4- Stress

Question 1

Cognitive appraisal of stress

Answer 1

Primary appraisal- is this thing actually stressful?

Secondary appraisal- can i deal w/ it? threat vs challenge to overcome

Question 2

Stressors

Answer 2

• environmental (weather, ie cold)
• Daily event (class, traffic)
• workplace pressure
• Social expectations/parties
• Chemical/biological stressors - ie getting sick, cancer, allergies

Question 3

Stressor classification by 2ndary appraisal

Answer 3

• Distress vs Eustress
• –distress = negative/ ie moving = oh gosh so much to do
• –eustress = positive / ie moving = omg so many new people, what a fun challenge / stressful but exciting

Social readjustment rating scale

• look at stressful things in people’s lives and assign a number to rate of severity- how much it will change your life (death of spouse = 100, cancer = 95, get fired = 50, traffic ticket = 10)
• if they add up to >300, you’re at risk of a physical illness; >100 = not great

Question 4

Types of psychological stressors

Answer 4

pressure
lack of control/predictability
frustration
conflict/difficult choices

Question 5

Physiological Response to stressors

Answer 5

-fight or flight
-General Adaptation Syndrome: alarm, resistance, exhaustion–>burnout
alarm- increase cortisol- increase resistance to stress, increase adrenaline
resistance- prolonged resistance to stress- peak resistance to stress
exhaustion- burnout; panic zone right before burnout
—neg physiological responses like ulcers, depressed immunity, organ system shut down, death

Question 6

Emotional responses to stress

Behavioral too

Answer 6

emotional- irritable, moody, frustrated, fear, helplessness

Behavioral- withdraw from others, difficulties at work/school, substance abuse, aggression, suicide

Question 7

Coping strategies, stress management

Answer 7

Coping strategies

• used in therapy, esp cognitive behavioral therapy
• problem-focused and emotional-focused
• problem-focused– cut out stressors
• emotional-focused– stop seeing it as a stressor- ex) phobias; incremental exposure- reduce negative appraisal of stressor over time– see it as challenge, good not bad

Stress management- exercise, relaxation techniques, spiritual practice

Question 8

Types of conflicts

Answer 8

Approach-approach- choosing between 2 desirable options

Avoidance-avoidance- 2 neg options/lesser evil

Approach-avoidance- dealing with one option with both pos and neg elements