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Stress and Health:

Stress and Health:. How psychological factors can affect our immune system. Brain. Spinal Cord. Central Nervous System. Brain and Spinal Cord. Brain. Spinal Cord. Nerves. Peripheral Nervous System. 3 kinds of neurons sensory motor interneurons. Peripheral Nervous System.

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Stress and Health:

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  1. Stress and Health: How psychological factors can affect our immune system

  2. Brain Spinal Cord Central Nervous System • Brain and Spinal Cord

  3. Brain Spinal Cord Nerves Peripheral Nervous System • 3 kinds of neurons • sensory • motor • interneurons

  4. Peripheral Nervous System Peripheral NS Autonomic NS Somatic NS

  5. Peripheral Nervous System Peripheral NS Somatic NS Autonomic NS Sympathetic NS Parasympathetic NS

  6. Brain Dilates pupil Inhibits salivation Salivary glands Increases Respiration Spinal cord Lungs Accelerates heartbeat Heart Inhibits activity Stomach Pancreas Stimulates glucose Liver Adrenal gland Secretion of adrenaline, noradrenaline, cortisol Kidney Relaxes bladder Sympathetic • “ Fight or flight” response

  7. Brain Contracts pupil Stimulates salivation Constricts bronchi Spinal cord Slows heartbeat Stimulates activity Stimulates gallbladder Gallbladder Contracts bladder Parasympathetic • “ Rest and digest” system liver processes fat

  8. Autonomic nervous system controls physiological arousal Sympathetic division (arousing) Parasympathetic division (calming) Pupils dilate EYES Pupils contract Decreases SALIVATION Increases Perspires SKIN Dries Increases RESPIRATION Decreases Accelerates HEART Slows Inhibits DIGESTION Activates Secrete stress hormones ADRENAL GLANDS Decrease secretion of stress hormones Summary of autonomic differences

  9. Psychoneuroimmunology • The study of how psychological factors can affect health and illness • There is an interaction between the brain and the immune system: emotional/cognitive/behavioral events result in physiological events.

  10. Definition • Stress: An internal state involving cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral disturbances • distress • eustress • Stressor: An environmental event capable of evoking stress

  11. Three (really four) Kinds of Stressors • Catastrophe: an unpredictable, large-scale event that creates a tremendous need to adapt and adjust as well as overwhelming feelings of threat. • Major Life Events: life events that cause change • Hassles: daily annoyances • Chronic Role Strains

  12. Acculturative Stress • stress resulting from the need to change and adapt a person’s ways to the majority culture. • Four Methods of Acculturation: • Integration • Assimilation • Separation • Marginalization

  13. Oxygen Nutrients Blood Energy glucose cholesterol Senses Immune system Growth/Tissue repair Long-term nutrient storage Reproduction Digestion Need vs. Don’t Need

  14. Alarm Resistance Exhaustion Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome

  15. The Immune System • the system of cells, organs, and chemicals of the body that responds to attacks from diseases, infections, and injuries. • Natural killer cell - immune system cell responsible for suppressing viruses and destroying tumor cells.

  16. Evolution of Research • Initial Research: S—>R • Nothing cognitive intervenes between a stressful event (stressor) and a stress response • Modern Research: S—>O—>R • Cognitions intervene between a stressful event (stressor) and a stress response

  17. What affects how we perceive stress? STRESSOR COGNITION (PERCEPTION) FEELING “STRESSED” “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.” (Hamlet, Act II, Scene 2, line 259).

  18. The Importance of Perception • Lazarus (1956): Circumcision Study • All subjects watch a bloody circumcision. • Three IV conditions are created: • Painless • Focus on Ritual • Control Condition • DV: Skin conductance level

  19. The Stress Process

  20. Appraisal Stress = Perceived – Perceived Demands Resources

  21. Appraisal Factors • Explanatory style (Optimism vs. Pessimism) • Self-efficacy • Sense of humor • Sense of control

  22. Appraisal Factors: Personality Style • Type A • hostility • Type B • Type C • Hardiness

  23. Coping: How to deal • Problem-Focused Coping vs. • Emotion-Focused Coping

  24. Coping: Forgiveness • physiological response to ‘letting things go’ • provides empathy • NOT the same as forgetting

  25. Coping: Rethinking the Problem • Reappraisal • Learning from experience • Social comparison • sense of humor

  26. Coping Ideas • Exercise • Social support • Timing • good diet, sleep, relaxation • get married ! (maybe)

  27. Pennebaker (1988)- Affect Expression • Students in one of two conditions for 4 days: • write about traumatic events in their lives they had not previously discussed much with others OR • write about trivial topics • mood, BP, HR, immunological tests before, after and 6 weeks after experiment • initially, group 1 felt worse • over time, group 1 had better immune system functioning • WHY?

  28. Meditation: Learn to relax! • Studies have shown meditation to increase coping ability and lessen stress • Subsequently, this increases immune system functioning

  29. Burnout • characterized by exhaustion, cynicism, and inefficacy • Work-related burnout and risk of cardiovascular disease • Students and burnout • Burnout contagion • Vacations and burnout • Jung’s natural efficiency and ‘falsification of type’

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