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Stress and Health Psychology – Ch.3. Introduction to Psychology Mercer County Community College. Chapter Three Overview. Understanding stress Stress and illness Health psychology in action Health and stress management. Understanding Stress.
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Stress and Health Psychology – Ch.3 Introduction to Psychology Mercer County Community College
Chapter Three Overview • Understanding stress • Stress and illness • Health psychology in action • Health and stress management
Understanding Stress • Anything that places a demand on the body can cause ______________.
Understanding Stress • Trigger that prompts the stressful reaction is called a ______________.
Understanding Stress • Stress can be categorized as an eustress or distress. • Stress is defined as the body’s nonspecific response to any demand made on it; physical and mental arousal to situations or events that we perceive as threatening or challenging.
e.g., of stress Eustress Distress Getting Divorced An injury Getting Fired Witnessing Violence Car Accident • Getting Married • Exercise • New Job • First Date • Buying a new car
Understanding Stress • The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) • An easy and popular measuring tool • Seven major sources of stress: • Cataclysmic events • Life events • Chronic stressors • Job stress • Hassles • Frustration • Conflict
How Stress affects the Body • The sympathetic nervous system (SAM) / the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical system (HPA) or HPA Axis. • General adaptation syndrome • Alarm reaction • Stage of resistance • Stage of exhaustion
Stress is related to four serious illnesses: • Cancer • Cardiovascular disorders (Heart Disease) • A-B Personality Types • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) • Gastric ulcers
Health Psychology • The study of how biological, psychological, and social factors affect health and illness.
Health Psychology • Social Problems • Tobacco (smoking) • Alcohol
Health Psychology • Concepts and definitions • Chronic Pain • Behavior Modification • Biofeedback • Relaxation Techniques
Coping with stress • Coping is defined as an attempt to manage stress in some effective way.
Coping with Stress • Stress depends on our interpretation of and our reaction to stressors, it’s relative. • Emotion-Focused Coping • Problem-Focused Coping
Eight important resources for healthy living and stress management are: • Health & Exercise • Positive beliefs • Social skills • Social support • Control • Material resources • Relaxation • Sense of humor
Effective coping(objective or subjective) • Depends on the stressor itself • Complexity • Intensity • Duration • Type of coping strategy used
Effective coping • External locus of control • Outside forces • Internal locus of control • Control of one’s fate