Stress and Health

Lesson 7
 Objectives

 Identify the different signs and symptoms of stress;

 discuss how to adapt and cope to challenging
circumstances;
 explore the perceived stress, stressors, and coping
strategies and styles; and
 interpret the effects that various stressors might have on
health
 What is stress?
Stress is the physical and psychological response to
events, called stressors that challenge a person’s normal
functioning (homeostasis); everyone has stress—it is a
normal part of life.
Stress is the body’s reaction to any change that requires an
adjustment or response.
The body reacts to these changes with physical, mental, and
emotional. You can experience stress from your
environment, your body, and your thoughts.
 Stressor
 A stressor is any physical or psychological challenge that threatens
homeostasis stressors that can be unique to an individual.
1. Physical stressors—Examples include injury, physical exertion,
noise, overcrowding, or excessive heat or cold.
2. Psychological stressors—Examples include challenges such as
interpersonal conflict, isolation, traumatic life events, time-pressured
tasks, peer pressure, expectations of others, or high standards for
achievement.
 Types of Stressors
1. Psychological conflict — This is when a choice is required between actions or goals that are
perceived as incompatible.
2. Everyday hassles — These are minor everyday occurrences that can be distressing, frustrating,
and irritating (e.g., traffic, disagreements, time demands).
3. Life changes — These are personal changes in a person’s life that require adaptation/adjustment
(e.g., rejection by friend, vacation, death of a parent, retirement, new job, marriage).
4. Catastrophes — These are unpredictable, large-scale events, such as natural disasters or
devastations (e.g., tsunami, tornado).
5. Poverty and inequality — This is a low economic status.
6. Discrimination — This is prejudice and perceived unfairness.
7. Adjustment to a new culture — This is when immigrants and sojourners are adjusting to life in a
new culture.
 Appraisal of Stress

All events are processed within the corticolimbic system, which is

responsible for the appraisal of threat and the processing of emotion.
A.Primary appraisal—This is determining whether an event is a threat,
and the magnitude of that threat.
B.B. Secondary appraisal—This is evaluating ways in which to cope
with the stressor.
 Acute vs Chronic Stress
One of the goals of our body is to maintain stability (i.e., homeostasis). We can,
therefore, define stress as an actual or perceived threat capable of throwing our
homeostasis off balance.
Stress exposure starts the responses.
2 Types of Stressors
1. Acute stress
A. Acute stressors are observable stressful events that are time-limited such as an
upcoming test or a family gathering.
B. An acute stressor brings activation to our neuroendocrine system and makes us
ready to act
2. Chronic stressors
A. Chronic stressors can lead to negative mood states, such as depression and anxiety,
which in turn then can affect how a person appraises new events; the person often appraises
the new events as more negative, and, thus, a vicious cycle begins.
B. Chronic stressors affects the body through making the immune system less efficient and
influencing the functioning of the cardiovascular system
C. Chronic stressors is hazardous to health and can lead to early death from heart disease,
cancer and other health problems. But it turns out it doesn't matter whether the stress comes
from major events in life or from minor problems. Both can be deadly.
D. Chronic stress is hazardous to health and can lead to early death from heart disease,
cancer and other health problems. But it turns out it doesn't matter whether the stress comes
from major events in life or from minor problems. Both can be deadly.
 VI. Psychological Responses to Stress
I. Emotional, Cognitive, and Behavioral Responses
Stress is associated with emotional, cognitive, and behavioral responses.
Some responses do not affect functioning, while others can severely disrupt normal
functioning.
A. Emotional symptoms of stress can include crying, nervousness, irritability, anger,
sadness, anxiety, fear, feelings of dissatisfaction, feeling overwhelmed and
powerless, apathetic, or empty.
B. Cognitive symptoms of stress can include memory problems, distractibility,
obsessiveness, or problems in concentration.
C. Behavioral reactions to stress can include problems in relationships, alcohol and
substance abuse, compulsive eating, teeth grinding, lowered sex drive, or
uncommunicativeness.
II. Positive Aspects of Stress
Optimal arousal theory suggests that peak performance is
related to amount of stress.
A. More stress can increase performance on simple tasks.
B. Too much stress tends to decrease performance on complex
tasks.
III. Mediators of Stress
Responses to stress can be mediated by the following:
A. Adequacy of coping skill - Having more than one way of dealing with problems is useful
B. Availability of social support - Friends can help buffer the effects of stress.
C. Intensity and duration of the stressor and history of previous stressors affect stress.
D. Individual beliefs and values affect stress.
Example: Locus of control
(a) Internal belief - A belief that a person has control over rewards and punishments in life
(b) Externa belief - A belief that luck, chance, and powerful people determine events
E. Gender (e.g., Bernstein, Penner, Clarke-Stewart, & Roy, 2003)—Males express anger
and use avoidance; females use support networks.
F. Cultural differences affect stress.
 
VII. Sources of Coping and Strength
A. Coping refers to the strategies you use to deal with real or imagined problems to protect
yourself against negative emotions.
B. Coping strategies for Stress
1. Physical and lifestyle strategies – abdominal breathing and relaxation, low-stress diet,
regular exercise, downtime (balance fun and work, time management, sleep hygiene, etc.
2. Emotional Strategies – social support and relatedness, self- nurturing, good
communication, assertiveness, recreational activities, emotional release and sense of humor
3. Cognitive Strategies – constructive thinking, distraction, task-oriented approach to
problems, acceptance, tolerance for ambiguity.
4. Philosophical/Spiritual Strategies –consistent goals or purpose to work toward, positive
philosophy of life and religious/spiritual life and commitment.
C. Coping Type
5 Types of Coping Styles
1 .Problem-focused coping style involves addressing the problem situation by taking direct acting,
planning or thinking of ways to solve the problem
2. Emotion-focused coping style involves expressing feelings or engaging in emotional release
activities such as exercising or practicing meditation
3. Seeking-understanding coping style refers to finding understanding of the problem and looking
for a meaning of the experience
4. Seeking help involves using others as a resource to solve the problem.
5. Avoiding the problem and trying to stay away from the problem or potential solution to the
problem.
 
VIII. Stress and the Sociological Perspective
Emile Durkheim’s book Suicide, shows how social organization of groups
influence the individual behavior of their members. Durkheim hypothesizes
that the extent to which an individual is integrated within a group affects the
likehood of suicide.
3 primary types of suicide (Durkheim, translated 1951)
1. Egoistic suicide – occurs when a person feels he/she is not accepted
by or does not belong to society. The social bond is very weak
2. Altruistic suicide – occurs when a person ends his/her life for others.
3. Anomic suicide – is linked to disillusionment and disappointment.