Stress. What is Stress?

Transcription

1 Stress Emotion What is Stress?! Stress- the process of interpreting and adjusting to stressors, (circumstances or events,) which disrupt a person s routine or outlook.! Two Major Types of Stress! Life changes! Conflicts 1&

2 Life Changes! Events or situations that cause a person s life to change! For adolescents, the number 1 life change is death of a parent.! For adults, the number 1 life change is death of a spouse. How can we Measure Stress?! Holmes and Rahe Social readjustment rating scale (SRRS)! Life Changing Units (LCUs)- marriage, change job, etc! The more LCUs you have the higher your score is on the SRRS.! Those who score higher are more likely to have stress related disease. 2&

3 Social readjustment rating scale (SRRS)! What s your stress level? Conflict! Decision between two choices! This decision causes stress 3&

4 ! Approach-approachchoosing between 2 appealing choices Example:! A person has to make a choice between viewing 2 movies, both of which the person wants to see, but only has time to see one movie. Conflict Conflict! Avoidance-avoidance- choosing between 2 unappealing choices! Example: A student has to choose between taking Chemistry or Physics.! The student wants to take neither, but one is required for graduation. 4&

5 Conflict! Approach-avoidancemaking a decision about a choice or item that has both an appealing and unappealing aspect This is often referred to as the most stressful conflict because the item has good and bad points. Realistically, most of our choices have at least one drawback. Example:! A person has to make a decision about a possible prom date who has a nice car (positive aspect), but has to be home by 10:00 pm (negative aspect.) Conflict! Multiple approachavoidance- making a decision between 2 choices each choice having a positive and negative aspect! A person who is on a diet and the only items in the fridge are pizza (taste goodpositive, but high in fatnegative), and ice cream (favorite food- positive, but high in calories- negative.) 5&

6 Responding to Stress! Walter Cannon- American psychologist who believed that stress affects the body both physiologically and emotionally.! When a person is stressed, he or she experiences changes in his or her bodystiff muscles, etc., while also being mentally exhausted- can t concentrate. Acute Stress! Acute, or short-term, stress is the most common form of stress.! Comes from! demands and pressures of the recent past! anticipated demands and pressures of the near future.! Acute stress is thrilling and exciting in small doses, but too much is exhausting. 6&

7 A fast run down a challenging ski slope, for example, is exhilarating early in the day. That same ski run late in the day is taxing and wearing. Skiing beyond your limits can lead to falls and broken bones. Acute Stress Hypothalamus causes Sympathetic Nervous System to trigger Adrenal Medulla to release Catecholamine Acute Stress! Catecholamine,! include the neurotransmitters epinephrine and norepinephrine, and also the hormones adrenaline and noradrenaline! Increase respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, blood to muscles, digestion to slow, pupils dilate 7&

8 Common Symptoms of Acute Stress! Emotional distress some combination of anger or irritability, anxiety and depression, the three stress emotions.! Muscular problems including tension headache, back pain, jaw pain and the muscular tensions that lead to pulled muscles and tendon and ligament problems.! Stomach, gut and bowel problems such as heartburn, acid stomach, flatulence, diarrhea, constipation and irritable bowel syndrome.! Transient over arousal leads to elevation in blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, sweaty palms, heart palpitations, dizziness, migraine headaches, cold hands or feet, shortness of breath and chest pain. Prolonged (Chronic) Stress! This is the grinding stress that wears people away day after day, year after year.! Chronic stress destroys bodies, minds and lives. It wreaks havoc through long-term attrition.! It's the stress of! Poverty! Dysfunctional families! being trapped in an unhappy marriage or in a despised job or career.! It's the stress that the never-ending "troubles" have brought to the people of Northern Ireland, the tensions of the Middle East have brought to the Arab and Jew, and the endless ethnic rivalries that have been brought to the people of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union. 8&

9 Prolonged Stress Hypothalamus causes Pituitary Gland to trigger ACTH Hormone to trigger Adrenal Cortex to release! Corticosteroids increase stored energy, reduce inflammation, reduce immune system and the production of endorphins! which is why people often get sick from exposure to a longterm stressor Corticosteroids Common Symptoms of Prolonged Stress! The worst aspect of chronic stress is that people get used to it. They forget it's there.! People are immediately aware of acute stress because it is new; they ignore chronic stress because it is old, familiar, and sometimes, almost comfortable.! Chronic stress kills through suicide, violence, heart attack, stroke and, perhaps, even cancer.! People wear down to a final, fatal breakdown.! physical and mental resources are depleted 9&

10 Seyle s General Adaptation Syndrome! Hans Seyle-! a psychologist who researched the effects of stress on the body.! He referred to in 3 stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion described in the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)! A good way to remember the three stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome and the association to stress is to remember the statement, ARE you stressed? - A- alarm/ R- resistance/ E- exhaustion General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)! Stage 1: Alarm stagesympathetic nervous system is activated, which prepares the body for either fightor-flight! You are notified that someone close has passed away- the sympathetic nervous system causes the adrenal medulla to release catecholamines. (Acute stress) 10&

11 General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)! Stage 2: Resistance stage- outpouring of stress-related hormones (corticosteroids)! After a month of grieving, the adrenal cortex has caused the release of corticosteroids. (Prolonged stress) General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)! Stage 3: Exhaustion stage- after prolonged exposure to a stressor, the body finally runs out of reserves to battle the stressor, resulting in burnout or severe illness! Over a period of time the person has experienced constant stress and no longer feels he or she has the energy to keep on going, resulting in seeking medical assistance.! Stress also seem to shrink the hippocampus, which processes new memories, this may explain why then people have a hard time recalling stressful events in their life 11&

12 Coping Strategies Problem-Focused Coping! Problem-focused coping- is learning to correct or eliminate a problem that is causing stress.! Individualistic cultures, like America, tend to primarily use problemfocused coping.! A student has a problem with another student in his class.! He then asks his counselor to be removed from that class.! He eliminated the problem. 12&

13 Emotion-Focused Coping! Emotion-focused copingis learning to deal with certain negative emotions that are connected, or associated to the stressor.! Collectivistic cultures, who focus on the well-being of the group, tend to use more of emotion-focused coping! A student has a problem with another student in his class.! Each time he sees this student he reminds himself to not get mad.! He controlls his emotions associated with the other boy- the problem. Anger management is an example of emotionfocused coping Coping Strategies Explanatory Styles Optimistic explanatory style! Provides a specific reason for an outcome! A runner using an optimistic explanatory style would explain losing a race with a specific reason,! Such as he did not train long enough. Pessimistic explanatory style! Tends to assume personal fault for an outcome- no matter what the situation! A runner using an pessimistic explanatory style would explain losing a race as a personal reasonhe is not fast,! he should not be running, he is no good 13&

14 Coping Strategies-- Personality Types Type A personality! Very aggressive, impatient, loud, always in a hurry Type B personality! Relaxed, care-free! Type A personality people tend to be more of a risk for coronary heart-disease 14&