STRESS AND HEALTH

WHAT IS STRESS?
Stress is
the process by which we perceive
and respond to certain events,
called stressors, that we appraise
as threatening or challenging

Stressors
are the sources of stress but keep
in mind that there is not one set
of stressors that reliably
produces stress in everybody

Appraisal
STRESS APPRAISAL IS KEY

Response

Threat
(Yikes! This is
beyond me!)

Panic, freeze up

Challenge
(Ive got to apply
all I know)

Aroused, focused

Stressful event
(tough math test)

CANNON TO SELYE
Cannon demonstrated that extreme cold, lack of
oxygen and emotional experiences all had the
capacity to initiate a fight or flight response
Heart rate, blood pressure and respiration increase and
nonessential functions while food digestion are inhibited
while stored energy is released

Hans Selye (a Canadian researcher)expanded on these

findings through his rat studies

HANS SELYES FINDINGS

Selye used exposed rats to a variety of stressors and measuring

how long they could then swim before giving up.
Stressors included cold water, restraint, electric shock, surgery, having
whiskers cut off and these greatly reduced the amount of time the rats
would swim

Regardless of the kind of stressor, the rats responded in a

consistent pattern
General Adaptation Syndrome
the bodys adaptive response to stress in three stages

GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME (GAS)

Alarm is essentially the same as
Cannon described (sympathetic
arousal and mental clarity)
Resistance is entered when the
stressors are prolonged (resting and
arousal functions are simultaneously
taken care of judgement is not as
clear)

The bodys resistance to stress can

last only so long before exhaustion sets in

Stress
resistance

Exhaustion occurs when stressors

last long enough and are severe
enough such that strength and energy
levels are very low (physical and
psychological resources are depleted)

Stressor
occurs

Phase 1
Alarm
reaction
(mobilize
resources)

Phase 2
Resistance
(cope with
stressor)

Phase 3
Exhaustion
(reserves
depleted)

THERE IS VARIABILITY BUT

Catastrophes
Natural disasters, war, etc.

Significant life changes

Moving, marriage, divorce, having children, getting a job, losing a
job, losing a loved one

Everyday hassles
Mild disagreements, traffic, being late for school, getting a zit, etc.
Look at the list its not all bad things !

THOMAS HOLMES AND

Holmes and Rahe 1967 investigated the
RICHARD
correlations RAHE
between stress and health
Surveyed 5000 medical patients and asked them to
report on their experiences of a set of 43 life events in
the past two years
Each event, called a Life Change Unit (LCU), had a
different weight for stress. The more events the patient
added up, the higher the score. The higher the score,
and the larger the weight of each event, the more likely
the patient was to become ill
argued that positive life events can be equally or
even more stressful than some negative events
This is not wholly accepted and critics dispute that good
life events are as stressful or that change is a reliable
predictor of stress
Vacations and holidays are themselves not inherently
stressful but trying to fulfill unrealistic expectations

HOW STRESS IMPACTS HEALTH

Remember, eventually everything that is psychological is
biological!
Sympathetic Nervous Systemstress activates the hypothalamus
which signals the sympathetic nervous system, which then
activates the central part of the adrenal gland to release large
amounts of norepinephrine and epinephrine (fight or flight)
The hypothalamus also activates the pituitary gland which in turn
activates the core of the adrenal gland to release the hormone
cortisol

HOW STRESS AFFECTS HEALTH

Persistent stressors
and negative
emotions

Unhealthy behaviors
(smoking, drinking,
poor nutrition and sleep)

Release of stress
hormones

Heart
disease

Immune
suppression

Autonomic nervous
system effects
(headaches,
hypertension)

CORTISOL
Long-term, high levels of cortisol have been linked to
increased depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD),
memory problems, substance abuse, impairment of immune
system
Studies in rats have shown that long-term exposure to cortisol
results in the death of neurons and inhibits neurogenesis (birth
of new neurons)
Chronic stress has an impact on your cognition!!!

REMEMBER LEARNED HELPLESSNESS?

In the normal course of escape and avoidance learning, a light dims shortly before
the floor is electrified (a). Since the light does not yet have meaning for the dog,
the dog receives a shock (non-injurious, by the way) and leaps the barrier (b). Dogs
soon learn to watch for the dimming of the light (c) and to jump before receiving a
shock (d). Dogs made to feel helpless rarely even learn to escape shock, much
less to avoid it.

STRESS AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

Immune system bodily organs and responses that protect the body from
foreign substances and threats
Expendable in the fight or flight mode

Your immune system can either under react or overreact when you are
stressed.
Lymphocytes - two types of white blood cells that are part of the bodys immune
system but their activity is suppressed when stressed
B lymphocytes form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight
bacterial infections
T lymphocytes form in the thymus and, among other duties, attack cancer cells,
viruses, and foreign substances

WE CANNOT IGNORE OUR HEARTS

Meyer Friedman and Ray Rosenman (1970s)
Those who are highly competitive workaholics are more susceptible to heart
disease than mellow, laid back people

Type A
behavior pattern characterized by intense, angry, competitive, or
perfectionistic responses to challenging situations
Type B
behavior pattern characterized
by a relaxed, unstressed
approach to life

PSYCHOPHYSIOLOGICAL ILLNESS
mind-body illness
any stress-related physical illness
some forms of hypertension
some headaches
distinct from hypochondria misinterpreting normal
physical sensations as symptoms of a disease

PSYCHOLOGICAL STRATEGIES

Coping Dealing with stress by reducing or eliminating

stressful conditions and their effects
Emotion-focused coping
Responding to stress by controlling ones emotional responses
Problem-focused coping
Responding to stress by identifying, reducing, and eliminating
the stressor
Social support
Resources others provide to help an individual cope with stress
Psychological debriefing
brief, immediate strategy of crisis focusing on venting
emotions and discussing reactions to the trauma

PSYCHOLOGICAL COPING STRATEGIES

Optimistic style of thinking
pattern of thinking that interprets stressors as external in
origin, temporary, and specific in their effects
The power of humor
Evaluating the evidence on attitudes and health

Meditation
Tend and befriend connected to the release of oxytocin
(social bonding hormone and relieves stress)

PHYSICAL COPING STRATEGIES

Physical coping strategies include:
Exercise
Nutrition and diet

Using drugs as stress relievers is more of a

defense than a coping strategy

Life events
Personal appraisal
Challenge

Threat

Personality type
Easy going, Nondepressed,
Optimistic

Hostile, Depressed,
Pessimistic

Personal habits
Nonsmoking, Regular
exercise, Good nutrition

Smoking, Sedentary,
Poor nutrition

Level of social support

Close, enduring

Lacking

Tendency toward
Health

Illness

STRESS SLEEP
Subfields of Alternative Medicine
Alternative systems of
medical practice

Health care ranging from self-care according to folk principles,

to care rendered in an organized health care system based on
alternative traditions or practices

Bioelectromagnetic
applications

The study of how living organisms interact with electromagnetic

(EM) fields

Diet, nutrition,
life-style changes

The knowledge of how to prevent illness, maintain health, and

reverse the effects of chronic disease through dietary or
nutritional intervention

Herbal medicine

Employing plan and plant products from folk medicine traditions

for pharmacological use

Manual healing

Using touch and manipulation with the hands as a diagnostic

and therapeutic tool

Mind-body control

Exploring the minds capacity to affect the body, based on

traditional medical systems that make use of the interconnectedness of mind and body

Pharmacological and
biological treatments

Drugs and vaccines not yet accepted by mainstream medicine