The World of Psychology Wood and Wood Health and Stress

1. The World of PsychologyWood and WoodHealth and Stress Chapter 14 http://www.stresstips.com/

2. TWO APPROACHES TO HEALTH AND ILLNESS biomedical model: A perspective that focuses on illness rather than on health, explaining illness in terms of biological factors without regard to psychological and social factors. biopsychosocial model: A perspective that focuses on health as well as illness and holds that both are determined by a combination of biological, psychological, and social factors. health psychology: The field concerned with the psychological factors that contribute to health, illness, and recovery.

3. Personal Communication • One of the MDs I’ve worked with made the following observation: • When my father was in medical school, he was taught that the cause of illness & death was infection. • When I was in medical school, I was taught the cause of illness & death was chronic illness. • In 30 years of medical practice, I have come to believe that dad was right. The cause of illness & death is infection.

4. What is health psychology? • The field within psychology devoted to understanding psychological influences on how people stay healthy, why they become ill, and how they respond when they do get ill” • Health psychologists study psychological factors associated with health and illness, and they promote interventions that foster good health and aid recovery from illness.

5. How would you define stress? Is stress • something in the environment? • a physiological or psychological reaction that occurs within a person? • something we should avoid at all costs?

6. Different ways to View Stress • Researchers either • emphasize the physiological effects of stress • focus on the role that thinking plays in stress

7. Life Stress TestDr. Tim LowensteinConscious Living Foundation, P.O. Box 9, Drain, OR 97435 In the past 12 months, which of the following major life events have taken place in your life? 1. Write down the score for each event. 2. Total up your score for each page. 3. Add up the points for each page. 4. Wait until everyone finishes. 5. We will make a distribution of scores http://www.cliving.org/lifstrstst.htm

8. Page 1 ______ Page 1 Score _____ Death of Spouse 100_____ Divorce 73_____ Marital Separation 65_____ Jail Term 63_____ Death of close family member 63_____ Personal injury or illness 53_____ Marriage 50_____ Fired from work 47_____ Marital reconciliation 45_____ Retirement 45_____ Change in family member's health 44_____ Pregnancy 40_____ Sex difficulties 39_____ Addition to family 39_____ Business readjustment 39

9. Page 2 ______ Page 2 Score _____ Change in financial status 38_____ Death of close friend 37_____ Change to a different line of work 36_____ Change in number of marital arguments 35_____ Mortgage or loan over $10,000 31_____ Foreclosure of mortgage or loan 30_____ Change in work responsibilities 29_____ Trouble with in-laws 29_____ Outstanding personal achievement 28_____ Spouse begins or stops work 26_____ Starting or finishing school 26_____ Change in living conditions 25_____ Revision of personal habits 24_____ Trouble with boss 23

10. Page 3 ______ Page 3 Score ______ Page 1 Score ______ Page 2 Score ______ Page 3 Score ______ Your Total Score _____ Change in work hours, conditions 20_____ Change in residence 20_____ Change in schools 20_____ Change in recreational habits 19_____ Change in church activities 19_____ Change in social activities 18_____ Mortgage or loan under $10,000 17_____ Change in sleeping habits 16_____ Change in number of family gatherings 15_____ Change in eating habits 15_____ Vacation 13_____ Christmas season 12_____ Minor violations of the law 11 304 My score

11. LIFE STRESS SCORES 0-149Low susceptibility to stress-related illness Keep on keepin’ on! 150-299Medium susceptibility to stress-related illness. Learn and practice relaxation and stress management skills and a healthy well life style. 300 & up High susceptibility to stress-related illness Daily practice of relaxation skills is very important for your wellness. Take care of it now before a serious illness erupts or an affliction becomes worse.

12. The Definition of Stress Stress is: the physiological and psychological response to a condition that threatens or challenges the individual and requires some form of adaptation or adjustment.

13. Fight or Flight? • An early, classic contribution to stress research was made by Walter Cannon (1932), who described the fight-or-flight response. • When an organism perceives a threat, the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine glands prepare the body to fight the threat or flee from it. • This fight-or-flight response helps the organism respond rapidly to threats. • However, it is potentially harmful • if an organism can't fight or flee • experiences prolonged stress and continuing physical arousal.

14. Hans Selye (1907–1982) • Researcher most prominently associated with the effects of stress on health • Established the field of stress research. • Wrote several books including: • The Stress of Life • Stress: Sources, Management And Prevention • Stress without Distress • For a completely negative view of his research see: http://earthsave.bc.ca/animalvoices/selye.htm

15. General Adaption Syndrome • Alarm • Resistance • Exhaustion

16. General Adaption Syndrome • Alarm The first stage of the general adaptation syndrome, when there is emotional arousal and the defensive forces of the body are prepared for fight or flight. • Resistance • Exhaustion

17. General Adaption Syndrome • Alarm • Resistance The second stage of the general adaptation syndrome, when there are intense physiological efforts to either resist or adapt to the stressor. • Exhaustion

18. General Adaption Syndrome • Alarm • Resistance • Exhaustion The final stage of the general adaptation syndrome, occurring if the organism fails in its efforts to resist the stressor.

