Chapter 13: Stress, Health, and Coping

Stress, Health, and Coping

Chapter 13:

start

Content

Physical Effects of Stress

Define Stress

Response to Stress

Lazarus Cognitive Appraisal Model

Optimism vs. pessimism

Mind-body connection

Developing Resilience

Coping: how people deal with stress

Selye: Adaptation Sndrome

What doesn't kill you/daily hassles/burnout

Psych for your life: Minimizing the effects of stress

Mysterious placebo effect

Cultural Sources of Stress

Thank you

What is Stress?

A negative emotional state occurring in response to events that are perceived as taxing or exceeding a person's resources or abilitiy to cope

• Annual Stress in America Survey, APA surveys around 3,000 people

• Rate their levels of stress on a scale from 1-10; 1= little to no stress and 10=a great deal of stress

• 2023 results, 23 percent rate stress level between 8 & 10; up from 19 percent pre-pandemic

• Increases are higher in 35-44 age group, followed by 18-24 age group

• Increases are higher in women; discrimination is listed as a major source of stress for minorities (Black and Latino people, LGBTQIA+ community, and people with disabilities)

Stressors/Social Readjustment Rating Scale

• Traumatic events- events or situations that are negative, severe, and far beyond our normal expectations for everyday life or life events
• Witnessing or surviving a violent attack, being in a serious accident, and having experience with war, combat, or major disasters are typically considered traumatic events
• Surprisingly common, especially among young adults (most common are the loss of a loved one, sexual assault, and family violence
• Minor events, such as a car accident, can be stressful
• Intense or repeated traumas can lead to PTSD. Most recover from traumatic events and do not develop PTSD

• Stressors- events or situations that are perceived as harmful, threatening, or challenging (any event or situation can be a stressor if you question your ability or resources to deal effectively with it)
• Life events and change- Thomas Holmes and Richard Rahe believe that any change that requires you to adjust your behavior and lifestyle would cause stress
• They developed the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

Interactive question

Daily Hassles/ Burnout/ Social-Cultural Sources of Stress

Daily hassles

Every day minor events that annoy and upset people.The frequency and the way you react to daily hassles are linked to mental and physical illness, unhealthy behaviors, and decreased well-being. Minor stressors can be cumulative. Each hassle may be unimportant, but after a day or two of minor inconveniences, the effects add up. People will feel drained, grumpy, and stressed out.

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Physical Effects: Mind-Body Connections

Stress affects physical health through its effects on the endocrine system, the immune system, and chromosomes

From headaches to heart attacks, stress contributes to a wide range of disorders, especially when it is long-term or chronic. Stress can undermine physical well-being directly and indirectly. Indirectly- behaviors that jeopardize physical well-being (not eating or sleeping properly, failing to get enough exercise) Directly- it can alter physical health by altering body functions, leading to physical symptoms (illness or disease, tightening of muscles can lead to headaches, and can also be linked to cancer or diabetes later in life)

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Interactive Question

Response to Stress

Optimism vs. Pessimism

Optimistic Explanatory Style

We all experience failure, rejection, or defeat at some point in our lives. Despite this, some people persist in their efforts, while others give up in the face of failure and setbacks (Learned Helplessness) Martin Seligman explains that their failures and defeats make the difference.

Pessimistic Explanatory Style

Providing Effective Social Support

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Interactive Question

Interactive Question

Interactive Question

Coping

How People Deal with Stress

Coping- The ways in which we try to change circumstances, or our interpretation of circumstances, to make them more favorable and less threatening. When effective, we adapt, and stress is reduced; however, coping does not always help us adapt.

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Thank you!

What questions do you have?

Social and Cultural Soruces of Stress

• Disadvantaged groups exposed to crime, poverty, substandard housing, pollution, and other forms of environmental degradation can be significant sources of stress.
• People living in difficult or unpleasant conditions often experience chronic stress (particularly among black americans)
• Chronic stress is also associated with lower socioeconomic status (SES)
• Those from a lower SES experience more daily hassles and negative life events than people from a higher SES
• Racism and discrimination are other sources of chronic stress for many people
• More than three-quarters of black adolescents reported being treated as incompetent or dangerous or both
• racism contributes to the chronic stress experienced by minority groups, increasing their risk for stress-related health problems
• Culture clash- stress can occur when refugees, immigrants, and their children are trying to adapt to a new culture

Workstress and Burnout

• Work stress can create a pressure cooker environment that takes a significant toll on your physical health, which can lead to unhealthy behaviors
• Burnout- an unhealthy condition caused by chronic, prolonged work stress that is characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and a sense of failure or inadequacy (work overload, lack of control
• Three components to burnout
• Exhausted- feelings of using up all emotional and physical resources
• Cynical- demonstrating negative or overly detached attitudes toward the job or work environment
• Failure or inadequacy- may feel incompetent and unproductive and have a sharply reduced sense of accomplishment
• A great deal of overlap in burnout and depressive disorder

• concern about health of family member
• not enough money for housing

• Increased class workload
• Fight with signigicant other
• Wasting time
• Technology problems

• Misplacing or losing things
• Too many interruptions
• Don't like current work duties
• Traffic

• It bothers me when people force me to be like everyone else
• Because of the group I'm in, I don't get the grades I deserve

• People think I'm shy, when I really just have trouble speaking English
• I think a lot about my group and its culture.
• I don't feel at home here in the U.S.

