2. Fight or Flight, or Frenzy? Understanding Stress Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
1
Q

L-2 Health Tips?

A
  1. Stress is ‘in your head’ (but that doesn’t mean it’s your fault).
  2. Avoid traffic jams - they could kill you.
  3. In an emergency, do NOT freeze!
  4. Find your zone, and try to stay in it.
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2
Q

Where is the stress occurring?

A

In the head, between the transaction between the individual and environment.

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3
Q

Seeing stress as a stimulus?

A

Stress is defined as a stimulus or change in the environment.

A stressor requiring us to respond.

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4
Q

What is the issue with seeing stress as a stimulus?

A

The stimulus is the environment is defined as a stressor - and objective definition of stress.

‘the thing is there’ is enough, overlooking internal psychological and behavioural response.

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5
Q

Types of stressors - Acute stressors?

A
  • Limited
  • E.g. running late, fight, accident
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6
Q

Types of stressors - Chronic stressors?

A
  • Prolonged, repeated
  • E.g. job strain, poverty
  • Chronic stressor indicate a difficulty overcoming the stimulus.
  • Chronic stressors are more harmful to health.
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7
Q

Major life events?(which approach does this model adopt?)

A
  • Adopts stress as stimulus approach.
  • All change whether positive or negative is inherently stressful, because it requires change of the individual.
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8
Q

Major Life Events Scale?

A
  • Items are assigned a life change unit score based on severity.
  • Correlate with current health conditions, but not a lot of validity beyond that measure -> not longterm
  • Score over 250 means very high life stress = poor concurrent health.
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9
Q

Issues with the Major Life Events Scale?

A
  • Does not account for individual differences or subjective experiences.
  • Complete dismissal of psychological appraisal.
  • Overlooks contextual factors such as SOE and other environmental factors.
  • This scale is not applicable to children, youth, university students, and other demographics -> relevant life events for these groups not included.
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10
Q

Life Event Stress & Colds?

A

More stressful life events = increased likelihood of contracting cold virus

Linear relationship, with each added stressful life events high infection rates and symptoms.

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11
Q

Daily Hassels?

A

Day-to-day unpleasant or potentially harmful events. Ideally measured as they unfold using daily process methods. -> Respond multiple times a week. Just checking off if something has happened, no subjective apprisal.

  • Not hugely disruptive but, annoying, frustrating etc.
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12
Q

Major life event stress or daily hassles, which in more influential on health? And why?

A

Daily hassles play a more important role in health outcomes than major life events.

Can better predict long term health of daily hassles than major life events.

Constant stress -> Chronic stress, no recovery time

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13
Q

Stress as a Response? + Stress Reactivity?

A

Stress can be defined as a person’s physiological response (fight-or-flight; also reactivity)

Stress reactivity = how strongly and quickly a person responds to stess.

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14
Q

What is an essential component of the Stress as a Response theory?

A

A person’s psychological response (i.e. thoughts and emotions; e.g. nervousness)

Psychological appraisal is necessary, we need to see the stimulus and determine it as stressful.

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15
Q

What is strain?

A

The effect on the physical body from the emotions of stress, like fear and worry

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16
Q

What is the Fight-or-Flight Response?

A

Mobilisation, increased energy and focus…

  • Breathing increases
  • Heart rate increases
  • Muscles tense
  • Digestions slows
  • Mouth gets dry
  • Bladder relaxes
  • Hans & feet get cold etc.

Basically getting you physically ready to survive!

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17
Q

What neurotransmitters are being realised in response to stress - Epinephrine / Norepinephrine?

A

Epinephrine (adrenaline) & norepinephrine (noradrenaline) are released by the adrenal glands (part of SNS).

Hormones/neurotransmitters (catecholamines) that regulate heart rate, metabolism, respiration, oxygen to the brain and muscles, etc.

Released at the same time and have complementary effects.

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18
Q

What neurotransmitters are being realised in response to stress - Cortisol (“The Stress Hormone”)?

A

Cortisol is realised a little bit later than Epinephrine / Norepinephrine. Takes a little longer bc of the addition of the pituitary gland.

Cortisol complements the SNS…
- Increases blood pressure / blood glucose;
enhances brain’s use of glucose.
- Suppresses nonessential systems (e.g., digestive, reproductive, specific immune (acquired to certain pathogens, innate immunity is enhanced).
- Reduces inflammation.