19. GAS diagram

20. Criticisms of Selye’s Theory: Identified Issues • Thanks to Selye, the connection between extreme, prolonged stress and certain diseases is now widely accepted by medical experts • Critics say Selye’s model was primarily formulated from research on laboratory rats. • Individual variation in rats stressors response is much less than individual variation in human stress responses.

21. Criticisms of Selye’s Theory: A Missing Cognitive Factor • The major criticism: Selye’s claim that the intensity of the stressor determines the physical reaction to it. • His theory does not provide for a psychological component—how a person perceives and evaluates a stressor. • This criticism led to the development of the cognitive theory of stress.

22. Lazarus’s Cognitive Theory of Stress In responding to the criticism of Selye’s theory, Lazarus contends that it is not the stressor itself that causes stress, but a person’s perception of the stressor.

23. Lazarus’s Cognitive Theory of Stress • Causal Agent • Stressor Evaluated • Mind or Body uses coping process • Stress reaction

24. Lazarus’s Cognitive Theory of Stress • Causal Agent • Can be either external or internal. • Is commonly referred to as stress or the stressor. • Stressor Evaluated • Mind or Body uses coping process • Stress reaction

25. Lazarus’s Cognitive Theory of Stress • Causal Agent • Stressor Evaluated • the mind or the body evaluates the stressor • as either threatening or benign. • Mind or Body uses coping process • Stress reaction

26. Lazarus’s Cognitive Theory of Stress • Causal Agent • Stressor Evaluated • Mind or Body uses coping process • to deal with the stressor. • Stress reaction

27. Lazarus’s Cognitive Theory of Stress • Causal Agent • Stressor Evaluated • Mind or Body uses coping process • Stress reaction • the “complex pattern of effects on mind and body”

28. Lazarus Vs. Selye • Lazarus • Physiological & psychological stress must be analyzed differently • Focus on how people cope with psychological stressors • Selye’s • Focus on how the body copes with physiological stress

29. Lazarus and Folkman’s Psychological Model of Stress Lazarus and Folkman emphasize the importance of a person’s perceptions and appraisal of stressors. The stress response depends on the outcome of the primary and secondary appraisals, whether the person’s coping resources are adequate to cope with the threat, and how severely the resources are taxed in the process. • Primary Appraisal • Secondary Appraisal • Stress Response

30. Lazarus and Folkman’s Psychological Model of Stress • There is research support for Lazarus and Folkman’s claim that the physiological, emotional, and behavioral reactions to stressors depend partly on whether the stressors are appraised as challenging or threatening. • Tomaka and others (1993) found: • Active coping with stressors appraised as challenging was associated with increased heart rate, better performance, and positive emotions. • Active coping with stressors appraised as threatening was related to increased blood pressure, poorer performance, and negative emotional tone.

31. Lazarus and Folkman’s Psychological Model of Stress • Primary Appraisal • Secondary Appraisal • Stress Response

32. Lazarus and Folkman’s Psychological Model of Stress • Primary Appraisal • an evaluation of meaning & significance of a situation • whether its effect on one’s well-being is • positive, irrelevant, • harm or loss - damage that has already occurred • threat, or challenge —the potential for harm or loss • challenge—the opportunity to grow or to gain. • can occur in relation to anything important to you • a friendship, a part of your body, your property, your finances, or your self-esteem. • Secondary Appraisal • Stress Response

33. Lazarus and Folkman’s Psychological Model of Stress • Primary Appraisal • Secondary Appraisal • An evaluation of one’s coping resources prior to deciding how to deal with a stressful event. • if they judge the situation to be within their control • they make an evaluation of available coping resources— • physical (health, energy, stamina) • social (support network) • psychological (skills, morale, self-esteem) • material (money, tools, equipment) • time. • Then they consider the options and decide how to deal with the stressor. • The level of stress they feel is largely a function of • whether resources are adequate to cope with the threat • how severely those resources will be taxed in the process. • Stress Response

34. Lazarus and Folkman’s Psychological Model of Stress • Primary Appraisal • Secondary Appraisal • Stress Response

35. Sources of Stress • Everyday Sources • Choices • Unpredictability and Lack of Control • The Stress of Being Different • Stress in the Workplace • Catastrophic Events and Chronic Intense Stress • Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PSD)

36. Variables in Work Stress

37. Coping With Stress • Problem-focused coping • Emotion-focused coping • Proactive Coping

38. Lazarus and Folkman’s Psychological Model of Stress

39. Responding to Illness • The Sick Role • Reorganizing and Interpreting Symptoms • Seek Treatment • Compliance and Medical Treatment

40. Health and Disease • Coronary Heart Disease • Type A and Type B Patterns • Cancer • Immune System • T Cells and B Cells

41. Personal Factors in Reducing Stress • Optimism and Pessimism • Psychological Hardiness • Social Support

42. Your Lifestyle and Stress • Smoking • Alcohol • Exercise