units 14-16: health psychology unit 14: health psychology - stress
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Units 14-16: Health Psychology
Unit 14: Health Psychology - Stress
Health Psychology Health psychology examines the relationship
between psychological behavior and physical health/illness.
Focus of health psychology is on– Wellness– Prevention of illness
Many major causes of death are related to behavior and lifestyle rather than to infections.– Smoking, drinking, risky sex are causes of death
that can be prevented.– These behaviors can be understood in
psychological terms
Biopsychosocial model of health
StresStresss
WHAT IS STRESS? Stress is your mind and body’s response
or reaction to a real or imagined threat, event or change.
The threat, event or change are commonly called stressors. Stressors can be internal (thoughts, beliefs, attitudes) or external (loss, tragedy, change).
Stressors - vocab Acute Stressors
– Sudden and brief
– We evolved to deal well with these Chronic Stressors
– Last for a long time and/or recur
– These are the ones that cause us health issues
Allostasis: balance between the body’s systems
Stressful Life Events
Catastrophic Events earthquakes, combat stress, floods
Life Changes death of a loved one, divorce, loss of job,
promotion Daily Hassles
rush hour traffic, long lines, job stress, burnout
Social Readjustment Rating Scale – Holmes and Rahe (1967) An attempt to quantify and
compare stressful life changes Scores are calculated for a
person’s experiences over the past year.
High life change scores (300+) are related to relatively high frequency of illness, accidents and athletic injuries.
Evaluation of SRRS
Does not take into account some people find some things stressful whilst others do not.
No cause and effect relationship show; we cannot give reliable predictions about risks of stress-related illness based on this scale.
Stressful Life Events Chronic Stress by Age
General Adaptation Syndrome
Selye (1936)
Physiological aspects of stress
Stress and Illness General
Adaptation Syndrome Selye’s
concept of the body’s adaptive response to stress in three stages
Stressresistance
Phase 1Alarm
reaction(mobilize
resources)
Phase 2Resistance(cope with stressor)
Phase 3Exhaustion(reservesdepleted)
The body’s resistance to stress canlast only so long before exhaustion sets in
Stressoroccurs
Effects of Stress The sympathetic portion of the autonomic
nervous system is activated during stress.– Goal is to increase muscle strength &
endurance, slow or halt all other processes– Increased heart rate, muscle tension,blood
pressure– Release of epinephrine, cortisol and others– Body neglects other necessary functions
(immune response, healing, reproduction)
Pituitary hormone in the bloodstream stimulatesthe outer part of the adrenalgland to release the stress hormone cortisol
Sympathetic nervoussystem releases the stress hormonesepinephrine andnorepinephrinefrom nerve endings in the inner part ofthe adrenal glands
Thalamus
Hypothalamus
Pituitary gland
Adrenal glands
Cerebral cortex(perceives stressor)
Stress and health (cont’d) Immune system functioning
is impaired by exposure to stress.– Cortisol suppresses immune system
functioning (T-cells).– Compromised immune system is
less able to resist infection and cancer development.
Cardiovascular Health– Increased heart rate and blood
pressure lead to a hardening of the veins
– Cardiac arrest can result
Stress and Disease Negative emotions and health-related
consequences
Unhealthy behaviors(smoking, drinking,
poor nutrition and sleep)
Persistent stressorsand negative
emotions
Release of stresshormones
Heartdisease
Immunesuppression
Autonomic nervoussystem effects
(headaches,hypertension)
Stress and Illness Leading causes of death in the US in 1900
and 2000
Direct effect on health Cohen et al (1991) 394 healthy
participants were asked to complete a questionnaire assessing stress levels and then exposed to 1 of 5 respiratory viruses
Those experiencing most stress were most likely to develop colds.
This was a direct effect because there was no other variable.
Kiecolt-Glaser (1984) Study exam stress on students Took blood samples from 75 1st yr med
students one month before exam and on first exam day.
Students also completed stress surveys Second sample had significantly fewer T-cells
(showing reduced immune response) Students whose surveys showed they were
stressed and lonely had lower T-cell counts
Stress and the Heart
Hopelessnessscores
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0 Heart attack DeathLow risk Moderate risk High risk
Men who feel extreme hopelessnessare at greater risk for heart attacksand early death
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