Health Psychology

Subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological factors influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health

Stressors (Stimulus)

Specific events or chronic pressures that place demands on a person or threaten the person’s well-being

Stress (response to stressor)

Physical and psychological response to internal or external stressors

Chronic Stress

Sources of stress that occur continuously or repeatedly

Sense of Control and Stress

A significant part of stress management is control of the mind.

Fight-or-flight Response

Emotional and physiological
reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action

Alarm

Rapid mobilization (rapid breathing, increased heart, sweating, uneasy stomach etc.

Resistance

Adaption and coping (body settles in to resist stressor on a long term basis if stressor persist

Exhaustion

Collapse (weaken immune system, heart and blood vessel damage, signs physical wear – costly!!!!!!)

“Type A” People and Stress

Tendency toward easily aroused hostility, impatience, a sense of time urgency, and competitive achievement strivings

Primary Appraisal

Interpretation of stimulus as stressful
or not

Secondary Appraisal

Determination of whether the
stressor is something that can be handled or not

A challenge vs. a threat

Stressor you feel fairly confident you can control vs Stressor you believe that might not be overcome

Burnout

A state of physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion created by long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accompanied by lowered performance and motivation

Burnout and the helping profession

because of the high demands placed on employees

Repressive Coping

Avoiding situations or thoughts that are reminders of a stressor and maintaining an artificially positive viewpoint

Rational Coping

Facing a stressor and working to overcome it

Reframing

Finding a new or creative way to
think about a stressor that reduces a threat

Tend-and-befriend (Women)

Tend to other people and support other people. Tend to bond together.

Oxytocin

triggers social responses: a
tendency to seek out social contacts, nurture others, and create and maintain cooperative groups.

Fight-or-flight (Men)

(more likely to isolate)

Humor and Stress

Humor can help with stress coping. Reduce sensitivity to pain and stress. Reduce time to calm down after stressful event

Optimists

Presence of positive future expectancies predict
positive health outcomes.

Self-regulation

Exercise of voluntary control over the self to bring the self into line with preferred standards; willpower

Anger and hostility and Heart Disease

increase the risk of developing heart disease.

Consuming Alcohol and Unprotected Sex

Avoiding sexual risks is difficult because of the illusion of unique
invulnerability or impulsive emotions

Persistence and Quitting Smoking

causes 80% of lung cancers