HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY:

STRESS, COPING, AND

WELL BEING
P R E S E N TAT I O N BY A B D U L K A R E E M
A M M A R , A R E E B B I N S H A H I D A N D A Z FA R
M STRESS AND COPING
O
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
D
UL 43.1 HOW HEALTH
E PSYCHOLOGY A UNION
43 BETWEEN MEDICINE AND
PSYCHOLOGY

43.2 WHAT IS STRESS , HOW

DOES IT AFFECT US AND HOW
CAN WE BEST COPE WITH IT
HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY :
Branch of psychology that investigates the
psychological factors related to wellness and illness,
including the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of
medical problems

What is Stress?
A person response to events that are threatening or challenging .
Stimuli causing stress are called stressors.
 TYPE OF STRESSORS

Cataclysmic EventsPersonal Stressor Posttraumatic Background

Stress Stressor
Strong Major life events Disorder Everyday annoyance
stressor that that have A phenomenon that causes minor
occur immediate in which victims irritations and may
suddenly negative of major have long term ill
and typically consequences that catastrophes or effects
affect many generally fade strong personal
people at away with time stressors fell
long lasting
• Uplifts
once
lasting effects
that may include
re-experiencing
the vent with
vivid flashbacks.
HIGH COST OF STRESS
PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL DISORDERS
Medical problems influenced by an interaction of psychological, emotional
and physical difficulties. It includes high blood pressures, headaches,
backaches, skin rashes, indigestion, fatigue and constipation.

THE GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME MODEL:

THE COURSE OF STRESS
• Proposed by Hans Selye
Physiological response to stress follow the same set pattern regardless
of the causes of stress.
Three stages:
• Alarm and Mobilisation
• Resistance
• Exhaustion
PSYCHONEUROIMMUNOLOGY AND STRESS
• Firstly, stress has direct physiological results, including an increase in blood
pressure, hormonal activity and overall decline in the functionality of the
immune system.
• Secondly, stress lead people to engage in harmful behaviours such as
drinking and drugs.
• Stress produces some indirect consequences that ultimately results in
decline in health.
COPING WITH STRESS
Coping is the efforts to control, reduce or learn to tolerate the threats that
lead to stress.

FUNCTION FOCUSED COPING

Emotions in the face of stress by seeking to change the way
they feel about or perceive the problem.

PROBLEM FOCUSED COPING

It attempts to modify the stressful problem, or source of stress

• AVOIDANT COPING

• DEFENSE MECHANISM
EMOTIONAL INSULATION
LEARNED HELPLESSNESS
A state in which people conclude that unpleasant or averse stimuli cannot be
controlled a view of the world that becomes so ingrained that they cease
trying to remedy the aversive circumstances even if they actually can exert
some influence on the situation

COPING STYLES: HARDINESS AND RESILIENCE

HA R DI NESS: A personality trait characterized by the sense of commitment,
the perception of problems as challenges.
• Commitment
• Challenge
• Control
R ES IL I ENC E: The ability to withstand overcome, and actually thrive after
profound adversity
EFFECTIVE COPING STRATEGIES

• Turn threats to challenge

• Make a threatening situation less threatening
• Change your goals
• Take direct action to alter your physiological reaction to stress.
• Exercise can also be effective in reducing stress
• Alter the situations that are likely to cause stress.
M
P SYC H O LOG I C A L A SP E C T S O F
O I L L N E SS A N D W E L L - B E I N G
D
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
UL
E 44.1 HOW DO PSYCHOLOGICAL
44 FACTORS AFFECT HEALTH
RELATED PROBLEMS SUCH AS
CORONARY HEART DISEASE,
CANCER AND SMOKING
 THE As, Bs, AND Ds OF CORONARY
HEART DISEASE
• Type A behavior pattern: A cluster of behaviors involving hostility,
competitiveness, time urgency, and feeling driven
• Type B behavior pattern: A cluster of behaviors characterized by a patient,
cooperative, noncompetitive, and nonaggressive manner.
• Type A and Type B represent the ends of a continuum, and most people fall
somewhere in between the two endpoints.
• Men who display the Type A pattern develop coronary heart disease twice as
often and suffer significantly more fatal heart attacks
• Hostility is the key component of the Type A behavior pattern that is related to
heart disease
 THE As, Bs, AND Ds OF CORONARY
HEART DISEASE
• The key reason is that hostility produces excessive physiological arousal in
stressful situations.
• That arousal, in turn, results in increased production of the hormones
epinephrine and norepinephrine as well as increases in heart rate and blood
pressure.
• Such an exaggerated physiological response ultimately produces an increased
incidence of coronary heart disease.
• Psychologist Johan Denollet has found Type D —for “distressed”—behavior is
linked to coronary heart disease.
• In this view, insecurity, anxiety, and the negative outlook Type Ds display put
them at risk for repeated heart attacks
PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF
CANCER
• Although the processes involved in the spread of cancer are basically
physiological, some research suggests that the emotional responses of
cancer patients to their disease may affect its course.
• A “fighting spirit” leads to better coping.
• Positive emotional responses may help generate specialized “killer” cells
that help control the size and spread of cancerous tumors.
• Some researchers suggest that cancer patients are less emotionally
reactive, suppress anger, and lack outlets for emotional release
 SMOKING
• Smoking is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.
• Smoking even a single cigarette leads to a smoker finding that not
smoking requires an effort or involves discomfort
• They become dependent physiologically because nicotine, a primary
ingredient of tobacco, is highly addictive.
• Smoking has both psychological and biological components, few habits are
as difficult to break.
• Many people try to quit smoking but fail. The average smoker tries to quit
8 to 10 times before being successful, and even then many relapse
• The best treatment seems to be a combination of nicotine replacement and
counseling
• In the long term, the most effective means of reducing smoking may be
changes in societal norms and attitudes toward the habit.
 PROMOT IN G H EALTH A ND
M WELL NESS
O
LEARNING OUTCOMES:
D
UL 45.1 HOW DO
E INTERACTIONS WITH
45 PHYSICIANS AFFECT OUR
HEALTH AND COMPLIANCE
WITH MEDICAL TREATMENT?

45.2 HOW DOES THE SENSE

OF WELL BEING DEVELOP?
FOLLOWING MEDICAL ADVICE
• Statistics show that people are not good at taking medical advices
• Non compliance can take many forms
• Creative non-adherence
• Phycological Reactance is one of the reasons for non compliance
• Reactance
COMMUNICATING EFFECTIVELY WITH HEALTH CARE
PROVIDERS

Reasons for lack of communication:

• Mistakes made by physicians
• Mistakes made by patients
• Gender
• Culture values and expectations

Tips for better communication

• Make notes
• Send email
INCREASING COMPLIANCE WITH
MEDICAL ADVICE
• Provide clear instructions to patients
• Honesty
Message framed:
I. Positively framed
II. Negatively framed
WELL BEING AND HAPPINESS
• Subjective well being
• Characteristics of happy people
I. Self esteem
II. Firm sense of control
III. Men and women are made happy by the same thing
IV. Happy people like to be around people
DOES MONEY BUY HAPPINESS?

• Money or injuries increase or decrease happiness for a short amount of

time
• level of subjective well being is stable because people have a set point for
happiness
• To a certain extent Set point is determined by genetics
• People are generally happy which clarifies the point that “Money does not
buy happiness”