological factors explain why not all people are stressed the same amount by the same things.


The Psychology of Stress Emotions and illness. Letting grievances go. Explanatory styles. The sense of control.

The benefits of control. The limits of control.


Emotions and Illness Hostility and heart disease.

Type A Personality: Determined to achieve, sense of time urgency, irritable, respond to threat or challenge very quickly, and impatient with obstacles.

Type B Personality: Calmer and less intense. Personality type is less predictive of health

problems than is hostility. Proneness to anger is a major risk factor


Hostility and Heart Disease Men with highest

hostility scores as young medical students had higher rates of heart disease 25 years later.

Hostility is more hazardous than a heavy workload.


Depression and Disease Two studies followed 1000 people for many

years. Those who had been clinically depressed at

the outset were 2-4X more likely to have a heart attack than nondepressed people were.

Other research failed to find the link.


Emotional Inhibition Emotional Inhibition: A personality trait

involving a tendency to deny feelings of anger, anxiety, or fear; in stressful situations, physiological responses such as heart rate and blood pressure rise sharply.

People who display this trait are at greater risk of becoming ill than people who can acknowledge feelings.


Letting Grievances Go Research on confession: divulging private

thoughts and feelings that make you ashamed or depressed. Freshman who wrote about their fears reported

greater short term homesickness and anxiety. By end of year they had fewer bouts of flu visits to the infirmary.

Can also give up thoughts that produce grudges and replace them with different perspectives.

Forgiving thoughts.


Explanatory Styles A study of Hall-of-Famer baseball stars

showed that those with Optimistic explanatory styles: Lived longer

They may have been in better health because optimists: take better care of themselves when sick cope better. draw on friends in hard times.


The Sense of Control Locus of Control

A general expectation about whether the results of your actions are under your own control (internal locus) or beyond your control (external locus).

Feelings of control can reduce or even eliminate the relationship between stressors and health.


The Limits of Control Primary Control (Western Cultures)

An effort to modify reality by changing other people, the situation, or events; a “fighting back” philosophy.

Secondary Control (Eastern Cultures) An effort to accept reality by changing your own

attitudes, goals, or emotions; a “learn to live with it” philosophy.


Coping with Stress Cooling Off. Solving the problem. Looking outward.


Cooling Off Relaxation Training

Learning to alternately tense and relax muscles, lie or sit quietly, or meditate by clearing the mind; has beneficial effects by lowering stress hormones and enhancing immune function.

Massage therapy. Exercise is also an excellent stress reliever.


Fitness and Health Among those with low

stress, fit and less-fit people had similar levels of health problems.

Among those with high stress, there were fewer health problems among people who were more fit.


Solving the Problem

Emotion-focused and problem-focused coping.

Effective Cognitive Coping Methods: Reappraising the situation. Learning from the experience. Making social comparisons. Cultivating a sense of humor.


Looking Outward Friends can help with coping:

People with network of close connections live longer than those who do not.

After heart attack, those with no close contacts were twice as likely to die.

Relationships can also cause stress. Giving support to others can be a valuable

source of comfort.

©2002 Prentice Hall Health, Stress, and Coping Chapter 15.

Documents

Transcript of ©2002 Prentice Hall Health, Stress, and Coping Chapter 15.