…and assists return to homeostasis.
Cortisol output automatically decreases over time (negative feedback loop).

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19
Q

What is important to note about the cortisol feedback loop’s function?

A

The feedback loop is only working in an ideal situation where you can recover from the stress.

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20
Q

Measuring cortisol?

A

An important biomarker of stress.
Measured by:
- chewing on cotton swabs
- Urine
- Blood
- Average corital by hair follicles

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21
Q

Why is cortisol difficult to study?

A

Cortisol output is effecting by many different factors! Need to control for all of these factors to work with cortisol.

  • Influenced by exercise, diet, mood, and many other factors.
  • Individual differences in diurnal cycles, average output, etc.
  • Inconsistent results across types of stressors
  • Varied cortisol realise even to the same stressor (solving math problem, ice water). Except for public speaking, social evaluation! Everybody gets stressed out from that
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22
Q

Stress as a Transaction?

A

Stress can be defined as a process involving continuous interactions and adjustments between a person and the environment, each affecting and affected by the other.

Incorporates both stimulus (stressor) and psychological and physical response (strain).

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23
Q

Transactional Model of Stress?

A
  • Leading perspective on stress.
  • It is how an event or situation is appraised or evaluated by a person that matters (cognitive appraisal).

Includes both primary and secondary appraisal.

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24
Q

Transactional Model of Stress - Primary Appraisal?

A

First: Is this worth worrying about at all?

Is it stressful? How much harm/loss? Is it a threat or challenge?
→ Or is it good or irrelevant?

It it better to appraise something as a challenge than threat -> better health.

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25
Q

Transactional Model of Stress -Secondary Appraisal?

A

Secondary Appraisal – Do I have the resources to meet the demands?

Some stressor appraisal can happen very quickly, we do not need to stop and think about it. Others we need to stop and think about it.

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26
Q

Transactional Model of Stress - 2 types of control?

A

Behavioural Control: fixing the problem. Cognitive Control: reappraisal of the problem.

Cognitive control is usually more effective than behavioural control bc usually we cannot completely control our environment. (social stress and stress about the future.) -> Perception of control

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27
Q

Stages of the Stress Transaction? (step-by-step + discrepancy)

A

Stimulus -> Cognitive Appraisal -> Not a threat or OH SHIT! -> Stress + response

Stress is a transaction leading a person to perceive a discrepancy between demands of a situation and the resources of their biological, psychological, or social systems.

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28
Q

Measuring Stress Appraisal?

A

Perceived Stress Scale

Measures stress from a more psychological perspective that leaves room from individual appraisal, to look at overall perceived stress.

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29
Q

Factors affecting Appraisal - Personal Factors?

A

Personality, self-esteem, motivation, perfectionism, etc.

Neuroticism -> stress appraisal
Extroversion -> more social resources to handle the stress.

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30
Q

Factors affecting Appraisal - Situational Factors? (3)

A

Degree of demand; imminence; timing; ambiguity; life transitions (e.g., starting school, moving).

Desirability – some situations are undesirable to most people (how society in general sees an event effect our appraisal).

Controllability – some situations are outside of behavioural or cognitive influences.

31
Q

Chronic stress can cause or contribute to illness in two ways - Directly?

A

Directly via physiological effects on various bodily systems.

32
Q

Chronic stress can cause or contribute to illness in two ways - Indirectly?

A

Indirectly via health behaviours. Such as substance use, unhealthy eating, lack of exercise, poor sleep, etc.

Indirect, how people cope with their stress and how it can negatively effect health.

33
Q

General Adaptation Syndrome
Stages of the stress response?

A
  1. Alarm – physiological mobilization for action. → Fight or flight response.

If the stressor continues…
2. Resistance – body tries to adapt to stimulus, get used to it/reduce the stress.
3. Exhaustion – breakdown of organs, disease, death; burnout.
If stress still not overcome, here is where the really harmful effects starts.

34
Q

Chronic Stress & Cortisol? (stages)

A
  1. fight or flight, cortisol spikes
    - can last for days/years etc.
  2. Resistance, cortisol starts to drop.
  3. Exhaustion (burnout), cortisol levels are down significantly.

