PSYCHOLOGY. Chapter 14 STRESS, LIFESTYLE, AND HEALTH PowerPoint Image Slideshow

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1 PSYCHOLOGY Chapter 14 STRESS, LIFESTYLE, AND HEALTH PowerPoint Image Slideshow

2 Stress, Lifestyle, and Health Stress: responding to events (stressors) that are appraised as being overwhelming or threatening to my wellbeing Primary appraisal: Is this a threat or a challenge? What degree of potential harm? Secondary appraisal: how well can I cope? Distress: from unpleasant, excessive, or debilitating stressors. Leads to exhaustion. Eustress: the ideal level of stress or arousal needed to promote health and well being for a given person/situation/task

3 FIGURE 14.3 When encountering a stressor, a person judges its potential threat (primary appraisal) and then determines if effective options are available to manage the situation. Stress is likely to result if a stressor is perceived as extremely threatening or threatening with few or no effective coping options available.

4 FIGURE 14.4 As the stress level increases from low to moderate, so does performance (eustress). At the optimal level (the peak of the curve), performance has reached its peak. If stress exceeds the optimal level, it will reach the distress region, where it will become excessive and debilitating, and performance will decline (Everly & Lating, 2002).

5 What is the prevalence of stress? Nearly half of U.S. adults say it is increasing Women more impacted by stress than men Health Psychology studies how stress often leads to smoking or an unhealthy diet Walter Cannon coins the phrase Fight or - Flight response to strong emotions. Credits sympathetic & endocrine systems Hans Selye s General Adaptation Syndrome 1 st the Alarm Stage. Then (2) Resistance. Finally the Exhaustion Stage.

6 FIGURE 14.5 Nearly half of U.S. adults indicated that their stress levels have increased over the last five years (Neelakantan, 2013).

7 FIGURE 14.8 Fight or flight is a physiological response to a stressor.

8 FIGURE The three stages of Selye s general adaptation syndrome are shown in this graph. Prolonged stress ultimately results in exhaustion.

9 The Physiological Basis of Stress? The Sympathetic Nervous system triggers arousal via adrenaline from the adrenal glands Simultaneously the HPA (hypothalamic pituitary adrenal) axis get busy stimulating the release of cortisol (again via the adrenal glands) Prolonged activation weakens the immune system and promotes depression and PTSD What sorts of things are causing all this stress? Traumatic events (hurricanes, earthquakes, etc) Holmes & Rahe tout the Social Readjustment Rating Scale: Major life changes (both + and - ) Hassles, and lastly job strain and/or burnout

10 FIGURE This diagram shows the functioning of the hypothalamicpituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. The hypothalamus activates the pituitary gland, which in turn activates the adrenal glands, increasing their secretion of cortisol.

11 Can we get back to stress and illness? Psychophysiological Disorders! Hypertension, irritable bowel, asthma, oh my! Immune system errors like arthritis & lupus Immunosupression: susceptible to colds or flu Psychoneuroimmunology? Lower production of lymphocytes. Slower wound healing. Stress shortens telomeres. Promotes aging? Cardiovascular disorders: High Blood Pressure Personality? Type A (hostile, with negative affectivity) versus Type B (laid back & relaxed)

12 FIGURE Telomeres are shorter in adults who experienced more trauma as children (adapted from Blackburn & Epel, 2012).

13 FIGURE (a)type A individuals are characterized as intensely driven, (b) while Type B people are characterized as laid-back and relaxed. (credit a: modification of work by Greg Hernandez; credit b: modification of work by Elvert Barnes)

14 How come optimists live longer? Depression and heart disease are linked Depressed are less active, more likely to be overweight or obese, and more likely to smoke And if we factor in anxiety, hostility, and anger the rates of heart disease dramatically increase Asthma: Airway obstruction from inflammation Causes or contributes to 11,000 deaths a year Anxiety, emotional distress, negative emotions and conflicts are common triggers for attacks And we ve got Headaches (tension & migraine)

15 FIGURE This graph shows the incidence of heart attacks among men and women by depression score quartile (adapted from Barefoot & Schroll, 1996).

16 Any good ways to cope with stress? Problem focused coping Emotion focused coping Perceived control vs. learned helplessness Social support: improves immune function, lowers blood pressure + emotional comfort How about some stress reduction techniques? Regular exercise Meditation / Relaxation Response Technique Biofeedback

17 Reduce stress by pursuing happiness We want a pleasant life, a good life, and a meaningful life, and... An enduring state of mind consisting of joy and contentment and a sense of value Factors that influence happiness include high quality social relationships (family, friends, etc) sufficient financial resources (no need to be rich) Religiosity, longevity, and a decent education Positive Psychology focuses on altruism, empathy, compassion and forgiveness Positive affect: a protective factor tied to optimism? Flow: we get lost in creative / leisure activities

18 FIGURE Happiness is an enduring state of well-being involving satisfaction in the pleasant, good, & meaningful aspects of life.

19 (a) Denmark has the happiest citizens in the world. (b) Americans ranked the United States as the 17th happiest country to live in. (credit a: modification of work by "JamesZ_Flickr"/Flickr; credit b: modification of work by Ryan Swindell) This OpenStax ancillary resource is Rice University under a CC- BY 4.0 International license; it has been reproduced & modified, but must be attributed to OpenStax, Rice University. Any unspecified modifications were carried out by Neil Walker.