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15Health Psychology:Stress, Coping,and Health

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Health Psychology: Stress, Coping, and Health Health psychology

– the branch of psychology that investigates the psychological factors related to wellness and illness, including the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical problems

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Stress and Coping

What is stress, how does it affect us, and how can we best cope with it?

Stress– the response to events that are threatening or

challenging

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Stress and Coping

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)– the study of the relationship among

psychological factors, the immune system, and the brain

Psychophysiological disorders– medical problems caused by an interaction of

psychological, emotional, and physical difficulties

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The General Adaptation Syndrome Model General adaptation syndrome (GAS)

– Alarm and mobilization stage• become aware of the stressor

– Resistance stage• preparation to fight the stressor

– Exhaustion stage• negative consequences of stress appear

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Categorizing Stressors

Cataclysmic events– strong stressors that occur suddenly, affecting

many people at once Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

– a phenomenon in which victims of major catastrophes re-experience the original stress event and associated feelings in vivid flashbacks or dreams

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Categorizing Stressors

Personal Stressors– major life events that have immediate negative

consequences that generally fade with time Background stressors

– everyday annoyances that cause minor irritations but have no long-term ill effects

Uplifts– minor positive events that make one feel good

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Learned Helplessness

Learned helplessness– a state in which people conclude that

unpleasant or aversive stimuli cannot be controlled

– a view of the world that becomes so ingrained that they cease trying to remedy the aversive circumstances, even if they actually can exert some influence

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Coping with Stress

Coping– the efforts to control, reduce, or learn to tolerate

the threats that lead to stress Defense mechanisms

– emotional insulation• person stops experiencing any emotions at all

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Coping with Stress

Emotion-focused coping– characterized by the conscious regulation of

emotion in which people seek to change the way they feel or perceive the problem

Problem-focused coping– attempts to change the stressful problem or

source of the stress

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Coping with Stress

Hardiness– a personality characteristic associated with a

lower rate of stress-related illness• commitment

• challenge

• control

Social support– a mutual network of caring, interested others

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Psychological Aspects of Major Health Problems How do psychological factors affect such

health-related problems as coronary heart disease, cancer, and smoking?

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The A’s and B’s of Coronary Heart Disease Type A behavior pattern

– characterized by competitiveness, impatience, tendency toward frustration, and hostility

Type B behavior pattern– characterized by noncompetitiveness,

nonaggression, and patience in times of potential stress

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Psychological Aspects of Cancer

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Smoking

Preparation• a relatively positive attitude about the habit

Initiation• adolescent “right of passage”

Becoming a smoker• people consider themselves smokers

Maintaining the smoking habit• smoking becomes routine

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Psychological Factors Related to Physical Illness Physician-patient communication

– patients’ reluctance to describe their symptoms to their physicians

• social prestige of physicians

• material may be too technical for patients

• patients construct their own theories

• cultural values and expectations contribute

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Complying with Physician’s Orders Forms of patient noncompliance

– Creative noncompliance• patients adjust a treatment prescribed by a physician

– reactance• a disagreeable emotional and cognitive reaction that

results from the restriction of one’s freedom and that can be associated with medical regimens