Elevated levels of cortisol is what is health damaging. But lower cortisol is also unhealthy.

35
Q

Effects of Chronic Stress?

A

HPA axis becomes dysregulated (not stops working entirely), leading to elevated cortisol and…

  • Elevated blood glucose; increased storage of visceral fat
  • Higher BP and cholesterol; plaque build-up in arteries (atherosclerosis).
  • Impaired immune functioning; increased susceptibility to infection
  • Inflammation ensues, etc.

Persistent surges of epinephrine also affect health, esp. cardiovascular health, blood pressure, and anxiety.

36
Q

Can stress cause cancer?

A

Chronic stress weakens the immune system (via cortisol), which may accelerate cancer or tumour growth.
Or, via health-compromising behaviours in response to stress.

WHO (2017) estimates 30–50% of cancer cases are preventable (i.e., lifestyle-related or environmental); this varies by site.

Though up to 2/3 may be due to random errors during DNA replication.

37
Q

Insights from Animal Research

Experimental design – mouse model with control group.
* Injected human ovarian carcinoma cells into mice.
* Mice were exposed to chronic stress (2 hours of physical restraint per day for 21 consecutive days).

Results?

A

Significantly higher tumour weight for the stress condition suggesting that the cancer was progressing much faster.

Moreover, no matter how they stressed out the mouse, they saw similar patterns.

38
Q

Psychophysiological Disorders?

A

Physical symptoms or illnesses that result from the interplay of psychosocial and physiological processes.

Previously referred to as “psychosomatic” → may be caused by or aggravated by stress.
* Digestive system diseases (e.g., ulcers) * Asthma
* Recurrent headache (inc. migraines)
* Rheumatoid arthritis

Stress causes dilation and contraction of blood vessels -> direct link to headaches and migraines.
- Any condition that involves pain is going to be worsened by chronic stress bc of inflammation.

39
Q

Allostatic Load?

A

Accumulating effects (wear and tear) that result from the body adapting repeatedly to stressors over time.

e.g., fluctuations in levels of hormones like epinephrine and cortisol, blood pressure, and immune function.

The more stress, and less time to recover the higher allostatic load.

40
Q

Allostatic load impairs the body’s ability to?

A

Adapt to future stressors.

41
Q

Even daily hassles may cause serious health problems…

Piazza et al. (2013) examined relationship between daily stressors and later-reported health problems and found that?

A

Greater emotional reactivity to daily stressors at Time 1 was associated with an increased risk of reporting a chronic physical health condition 10 years later.

Also an increased risk of mortality among those reporting high frequency of daily hassles over time.

42
Q

The Stress Response Today?

A

Emotional threats, not physical. Not adaptive in this context.

43
Q

Trauma & Stressor-Related Disorders can be diagnosed using the?

A

Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5-TR, APA, 2022)

44
Q

Acute Stress Disorder?

A

Severe anxiety, dissociation, and other symptoms within one month after exposure to an extreme traumatic stressor (e.g., witnessing a death, a serious accident).

Actue stress disorder, not usally heared of bc these people don’t usally see a psychologist within the first 30 days. But estimated to be 30% of the populaiton.

45
Q

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)?

A

If Acute Stress Disorder is not alleviated Posttraumatic stress disorder develops.

A psychiatric disorder resulting from exposure to a highly stressful or traumatic event, with symptoms lasting for more than one month.

46
Q

DSM-5-TR Criteria for PTSD? (A-E)

We are not expected to memorize the enitre list. Just the main categories or 1 or 2 examples.

A

A. The Stressor: Direct exposure; Witnessing, in person; Indirectly, by learning that relative/friend exposed to trauma; Repeated or extreme indirect exposure to aversive details of event (e.g., on job).

  • Online exposure does not count, you have control to look away.

B. Intrusion: Recurrent, involuntary, & intrusive memories; Traumatic nightmares; Flashbacks; Intense distress to traumatic reminders; etc.

C. Avoidance: Avoidance of trauma-related thoughts/feelings, trauma- related external reminders (people, places, activities, objects, situations, etc.).

D. Negative Alterations in Cognitions/Mood: Persistent negative thoughts, emotions (fear, horror, anger, guilt); Lack of positive; Distorted blame of self or others for causing event; Diminished interest in activities; Alienation.

