Stress and Health What is stress Arousal of

Stress and Health

What is stress? • Arousal of one’s mind and body in response to demands made on it • Eustress – Positive • Distress – Negative • Stressor – Frustration – Daily hassles – Life Changes

Conflict • Approach-approach conflict – Least stressful – Each goal is desirable • Avoidance-Avoidance – Lesser of two evils • Approach-Avoidance – Good and bad at the same time • Multiple Approach-Avoidance – Several choices are present and each has positive and negative aspects

Personality and Stress • Type A – – More intense Do things faster More pressure placed upon themselves More prone to stress and health problems • Type B – More laid back – Handle stress easier – Less motivation

Responses to Stress • Self-efficacy expectations • Psychological Hardiness – Commitment – Challenge – Control • Sense of humor • Predictability • Social Support

What happens to your body when stress occurs? • General Adaptation Syndrome – The Alarm Reaction • Fight or flight • Sympathetic Nervous System is activated – Adrenaline and noradrenaline – Corticosteroids – The Reaction Stage • Find a way to cope with the stressor – Exhaustion Stage • Adrenal and other glands can no longer produce hormones • Muscles are worn out • Can develop serious health problems

Stress and the Immune System • Produces blood cells that destroy disease causing micro-organisms • Steroids from the body suppress the functioning of the immune system • Social support makes the immune system function better

Other Physical Responses to Stress • Headaches – Tension – Migraine • More in Type A personalities • Pollen, drugs, stress induced • Heart Disease – Higher blood pressure and cholesterol • Cancer – Immune system needed to fight off cancer cells – Stress can cause cancer

Coping Mechanisms • Defensive Coping – – Substance Abuse Aggression Withdrawal Denial, regression, repression, etc. • Active Coping – Sublimation – Changing negative thoughts – Relaxation Techniques