2. Fight or Flight, or Frenzy? Understanding Stress Flashcards
L-2 Health Tips?
- Stress is ‘in your head’ (but that doesn’t mean it’s your fault).
- Avoid traffic jams - they could kill you.
- In an emergency, do NOT freeze!
- Find your zone, and try to stay in it.
Where is the stress occurring?
In the head, between the transaction between the individual and environment.
Seeing stress as a stimulus?
Stress is defined as a stimulus or change in the environment.
A stressor requiring us to respond.
What is the issue with seeing stress as a stimulus?
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.
Types of stressors - Acute stressors?
- Limited
- E.g. running late, fight, accident
Types of stressors - Chronic stressors?
- Prolonged, repeated
- E.g. job strain, poverty
- Chronic stressor indicate a difficulty overcoming the stimulus.
- Chronic stressors are more harmful to health.
Major life events?(which approach does this model adopt?)
- Adopts stress as stimulus approach.
- All change whether positive or negative is inherently stressful, because it requires change of the individual.
Major Life Events Scale?
- 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.
Issues with the Major Life Events Scale?
- 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.
Life Event Stress & Colds?
More stressful life events = increased likelihood of contracting cold virus
Linear relationship, with each added stressful life events high infection rates and symptoms.
Daily Hassels?
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.
Major life event stress or daily hassles, which in more influential on health? And why?
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
Stress as a Response? + Stress Reactivity?
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.
What is an essential component of the Stress as a Response theory?
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.
What is strain?
The effect on the physical body from the emotions of stress, like fear and worry
What is the Fight-or-Flight Response?
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!
What neurotransmitters are being realised in response to stress - Epinephrine / Norepinephrine?
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.
What neurotransmitters are being realised in response to stress - Cortisol (“The Stress Hormone”)?
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).
What is important to note about the cortisol feedback loop’s function?
The feedback loop is only working in an ideal situation where you can recover from the stress.
Measuring cortisol?
An important biomarker of stress.
Measured by:
- chewing on cotton swabs
- Urine
- Blood
- Average corital by hair follicles
Why is cortisol difficult to study?
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
Stress as a Transaction?
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).
Transactional Model of Stress?
- 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.
Transactional Model of Stress - Primary Appraisal?
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.
Transactional Model of Stress -Secondary Appraisal?
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.
Transactional Model of Stress - 2 types of control?
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
Stages of the Stress Transaction? (step-by-step + discrepancy)
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.
Measuring Stress Appraisal?
Perceived Stress Scale
Measures stress from a more psychological perspective that leaves room from individual appraisal, to look at overall perceived stress.
Factors affecting Appraisal - Personal Factors?
Personality, self-esteem, motivation, perfectionism, etc.
Neuroticism -> stress appraisal
Extroversion -> more social resources to handle the stress.
