Ch. 12 Stress and Health Psychology

Stress Any environmental demand that creates a state of tension or threat and requires change or adaptation

1.Sources of Stress A.Life Changes Social Readjustment Rating Scale (Holmes and Rahe) Assesses major life changes - death of spouse Indicates likelihood of getting ill Click here to view the College Life Stress Inventory table Click here to view the College Life Stress Inventory table

B.Everyday Hassles Pressure Forced to speed up or shift Frustration Being prevented from reaching one’s goals Delays, lack of resources, losses, failure, discrimination

C.Conflict - Incompatible demands, opportunities, goals, needs Approach/approach conflict Avoidance/avoidance conflict Approach/avoidance conflict Click here to view the Types of Conflict table Click here to view the Types of Conflict table D.Stress and Individual Difference Hardiness and resilience Self-imposed stress

2.Coping with Stress A.Direct Coping Confrontation Acknowledging stress directly and initiating coping Compromise Choosing a more realistic goal when an ideal goal cannot be met Withdrawal Avoiding a situation when other options are NOT practical

B.Defensive Coping/Defensive Mechanisms Denial - refuse to acknowledge reality Repression - push uncomfortable thoughts from awareness Projection - attribute one’s motives to others Identification - taking on characteristics of someone else Regression - reverting to immature behaviors

Intellectualization - very detached analysis of problems Reaction Formation - expressing exaggerated beliefs opposite to one’s own Displacement - shifting feelings onto something less threatening Sublimation - Redirecting motives into socially acceptable channels Click here to view the Defense Mechanisms table Click here to view the Defense Mechanisms table

C.Socioeconomic and Gender Differences in Coping Being poor is stressful and they have less resources Women and men seem to be equally affected by stress

3.Stress and Health A.The Biology of Stress General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) Alarm reaction In Stage 1, alarm reaction, the body recognizes that is must fight off some physical or psychological danger and acts accordingly. If neither direct nor defensive coping mechanisms succeed in reducing the stress, we move to Stage 2 of adaptation. Resistance During this resistance stage, physical symptoms of strain appear as we intensify our efforts to cope both directly and defensively. If these attempts to regain psychological equilibrium fail, psychological disorganization rages out of control until exhaustion, Stage 3 is reached. Exhaustion In this phase, we use increasingly ineffective defense mechanisms to bring the stress under control. Some people lose touch with reality, while others show signs of "burnout."

Physiologist Hans Selye identified three stages of reacting to physical and psychological stress that he called the general adaptation syndrome (GAS).

B.Stress and Heart Disease Type A - linked to heart disease (esp. hostility) Type B - relaxed C.Stress and the Immune System Psychoneuroimmunology Shows stress suppresses immune function D.Staying Healthy Exercise, relaxation, humor Importance of social support, positive reappraisal Stress and Health Video

4.Extreme Stress A. Sources of Extreme Stress Unemployment Stages of relief, optimism, doubt, malaise, cynicism Divorce and separation Ambivalence, failure, sadness, fear Bereavement Coping with painful, inescapable reality

B.Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Natural and man-made catastrophes Reactions - shock, suggestible stage, recovery Combat and other threatening personal attacks

5.The Well-Adjusted Person A.Does the action meet the demand? or just postpone? B.Does the action meet the individual's needs? C.Is the action compatible with the well-being of others? Cancer Groups Video