1. Chapter Thirteen Psychology and Health

2. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-2 Did You Know That… Happy or joyous events can be a source of stress? The emotional stress of divorce or even college examinations may damage your health? Writing about traumatic experiences may boost the body’s immune system? Optimistic people have fewer postoperative complications following coronary artery bypass surgery than pessimistic people?

3. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-3 Did You Know That… (Cont’d) Chronic anger may be harmful to your heart? Two modifiable behaviors, smoking and diet, account for nearly two of three cancer deaths in the United States? Regular exercise increases resilience to stress?

4. Module 13.1 Stress: What It Is and What It Does to the Body

5. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-5 Module 13.1 Preview Questions What is health psychology? What is stress, and what are the major sources of stress? How does the body respond to stress? How does stress affect the immune system? What psychological factors buffer the effects of stress?

6. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-6 Health Psychology Study of the interrelationships between psychology and physical health Especially concerned with effects of stress: Stress: Pressure or demand placed on an organism to adjust or adapt Distress: An internal state of physical or mental pain or suffering

7. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-7 Table 13.1: Examples of Stress-Related Health Problems From Health in the Millenium by J.S. Nevid et al, 1988. Reprinted with permission of W.H.Freeman & Company/Worth Publishers

8. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-8 Sources of Stress: Hassles Annoyances of daily lives that impose a stressful burden Examples Accumulation of daily hassles can lead to chronic stress. State of persistent tension or pressure Continue

9. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-9 Return Table 13.2: The Ten Most Common Hassles Reported by College Students

10. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-10 Sources of Stress: Life Events Major changes in life circumstances: Can be positive or negative life events Occur irregularly and sometimes unexpectedly Impact on health varies with: One’s coping skills One’s attitude How one appraises or evaluates a life event

11. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-11 Sources of Stress: Frustration and Conflict Frustration: Negative emotional state that occurs when efforts toward a goal are blocked or thwarted Conflict: State of tension resulting from the presence of 2 or more competing goals that demand resolution

12. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-12 Figure 13.1: Types of Conflict

13. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-13 Sources of Stress: Traumatic Stressors Potentially life-threatening events May lead to development of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Adjustment problems associated with PTSD: Avoidance of cues associated with the trauma Re-experiencing the traumatic event Impaired functioning Heightened arousal Emotional numbing

14. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-14 Sources of Stress: Type A Behavior Pattern (TABP) Characterized by impatience, competitiveness, and aggressiveness Type B pattern: Slower, more relaxed pace in life Type A is associated with a modestly higher risk of heart disease. Hostility is the key element accounting for this increased risk.

15. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-15 Sources of Stress: Acculturative Stress Demands immigrants experience adjusting to a new culture Relationship between acculturation and psychological adjustment is complex Successful adjustment depends on a number of factors.

16. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-16 General Adaptation Syndrome Alarm Stage: Fight-or-flight response Strong psychological, physiological arousal Resistance Stage (or adaptation stage): Attempt to return to normal state Exhaustion Stage: Resources seriously depleted “Diseases of adaptation”

17. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-17 Figure 13.2: Level of Resistance During the Stages of the General Adaptation Syndrome

18. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-18 Figure 13.3: The Body’s Response to Stress

19. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-19 Stress and the Immune System Immune system is the body’s primary defense against disease and infection. Immunity develops through: Antigen “memory” Vaccinations Chronic stress can weaken the immune system. Increases vulnerability to disease

20. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-20 Figure 13.4: Psychological Moderators of Stress

21. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-21 Buffers Against Stress Social support High levels of self-efficacy Predictability and controllability of the stressors Internal locus of control Psychological hardiness Optimism Continue

22. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-22 Psychological Hardiness Cluster of traits associated with an increased resilience to stress Three key traits: Commitment Openness to challenge Internal locus of control Acceptance of stress as a normal challenge of life Return

23. Module 13.2 Psychological Factors in Physical Illness

24. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-24 Module 13.2 Preview Questions How are psychological factors linked to the health of our heart and circulatory system? What roles do psychological factors play in the development of cancer? How can we protect ourselves from sexually transmitted diseases?

25. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-25 Coronary Heart Disease Disorder in which the flow of blood to the heart becomes insufficient Underlying cause is usually atherosclerosis Leading killer of men and women

26. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-26 Figure 13.5: America’s Leading Killers

27. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-27 Figure 13.7: Racial and Ethnic Differences in Death Rates Due to CHD in the US

28. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-28 Emotions and Your Heart Chronic anger is linked to increased risk of CHD and hypertension. Persistent emotional arousal may damage to cardiovascular system. Result of effects of stress hormones Ways being developed to help learn to control emotional responses.

29. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-29 Cancer Second leading killer in US Disease in which body cells exhibit uncontrolled growth Formation of malignant tumors which damage body organs, systems Many causes But 2 of 3 cancer deaths in US attributable to smoking and diet

30. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-30 Risk Factors for Cancer Smoking Diet and alcohol consumption Sun exposure Stress

31. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-31 Sexual Behavior and STDs HIV/AIDS is the most threatening sexually transmitted disease (STD). 40 million worldwide living with HIV; 3 million die annually from AIDS. HIV attacks and disables the immune system. About 15 million news cases of STDs occur annually in the US. Many STDs pose serious health threats.

32. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-32 STD Treatment Antibiotics can cure bacterial STD but are useless against viral STDs. Antiviral drugs may help control viral STDs, but they cannot eliminate the virus. Prevention and early treatment is important.

33. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-33 Prevention of STDs Only sure way is to either: Practice lifelong abstinence Maintain a monogamous relationship with an uninfected partner who is also monogamous Can reduce risk by practicing safer sex Avoid unsafe sexual and injection practices Take steps to ensure detection and treatment of any STDs may have

34. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-34 Guidelines for Lowering Risk of Contracting an STD Be careful in choice of sex partners. Avoid multiple partners. Especially partners who have multiple partners Communicate concerns with partner. Avoid engaging in sexual contact with anyone with a sore or blister around the genitals.

35. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-35 Guidelines for Lowering Risk of Contracting an STD (Cont’d) Avoid unprotected sexual contact. Obtain a medical evaluation if you suspect may you have been exposed to an STD. Get regular medical checkups. When in doubt, abstain.

36. Application: Module 13.3 Taking the Distress Out of Stress

37. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-37 Module 13.3 Preview Question What are some ways of taking the distress out of stress?

38. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-38 Managing Stress Levels Reduce daily hassles. Know your limits. Follow a reasonable schedule. Take frequent breaks. Develop effective time-management skills. Learn to prioritize.

39. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-39 Various Techniques Develop relaxation skills. Take care of your body. Gather information. Expand your social network. Prevent burnout. Replace stress-inducing thoughts with stress-busting thoughts. Don’t keep upsetting feelings bottled up.

40. Copyright © Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. 13-40 Control Type A Behavior Take things slower. Read books for enjoyment. Leave your computer at home. Avoid rushing meals. Engage in enjoyable activities. Develop relaxing interests. Set realistic daily goals.