• Concerns about failing a course
• Concerns about money

Developing Resilience

Whatever doesn't kill you study- Mark Seery and his colleagues test a hypothesis in a multi-year study of the relationship between well-being and negative life events. Measured health outcomes and the total amount of negative events experienced over a lifetime representative sample of U.S. adults. Found that high levels of total lifetime adversity were associated with poor health outcomes, so were very low levels of adversity. Those who experienced a moderate level of adversity fared best of all. They were healthier, coped better with recent misfortune. Experiencing some stress is better than no stress at all. Reasoning: people who have experienced adversity develop resiliency, which is the ability to cope with stress and adversity, to adapt to negative or unforeseen circumstances, and to rebound after negative experiences.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger. Research shows that people who experience some adversity can handle new stressors better than those who have experienced high levels of adversity or none at all.

Chronic Negative Emotions and Positive Emotions

Negative Emotions- people can appear to be generally unhappy-- they frequently experience bad moods and negative emotions like anger, irritability, worry, or sadness. Strong link between negative emotions and poor health (habitually anxious, depressed, angry, or hostile more likely to develop chronic diseases like arthritis or heart disease. Positive Emotion- this is not just the absence of negative emotions; the health benefits go beyond dampening or eliminating negative emotions. Associated with increased resistance to infection, decreased illnesses, fewer reports of illness symptoms, less pain, and increased longevity. Positive emotions tend to lower death rates from heart disease; this is found at an international level as well. Brings calming protective effects to the cardiovascular, endocrine, and immune systems (regular exercise, eating a healthy diet, and not smoking, more friends/stronger social networks)

Stress, Aging, and the Immune System

New evidence explaining the link between chronic stress and premature aging. Premature aging has long been associated with chronic stress. The answer may be found in the chromosomes. Telomeres are repeated, duplicate DNA sequences that are found at the very tips of chromosomes and that protect the chromosomes' genetic data during cell division. This protects the genetic data from being broken or scrambled during cell division. When the telomeres become too short, the cell can no longer divide and may die or atrophy, causing tissue damage or loss, linking shorted telomeres with aging, age-related deiseases, and mortality

The immune system is the body system that produces specialized white blood cells that protect the body from viruses, bacteria, and tumor cells. The immune system is made up of bone marrow, the spleen, the thymus, and the lymph nodes. Lymphocytes are the most important element of the immune system. They are specialized white blood cells that fight bacteria, viruses, and other foreign invaders. Manufactured in the bone marrow, from the bone marrow they migrate to other immune system organs.

The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)

The scale includes 43 life events that require some level of change. Life events were assigned a numerical rating of its relative impact, ranging from 11-100 life change units. People in many different cultures tend to rank the magnitude of stressful events in a similar way.

• Any change, positive or negative, produces stress
• People who accumulate more than 150 life change units within a calendar year have an increased rate of physical or psychological illness
• The unexpected nature of life changes causes some individuals stress.
• The original scale has been revised and updated so that it better weights the influences of gender, age, marital status, and individual characteristics

Does not reflect cumulative "daily hassles"

General Adaptation Syndrome

Selye developed the general adaptation syndrome- this is the term for the three-stage progression of physical changes that occur when an organism is exposed to intense and prolonged stress Alarm stage: catecholamines are released by the adrenal medulla, intense arousal occurs, body mobilizes internal physical resources to meet the demands of the stress-producing event Resistance stage: body tries to adapt, physiological arousal lessens but remains above normal, stress response system is already taxed, resistance to new stressors is impaired Exhaustion stage: event persists, symptoms reappear, only now irreversible, energy reserves become depleted, adaptation begins to break down, leading to exhaustion, physical disorders, and potentially death.

