Unit 6 – Adjustment and Breakdown

Stress and Health

Sources of Stress

What is stress? Event, response, or perception of a

situation that causes conflict Person’s reaction to their inability to cope

with a certain tense event or conflict

Sources of Stress

Components of stress: Stress-causing event or situation = stressor Stress reaction – often negative

From acute anxiety or pressure = distress ?? (harassment, mugging, illness, breakup…)

Always bad? From motivating challenges = eustress ?? (precompetition nerves, stage jitters…)

Sources of Stress

Conflict situations: Must choose between two or more options with

conflicting motives…examples ?? 4 different types:

1. Both good = approach-approach ?? (accepted to 2 colleges, concert or ballgame, invited to

2 parties…)

2. Both bad = avoidance-avoidance ?? (study physics or math, study or do chores, bad job or

no job…)

Sources of Stress

3. One good one bad = approach-avoidance ?? (ask for raise – get raise or get fired, ask for

date – get date or get rejected, ask parents to go out – yes or no…)

4. Multiple options with good and bad = double approach-avoidance ??

(2 vacation choices, aggressive or conservative golf shots…)

Sources of Stress

Why do some people view a situation as stressful but others don’t?

Level of stress you feel depends on how you appraise the situation

Immediate evaluation of a situation = primary appraisal

Deciding how to deal / cope with the situation = secondary appraisal

Sources of Stress

Environmental ?? noise, crowding…

Life changes ?? teenage issues… SRRS

Male participants rated on scale of 1-100.Concerns: one stressor creates / compounds another scale doesn’t assess ongoing stressors (poverty, racism etc.)

Sources of Stress

Hassles - relatively minor, day-to-day events, gradually weaken body’s defense system ??

slow traffic, lose keys, forget homework… Uplifts – small, positive events

doing well on test, winning match, nice visit with a friend…

wellness ws.htm

Reactions to Stress

How do people react? (Physical, behavioral, psychological)

We are holistic organisms Mind over matter Will to live

Reactions to Stress

Hans Selye – identified 3 stages in the body’s stress reaction General Adaptation Syndrome

1. Alarm – fight or flight, heartrate & breathing faster, more alert, muscles tense, pupils dilate

2. Resistance – find means of coping with stressor, may develop psychosomatic symptoms (real physical symptoms caused by stress & tension)

3. Exhaustion – adrenaline depleted, disorientation, delusions

Reactions to Stress

Types of reactions?? Emotional Cognitive Behavioral Physical

Reactions to Stress

Emotional: Anxiety – vague, generalized

apprehension or feeling of danger (most common response to sudden & powerful stressor)

Anger – irate reaction to frustration Fear – real or imagined danger Overreacting to minor irritations, self

doubt, tension, short temper

Reactions to Stress

Cognitive: Difficulty concentrating, thinking Recurring thoughts, worry Poor decision making Unjustified suspicion, distrust Continued frustration - burnout

Reactions to Stress

Behavioral: Nervous habits (pacing, trembling) Gulp meals Smoke, drink, take drugs Become lethargic, aggressive Lose interest in eating, grooming Escape, unemployment

Not all bad - heroism, cooperation

Reactions to Stress

Physical: Psychosomatic - real physical symptoms caused

by stress and tension?? (headaches, stomachaches, muscle pain,

insomnia, migraines, sweating, dry mouth) (urinary / bowel trouble, ulcers, hypertension,

arthritis, asthma, heart disease) (indirect contribution to illness - tampers with

immune system)

Reactions to Stress

What factors influence individual reactions? Personality

Type A – irritable, impatient, hostile, extremely competitive, eat/move fast – impact on health??

(constant adrenaline flow, coronary artery disease, heart attacks)

Type B – relaxed, patient, better coronary health Emotional expressiveness (don’t express – cancer

risk) Perceived control Social support

Coping with Stress

How do we decide how to cope with stressors?

(cognitive appraisal-> interpretation of event -> stress impact)

Coping with Stress

If threatened, how might we cope? Defensive coping strategies ??

3 groups see gruesome film, one told nothing one told events not real – denial = decide

event isn’t a stressor one told film is educational, importance of

safety – intellectualization = emotionally detached viewpoint, block out feelings

control group had higher stress levels

Coping with Stress

If challenged, how might we cope? Active coping strategies ??

hardiness = belief we can control out situation, commitment to establish and pursue goals, and view situation as a challenge

control – escape, withdraw, manage timing problem solving – rational analysis explanatory style – style of thinking:

Optimist = puts best face on any set of events Pessimist = always sees the dark side

Coping with Stress

progressive relaxation meditation biofeedback humor to release pent up feelings and

maintain perspective exercise support groups, professional help training improving interpersonal skills

Stress in Your Life

Adjusting to college, work force College shock – people from diverse backgrounds, challenges

high school identity Autonomy = taking care of yourself & making decisions Developmental friendships = close relationships that force friends

to reexamine ideas and beliefs (Madison – this & student culture have more impact than professors)

Resynthesis = combining old ideas with new ones, reorganizing feelings, renew identity

Comparable worth = concept that men & women should receive equal pay for jobs with comparable skill and responsibility

Work satisfaction – coworker relationships, challenge, comfort