E. Alterations in Arousal: Irritable or aggressive behaviour; Reckless behaviour; Hypervigilance; Exaggerated startle response; Sleep disturbance, etc.

47
Q

DSM-5-TR Criteria for PTSD - F. > 1 month | G. Functional Significance | H. Exclusion?

A

The symptoms have to occur for more than 1 month.

Functional significance - need to impair on some part of their life.

Exclusion of like medicines, the symptoms are not caused by something else.

48
Q

PTSD & Cortisol Output?

A
  • People with PTSD show higher reactivity to new stress; but cortisol reactivity is unclear (inconsistent findings across research).
  • Research tends to show blunted (lower) diurnal cortisol output in PTSD…
  • Blunted normal cortisol output throughout the day.
  • When they encounter stress, their cortisol not always spike, sometimes it does the opposite.
  • Exhaustion phase, lower cortisol.
49
Q

Diathesis-Stress Model?

A

Person and environment interaction.

Resilient individuals or without predisposition. A predisposition can be genetic but also behavioural like smoking, or other psychological disorders.

Multiple people can encounter the same event but only a few will develop PTSD. 5%-60% will very difficult to estimate.

Support for diathesis-stress model in PTSD (plus other disorders) has been well documented.

50
Q

In the media…
Meme spotlight: Trauma “decontextualized”?

A
  • Tendency to assume that people are the way they are because things they’ve done.
  • Consider context, there might be a reason why someone are the way they are.
  • Example, intergenerational trauma, hustle culture.
51
Q

Posttraumatic Growth? (PTG)

A

Positive psychological changes following a highly challenging event or experience:
* Appreciation of life.
* Renewed commitment to goals; or new goals.
* Greater sense of personal strength.
* Greater intimacy in relationships.
* Warmer, more loving personality.

Wu et al. (2018, meta-analysis) – Nearly 50% experience PTG after trauma.

(You can experience both PTG and some symptoms of PTSD.)

52
Q

What determines PTSD vs. PTG?
Consider: What might lead a person to suffer rather than grow from a traumatic experience?

A

We’re not entirely certain, but research on PTSD suggests…
* Family history; prior/childhood trauma.
* Low openness to experience, low extraversion (personality).
* Peri-traumatic dissociation, perceived threat to life.
* Maladaptive coping responses (e.g., denial).
* Low post-trauma social support.
* Also: being a woman, low income/status, and low education.

53
Q

Why is it It is inaccurate to say “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”?

A

Statically it makes you more vulnerable.

Trauma changes your barin, it is not easy to overcome physicagical brain changes.

54
Q

Fight-Flight-or-Freeze ? When neither fight nor flight seem like enough and the fear is intense

A

You may feel paralyzed and unable to respond.
- A parasympathetic brake on the motor system (Roelofs, 2017).

May be a way to dissociate from highly dangerous and potentially traumatic events.
- Sometimes it’s adaptive, sometimes it’s not.

(Not very common about 5% of the population will engage in the freeze response.)

55
Q

Primary predictors of the freeze response?

A

Feelings of anxiety and panic during highly stressful events.
- The more intense the experience the more likely to freeze response.

AND…dissociation during high-stress
events increases likelihood of PTSD
- Freeze response in childhood more likely to engage in that behaviour again in the future.

Panic -> Freeze -> Trauma

56
Q

Adaptive Responses to Adversity?

Syme & Hagen (2020), biological anthropologists, suggest that PTSD, anxiety disorder, and major depressive disorder (MDD) may be functional/adaptive responses to adversity (despite aversive qualities).

A
  • Depression may help prevent future adversity by shifting attention/focus; anxiety is a response to threat; and PTSD involves avoidance of trauma-related stimuli and hypervigilance.
  • These disorders are relatively low in heritability, indicating that environmental factors play a large role (PTSD requires an event).
  • They are also quite common in the population, can occur at any age, and are more common in conflict-affected countries.

There responses might just be maladaptive in our modern world.

57
Q

Sources of Stress - Within the Individual?

A

llness and disease
Conflicting motivations (approach, avoidance) Frustrated goals

58
Q

Sources of Stress - Within one’s family / social network?

