How Do You Feel About Stress?The Role of Positive Emotions in Stress!

Stress• “the process by which we

perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging” (Myers, 2011, p. 419)

The Nature of Emotions and Stress

• Emotions co-occur when stressed whether we recognize them or not

• How we perceive stress affects emotions recognized:– Harm or threat appraisal = sadness,

anger, anxiety, and/or fear– Challenge appraisal = excitement, confidence, and

eagerness (Folkman, 2008)

The Nature of Emotions and Stress

• Stress also changes the level of our negative and positive emotions:– Increases negative emotions and decreases

positive emotions– The changes appear to be more pronounced

though on negative emotions than on positive(Dowd, Zautra, & Hogan

2010)

The Nature of Emotions and Stress

• Level of Emotional Experience involves:– Heritability

• Estimates are at 40% to 50% (Sprangers et al., 2010)– Environment– 5 Variables

• Emotional regulation• Emotional disclosure• Emotional Intelligence• Alexithymia• Intensity of Experience

(Pandey &Choubey, 2010)

Instructions for the Positive Affectivity and Negative Affectivity Scale – Momentary (PANAS)

(as cited by Seligman, 2002, p.33)• You will see a number of words that describe different feelings and

emotions• Read each item and then mark the appropriate answer in the space next

to the word.• Answer based on how you feel right now in this present moment

• 1 = slightly or not at all• 2 = a little• 3 = moderately• 4 = quite a bit• 5 = extremely

• Add up your scores for positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA)

Positive Emotions

• The personal and individual experience of and engagement in happiness (Pandey & Choubey, 2010)

• “Feelings that reflect a level of pleasurable engagement with the environment, such as happiness, joy, excitement, enthusiasm, and contentment” (Cohen & Pressman, 2006, p. 122)

The Impact of Positive Emotion on Stress and Health

• Increased average life expectancy (Cohen & Pressman, 2006)

• Lower susceptibility to illness throughout the lifespan (Steptoe, Dockray, & Wardle, 2009)

• Improved immune response and pain tolerance (Sprangers et al., 2010)

• Better adjustment to traumatic events such as the death of a loved one (Pandey & Choubey, 2010)

• Better physical and emotional health • (Pandey & Choubey 2010)

The Impact of Positive Emotion on Stress and Health

• Heightened emotional intelligence (Pandey & Choubey, 2010)

• Improved social relationships and social support structure (Pandey & Choubey 2010)

• Greater tendency to practice positive health behaviors (Cohen & Pressman, 2006)

• Greater resilience or ability to bounce back from stress and illness (Smith, Tooley, Christopher, & Kay, 2010)

The Impact of Positive Emotion on Stress and Health

• Optimism, a positive emotion has been shown to promote:– Women who are more optimistic had a 16% less chance of a heart attack, a 9% less

chance of developing heart disease, a 30% less chance of dying from heart disease and a 14% less chance of dying from any disease than women who displayed little optimism (Tindle et al., 2009)

– better coping with a number of health problems such as osteoarthritis (Ferreira & Sherman, 2007)

– breast cancer and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) (Aspinwall & Tedeschi, 2010) – positive increases in an individual’s immune functioning (Aspinwall & Tedeschi, 2010) – quicker and more complete recovery from a number of medical (Aspinwall & Tedeschi,

2010) procedures – longevity (Aspinwall & Tedeschi, 2010) – adherence to more positive health behaviors (Aspinwall & Tedeschi, 2010) – an individual’s psychological well being with reductions in symptoms of anxiety and

depression (Ferreira & Sherman, 2007).

The Impact of Positive Emotion on Stress and Health

• Hope, another positive emotion promotes– Greater adherence to positive health behaviors

and limiting unhealthy behaviors (Berg, Ritschel, Swan, An, & Ahluwalia, 2011)

– Insulation from despair when facing chronic or potential illnesses (Wiles, Cott, & Gibson, 2008.

How to Experience Positive Affect

• Recognize the external myths/barriers to happiness and that the pursuit of them do not lead to long term positive affect and well being

• These include:– Money means happiness– Health means happiness– Education means happiness– Change your race or move to sunnier climate

(Seligman, 2002)

How to Experience Positive Affect

• Internal characteristics promoting positive emotions:– Liking oneself (good self esteem)– Have a balanced sense of internal and external

locus of control– Optimism and hope– Outgoing

(Myers, 1992)

How to Experience Positive Affect

• Humor and laughter • Play• Meditation• Mindfulness

How to Experience Positive Affect

• Spirituality • Forgiveness• Gratitude• Compassion (Other focused)

We Can Feel Good About Stress!

Resources• American Institute of Stress website. Great informational site

about stress!• http://www.stress.org/topic-effects.htm• Website of Dr. Martin Seligman and his work with Positive

Psychology http://www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu/Default.aspx

• Myers, D.G. (1992). The pursuit of happiness: Discovering the pathway to fulfillment, well-being, and enduring personal

joy. New York, New York: Harper Collins Publishers, Inc.• Seligman, M.E.P. (2002). Authentic happiness: Unsing the new

positive psychology to realize your potential for lasting fulfillment. New York, New York: Free Press

References

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Aspinwall, L.G., & Tedeschi, R.G. (2010). The value of positive psychology for health psychology: Progress and pitfalls in examining the relation of positive phenomena to health. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 39, 4-15. doi: 10.1007/s12160.009-9153-0

Berg, C.J., Ritschel, L.A., Swan. D.W., An, L.C., & Ahluwalia, J.S. (2011). The role of hope in engaging in healthy behaviors among college students. American Journal of Health Behaviors, 35(4), 402-415. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.5993/AJHB.35.4.3

Blatner, A., & Blatner, A. (1997). The art of play: Helping adults reclaim imagination and spontaneity (Revised Edition). New York, New York: Brunner/Mazel Publishers

Cohen, S., & Pressman, S.D. (2006, June). Positive affect and health. Current Directions in Psychological Science (Wiley-Blackwell), 15(3), 122-125. doi: 10.1111/j.0963- 7214.2006.00420.x

Doud, H., Zautra, A., & Hogan, M. (2010). Emotion, stress and cardiovascular response: An experimental test of models of positive and negative affect. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 17, 189-194. doi: 10.1007/s12529-009-9063-3

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