Hans Selye, a Canadian endocrinologist, confirmed Cannon's suggestion that prolonged stress could be physically harmful. Selye found that rats exposed to prolonged stressors exhibited a similar pattern of physiological changes; the adrenal glands were enlarged while the immune system glands shrank, they lost weight, and developed ulcers. While cortisol can protect the body in the short term from the effects of stress, it can also be harmful over the long term by weakening body systems, lowering immunity, and increasing susceptibility to physical symptoms of illness

Stress and the Endocrine System

Endocrine System Pathways in Stress

The link between stress and health focuses on how the nervous system interacts with the endocrine and immune systems. The fight-or-flight response is a physiological response that involves both the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system. Catecholamines- hormones secreted by the adrenal medulla that cause rapid physiological arousal and include adrenaline and noradrenaline These hormones course through our blood, trigger rapid and intense bodily changes. Once the threat is the high level of bodily arousal subsides gradually, 20-60 minutes. If exposure to threat is prolonged, the intense arousal of fight-or-flight can also become prolonged

Pathway 1: Acute Stress Hypothalamus---->Sympathetic Nervous System ---->Adrenal gland; Medulla---->Secretion of catecholamines: increases respiration, heart rate, blood pressure, blood flow to the muscles, digestion is inhibited, pupils dilate. Pathway 2: Prolonged Stress: Hypothalamus--->Pituitary--->ACTH release--->Adrenal Gland: Cortex---> Secretion of corticosteroids: Increases release of stored energy, reduces inflammation, reduces immune system response

Stressors Internal or external demands Event

Richard Lazarus (1922-2002)

A model of stress that emphasizes the role of an individual's evaluation (appraisal) of events and situations and of the resources that they have available to deal with the event or situation. Primary appraisal- the evaluation of how harmful or difficult the events may be Secondary appraisal- the evaluation of the resources available to deal with the situation. If we have adequate resources to deal with a situation, it will probably create little or no stress If our coping efforts are ineffective, stress will increase

Appraisals

Coping Resources Personal attributes Stable environment attributes

Coping Responses Emotion- or Problem-focused coping

No Stress

Stess

Optimistism

• People tend to use external, unstable, and specific explanations for negative events.
• Explanatory styles can be linked to health consequences (a person with an optimistic style at age 25 was significantly healthier at age 50 than those with a pessimistic style.
• People with an optimistic, confident, and generally positive outlook had higher levels of lymphocytes, T cells, and helper T cells, which explains the relationship between optimism and good health.
• Optimism has been shown to help people cope with pain, and a positive outlook seems to buffer the effects of stressful events.

Social Support

How are you in a crisis? Do you know what to say or do?

Appropriate social support can help and can significatly reduce the amount of distress that a person feels. Inappropriate support may only make matters worse. -Emotional support includes expressions of concern, empathy, and positive regard.

• good listener and show concern and interest
• ask questions that encourage the person under stress to express their feeling and emotions
• express understanding about why the person is upset
• express affetion for the person, warm hug or pat on the arm
• willing to invest time and attention in helping

• giving advice that the person uder stress has not requested
• saying "I know exactly how you feel." (Why do you think this is?)
• Minimizing the importance of the problem by saying "don't make such a big deal about it," " it could be a lot worse," or don't worry, everything will turn out okay."
• joking or acting overly cheerful
• offering philosophical or religious interpretation of the event (it's fate, it's God's will, its your karma

Pessimism

• Use internal, stable, and global explanations for negative events.
• Believe no amount os personal effort will improve their situation, tend to experience more stress than optimists.
• Characteristic style, particularly for negative events, is relatively stable across the lifespan.

Maladaptive Coping

Involve thoughts and behaviors that intensify or prolong distress, or that produce self-defeating outcomes. Passing on opportunities to form new relationships, letting studies slide, and dwelling on a former companion. Maladaptive coping also includes maladaptive behaviors (eating more, becoming a couch potato, playing video games, or spending too much time online. Adaptive coping involves realistically evaluating the situation and determining how to minimize the impact of the stressor

Problem-Focued Coping Strategies

Coping efforts are primarily aimed at directly changing or managing a threatening or harmful stressor. Tend to be most effective when you can exercise some control over the stressful situation or circumstances Planful problem-solving involves efforts to rationally analyze the situation, identify potential solutions, and then implement them. Confrontive coping is direct and assertive but not hostile or angry. Confrontive can generate negative emotions in the people being confronted, damaging future relations with them.

Emotion-Focused Coping Strategies

Coping efforts are primarily aimed at relieving or regulating the emotional impact of a stressful situation. Efforts toward relieving or regulating the emotional impact of the stressful situation. Emotion-focused coping doesn't change the problem; it can help you feel better about it. Escape-avoidance- when you shift your attention away from the stressor and toward other activities. Excessive sleeping, the use of drugs and alcohol, and escaping into fantasy or wishful thinking are maladaptive forms of escape-avoidance. More constructive strategies include exercising or immersing yourself in your studies, hobbies, or work. Can provide short-term emotional relief by shifting your focus on something otheher than the stressor.

Coping Strategies

Denial- refusal to acknowledge that the problem even exists. This can compound problems that require immediate attention. Positive religious coping- seeking comfort or reassurance in prayer or from religious community, or believing that your experience is spiritually meaningful. Negative religious coping- responding in ways in which they become angry, question their religious beliefs, or believe that they are being punished.

Healthy Coping Strategies

• Exercise
• Journaling
• Positive affirmations
• Music/Art
• Reading
• Dancing
• Practice gratitude
• Self-Care
• Meditation

How do you cope in a Healthy way?