General Psychology
Health Psychology and Stress

1.    Health Psychology: The application of psychology to health related issues.  

• Bio-psycho-social model of illness: health and illness have biological, psychological, and social aspects (both cause and effect) focus on prevention and treatment

  • health impairing behaviors: smoking, drinking, overeating, risky sex

  • interactive with medical approach: compliance with medical interventions

  • pain management: self hypnosis

  • diathesis model of illness: biology+coping (behavior/attitudes)+stress

2.    Stress: A physiological response characterized by autonomic arousal to a stressor.

• General Adaptation Syndrome (Selye)
  • Alarm
    • fight/flight
    • hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPAC
      • Release of "stress hormones (adrenal corticosteroids)" resulting in Increase: heart rate, blood pressure, respiration, pupils, muscles, Decrease: digestive, reproductive, immune system.
    • catecholamines
      • Epinephrine and norepinephrine: stimulate cns to increase attention and concentration (vigilance)
  • Resistance
    • Coping mechanisms used to defend against the continuing effects of stress
      • Organize efforts at coping: emotion-focused, problem focused, elicit social support
    • Prolonged release of stress hormones
      • High blood pressure, immune suppression
  • Exhaustion
    • Depletion of energy, unable to cope
      • Immunosuppression, exhaustion, weight loss, organ damage
    • Weakened coping
      • Disorganized thinking

3.    Stress Effects:

• GAS: Alarm-Fear, excitement, panic, anger; Resistance-Tension, anxiety, defense mechanisms, insomnia; Exhaustion-Hopelessness, desperation, insomnia, helplessness
• Learned Helplessness:
  • Psychosomatic Disorders: Headaches, rashes, chest pains, tachycardia,
  • Adjustment Disorders: Anxiety, depression, drug use
  • PTSD: Intense emotions, depression, anger, substance abuse, reliving experience
  • Diathesis Model: Stress+Coping Skills+Genes=Disorder

4.    Stressors: Any stimulus that elicits a stress response.

• Daily Hassles: Traffic, bills, small children, broken appliances, car problems
• Personal Stressors: Significant life changes, death of family member, loss of job, divorce, assault, break-up of a significant relationship, birth of child
• Cataclysmic Events: Catastrophes such as earthquakes, war, fire

*Exercise: List current life stressors-use handout (discuss)

• Personality Style: Compare and contrast Type A with Hardy (commitment, challenge, control)
• Change Model:
  • Environment: Change external stressor. New car, new partner, new apartment
  • Behavior: Change behavioral reaction to unchanging environment. Time management, different behavioral reaction to all stressors
  • Thinking: Alternate thinking reaction to stressor
  • Physical: Exercise, progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, massage
• Maladaptive Coping:
  • Externalizing/internalizing
  • Defense mechanisms
  • Self medication