Chapter 3 Managing Stress: Restoring Mind–Body Harmony

1. Chapter 3Managing Stress: Restoring Mind–Body Harmony

2. How Stress Occurs • Stress occurs as a result of the interplay of environmental situations and life events and the mental, emotional, and physical reactions. • Harm-and-loss situations: Stress occurs because an important need is not met. • Threat situations: Perceived or interpreted as potentially causing harm or loss. • Challenge situations: Major life transitions that are opportunities for growth. • Positive challenges create eustress;negative challenges create distress.

3. The Mental Component of Stress • The appraisal of a situation as absolutely or potentially damaging to one’s physical or psychological well-being or a threat to one’s survival • Believing that one’s personal resources are insufficient

4. The Emotional Component of Stress • Consists of unpleasant emotions that arise from one’s appraisal of a situation as harmful or threatening and one’s resources for protection as limited

5. The Components of Stress

6. Factors Affecting the Experience of Stress • Predictability • Control • Belief in outcome • Social support

7. The Fight-or-Flight Response • The response activates coordinated discharge of sympathetic nervous system and portions of the parasympathetic nervous system and of hormones, especially epinephrine. • Emotions arise in the limbic system, and subsequent physiological response is mediated by the hypothalamus.

8. The Fight-or-Flight Response Fight-or-flight responses include: • Elevated heart rate • Elevated blood pressure • Constricted blood vessels • Dilated pupils • Alert, aroused state • Liberation of glucose and fatty acids for quick energy

9. Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis • Stressful thoughts activate secretion of corticotrophin releasing factor (CRF) from the hypothalamus. • CRF stimulates release of ACTH from the pituitary. • ACTH stimulates releases of cortisol from the adrenal glands. • Cortisol helps provide energy for responding to stress. • Extended cortisol release suppresses the immune system.

10. Hypothalamo-Pituitary-Adrenal Axis

11. How Stress Contributes to Illness • Causes the mind to become worn down • Weakens immunity • Motivates unhealthy behaviors in an attempt to deal with stress

12. Illness from Stress • Emotions from stress change physiology: • Impairment of heart and immune function • Trying to modify stressful emotions can foster unhealthy behaviors: • Smoking, drinking alcohol, other drug use • Not engaging in health-promoting activities: • Regular exercise, proper nutrition, sufficient sleep

13. General Adaptation Syndrome • Prolonged stress produces a characteristic response called the general adaptation syndrome (GAS). • Activation of GAS can lead to profound changes in vital body organs. • Animals receiving mild electric shocks develop ulcers. • Air traffic controllers have high incidence of ulcers and other gastrointestinal illness.

14. General Adaptation Syndrome • Three phases: • Stage of alarm: A person’s ability to withstand or resist a stressor is lowered by the need to deal with the stressor, no matter what the stressor is.

15. General Adaptation Syndrome • Stage of resistance: The body adapts to the continued presence of the stressor by producing more epinephrine, increasing alertness and blood pressure, and suppressing the immune system; if prolonged, the ability to resist is depleted. • Stage of exhaustion: When the ability to resist is depleted, the person becomes ill; this can take months or years.

16. General Adaptation Syndrome

17. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder • Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious, long-lasting psychological condition produced by stress. • PTSD results from stress caused by involvement in war, living through a natural disaster, rape, physical assault, life-threatening illness, or any other traumatic experience.

18. Posttraumatic Stress Disorder • Diagnosis based on the following symptoms: • Flashbacks to the traumatizing event or recurrent thoughts and dreams of the experience • Difficulty sleeping • Outbursts of anger • Being hyperalert and easily startled • Little interest in daily activities • Feeling cut off from others • A sense of having a limited future

19. Managing Stress • Eliminate interaction with the stressor. • Change beliefs and goals. • Seek support from those you trust. • Use a variety of strategies to cope with stress. • Practice versatile coping and passive coping.

20. What You Can Do About Stress • We often contribute to our own stress. • Be mindful to decrease the time your mind swirls around the stress in your life.