Stress

it is our own cognitive appraisal—here and now—that causes us to be miserable. Psychological

factors can influence, or moderate, the effects that stressors have on us. These include self-
efficacy expectations, psychological hardiness, humor, predictability and control, and emotional
support.

Psychological factors can influence, or moderate, the effects that stressors have on us. These include
self-efficacy expectations, psychological hardiness, humor, predictability and control, and emotional
support. Adrenaline and noradrenaline are secreted when we are under stress.

high self-efficacy expectations are accompanied by relatively lower levels of adrenaline and
noradrenaline. People with higher self-efficacy expectations thus have biological as well as psychological
reasons for remaining calmer. high self-efficacy expectations are accompanied by relatively lower levels
of adrenaline and noradrenaline. People with higher self-efficacy expectations thus have biological as
well as psychological reasons for remaining calmer.

Psychological hardiness also helps people resist stress. psychologically hardy executives had three key
characteristics. The characteristics include commitment, challenge, and control

The idea that humor lightens the burdens of life and helps people cope with stress has been with us for
millennia. Research suggests that humor can moderate the effects of stress. xperimentation found that
exposing students to humorous videotapes raised the level of immunoglobulin A (a measure of the
functioning of the immune system) in their saliva. Another is that the benefits of humor may be
explained in terms of the positive cognitive shifts they entail and the positive emotions that accompany
them.

Predictability and Control

The ability to predict a stressor apparently moderates its impact. Predictability allows us to brace
ourselves for the inevitable and, in many cases, plan ways of coping with it. Control—even the
illusion of being in control—allows us to feel that we are not at the mercy of the fates

There is also a relationship between the desire to assume control over one’s situation and the
usefulness of information about impending stressors.

Predictability is of greater benefit to internals—that is, to people who wish to exercise control over their
situations—than to externals

Emotional Support
emotional support also seems to act as a buffer against the effects of stress.
Stress also has very definite effects on the body can lead to psychological and physical health problems.
The body’s response to different stressors shows certain similarities whether the stressor is a bacterial
invasion, perceived danger, or a major life change. Selye labeled this response the general adaptation
syndrome (GAS). The GAS is a group of bodily changes that occur in three stages: an alarm reaction, a
resistance stage, and an exhaustion stage. These changes mobilize the body for action and—like that
alarm that goes on ringing—can eventually wear out the body.

The alarm reaction is triggered by perception of a stressor. This reaction mobilizes or arouses the body,
biologically speaking. this mobilization was the basis for an instinctive fight-or-flight reaction. The fight-
or-flight response kicks the endocrine, cardiovascular, and musculoskeletal systems into action to enable
survival.

hort-term stress can enhance the functioning of the immune system as well, thus helping prevent
infection from wounds, but chronic or long-term stress can impair the functioning of the immune
system. WHY/HOW:

Two other hormones that play a major role in the alarm reaction are secreted by the adrenal medulla.
The sympathetic division of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) activates the adrenal medulla, causing
it to release a mixture of adrenaline and noradrenaline. This mixture arouses the body by accelerating
the heart rate and causing the liver to release glucose (sugar). This provides the energy that fuels the
fight-or-flight reaction, which activates the body so that it is prepared to fight or flee from a predator.
Components of the Alarm Reaction

 Corticosteroids are secreted.

 Adrenaline is secreted.

 Noradrenaline is secreted.

 Respiration rate increases.

 Heart rate increases.

 Blood pressure increases.

 Muscles tense.

 Blood shifts from internal organs to the skeletal musculature.

 Digestion is inhibited.

 Sugar is released from the liver.

 Coagulability of the blood increases.

RESISTANCE STAGE- stage 2 of GAS

(Adaptagtion stage) Levels of endocrine and sympathetic activity are lower than in the alarm reaction
but still higher than normal-

if the alarm reaction mobilizes the body and the stressor is not removed, we enter the adaptation or
resistance stage of the GAS.

But make no mistake: The person feels tense, and the body remains under a heavy burden.

The Exhaustion Stage

If the stressor is still not dealt with adequately, we may enter the exhaustion stage of the GAS.
The muscles become fatigued. The body is depleted of the resources required for combating
stress.

With exhaustion, the parasympathetic division of the ANS may predominate. As a result, our
heartbeat and respiration rate slow down, and many aspects of sympathetic activity are reversed.
It might sound as if we would profit from the respite, but remember that we are still under stress
—possibly an external threat. ontinued stress in the exhaustion stage may lead to what Selye
terms “diseases of adaptation.

-constriction of blood vessels and alteration of the heart rhythm and can range from
allergies to hives and heart disease—and ultimately, death.

GENDER DIFFERENCES:

Walter Cannon labeled a “fight-or-flight” reaction to stress. Cannon believed we are instinctively
pumped up to fight like demons or, when advisable, to beat a hasty retreat.

women under stress are more likely to care for their children and seek social contact and support
from others. The “woman’s response” to stress, the “tend-and-befriend” response, involves
nurturing and seeking social support rather than fighting or fleeing.Females who choose to fight
might die or be separated from their young—no evolutionary brass ring there.

But men also release oxytocin when they are under stress. So why the gender difference? The
answer may lie in other hormones—estrogen and testosterone. Females have more estrogen than
males, and estrogen appears to enhance the effects of oxytocin. Males, on the other hand, have
more testosterone than females, and testosterone may mitigate the effects of oxytocin (Taylor,
2012).

It is thus possible that males are more aggressive than females under stress because of the genetic
balance of hormones in their bodies. Due to such differences, suggests Taylor, women tend to
outlive men.

EFFECTS ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

Psychologists, biologists, and medical researchers have combined their efforts in a field of study
called psychoneuroimmunology that addresses the relationships among psychological factors, the
nervous system, the endocrine system, the immune system, and disease. One of its major
concerns is the effect of stress on the immune system. Research shows that stress suppresses the
immune system, as measured by the presence of substances in the blood that make up parts of the
immune system

Leukocytes recognize foreign substances, oThe body reacts to antigens by generating specialized
proteins, or antibodiesr antigens, by their shapes. The immune system “remembers” how to battle
antigens by maintaining their antibodies in the bloodstream, often for years. Inflammation is
another function of the immune system. When injury occurs, blood vessels in the area first
contract (to stem bleeding) and then dilate.

Dilation increases the flow of blood, cells, and natural chemicals to the damaged area, causing
the redness, swelling, and warmth that characterize inflammation. The increased blood supply
also floods the region with white blood cells to combat invading microscopic life-forms such as
bacteria, which otherwise might use the local damage as a port of entry into the body.

**One of the reasons that stress eventually exhausts us is that it stimulates the production of
steroids. Steroids suppress the functioning of the immune system.

**Suppression has negligible effects when steroids are secreted occasionally. But persistent
secretion of steroids decreases inflammation and interferes with the formation of antibodies. As a
consequence, we become more vulnerable to infections, including the common cold