A

New addition to family
Relationship strain, separation, divorce Family illness, disability, death

59
Q

Sources of Stress - Within the community / society?

A

Within the community / society
Occupational stress
Environmental stress

60
Q

Occupational Stress?

A

Stress originating in the workplace or associated with one’s employment (or lack there of).

61
Q

Occupational Stress
What is the most stressful job?

A

Police Officers: routine stressors associated with PTSD symptomology and problem behaviours (e.g., gambling).

Nurses, ER Doctors: lower self-reported health and well-being, high burnout, higher PTSD symptomology, etc.

Truck Drivers: unhealthy lifestyle, being away from home, long hours lead to greater work strain.

62
Q

Occupational Stress Example: Paramedics & EMTs?

A

Among Canadian paramedics…
29% had PTSD symptoms (significantly higher than sample of Navy personnel)
44% had clinical symptoms of depression
74% also had 1+ symptoms of high burnout

  • Their job is very demanding, long hours,
  • Not a lot of control
63
Q

Demand-Control-Support Model of Occupational Stress?

Three factors proposed to predict stress & wellbeing on the job…

A

More stress, and less well-being when:
< Perceived demand
> Perceived control
> Perceived social support

Stress is lowest when perceived demand is low, perceived control is high, and perceived social support is high.

64
Q

Stress Contagion - Stress Spillover?

A

Occurs within the individual; Stress experienced at work can be brought home, or stress experienced at home can be brought to work.

65
Q

Stress Contagion - Stress Crossover?

A

Occurs between people; Stress experienced at work can be brought home and transmitted to the spouse, child(ren), etc.

Not just being upset or angry, but also not being able to help out with household chores, or being sad and the other people emphasise with that sadness.

66
Q

Stress Contagion in Paramedics?

Evidence of both spillover and crossover effects in our sample of medics and their spouses…

A
  • Medics’ work stress predicted increased evening and next day stress at home (controlling for AM stress).
  • Support from work partner predicted increased satisfaction with spouse and support provision to the spouse at home.
  • Spouses reported higher relationship satisfaction on days when medics had less tension with their work partners.

Contagious positive effects as well.

67
Q

Environmental Stress?

A

Aversive and primarily uncontrollable environmental stimuli; sometimes unpredictable, variable in duration and frequency.

Typically require low to moderate adjustments. Common examples: noise, crowding, air pollution

Or cataclysmic events
e.g., natural or human- caused disasters

68
Q

Living next to an airport count as an?

A

Environmental stressor

Proximity to airports is associated with
cortisol output, hypertension, and heart disease

69
Q

Can stress be good for you?

Selye (1974, 1985) differentiated between distress and eustress (from the Greek eu, which means “good”), which refers to stress that is beneficial or constructive.

A

A moderate level of stress is associated with optimal functioning.

It’s a bell curve.

Too much or too little stress and lead to decreased performance.

70
Q

Flow?

A

An optimal state of complete absorption in work, play, or creativity; arises spontaneously while engrossed.

Intense concentration, loss of self-awareness, loss of time awareness (or time ‘flying’), loss of environmental awareness, and feeling perfectly challenged (neither bored nor overwhelmed). The activity becomes an end in itself.

71
Q

Experiencing flow state is a good indicator of?

A

An indicator of mental health and optimal functioning.

72
Q

Flow as Optimal Arousal Model?

A

A match between the demands of a situation and the skills or abilities of the individual…
“the optimal experience”

Flow occurs in a very narrow space where demand and skill are on the same level.
- Right between stress and boredome.

73
Q

The effects of stress on health appear worse for those who believe it is…?

(TedTalk)

A

… harmful to their health.

But despite the risks, stress still functions to prepare us to respond to threats and meet the demands of life.
The Solution? Rethink/appraise your stress response as helpful, and your physical response as more similar to excitement and joy.

“This is my body helping me rise to the challenge!”

74
Q

Are there any additional benefits of stress (besides preparing us to respond to threats)?
Acute/moderate stress can…

A

acute/moderate (not chronic!)

  • Stimulate cell growth in brain’s learning centres.
  • Stimulate immune activity (but can also do the opposite).
  • Improve accuracy in cognitive tasks.
  • Reinforce good (and bad) habits, depending on how we respond to the stress.