Health Flashcards
(13 cards)
Psychological stress
The sense that challenges and demands surpass one’s current capacities, resources and energies
HPA Axis
Stressful events activate the
amygdala, a region of the brain that processes information related to threats. The amygdala stimulates the hypothalamus, which sends chemical messages to the pituitary gland to produce adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). ACTH stimulates the adrenal glands (near the kidneys) to release cortisol into the bloodstream.
What type of stress affects our health?
Chronic stress more than short-term stress
Rumination
The tendency to think about a stressful event and its causes, symptoms, and implications repeatedly and continually over time
What ways can you stop ruminating?
Name the stress
Break loose from your pattern of rumination by turning your attention away from these recurring thoughts
Stop strategy
Expressive writing
Writing about the focal emotions of current stresses and trauma in ways that bring about insight and reduced stress
Why might there be class-based health differences?
The physical environments of people from lower socioeconomic backgrounds might contribute to health-damaging chronic stress.
Lower-SES individuals have fewer resources and limited access to opportunities.
Lower-SES people may construe their lives in terms of occupying positions of subordinate status and this may damage their health.
Why are meaningful relationships good for our physical health?
Strong relationships provide support, which is beneficial for reducing stress
Spiegel Social Connection Study on Cancer Patients
Aim: Whether a sense of social connection would lead to more favorable outcomes during treatment for breast cancer.
Procedures: In one condition, they
engaged in weekly sessions of emotionally supportive group therapy with other breast cancer patients; in a second condition, participants were assigned to a nonintervention control group.
Results: Those in the group therapy
condition survived 18 months longer than women in the nonintervention control group did.
The impact of perceived control on health
A more pronounced sense of control leads to better health and well-being.
What are some tips for reducing stress?
Focus on an adaptive coping approach
Exercise
Sleep
Seek out positive emotions
Meditate
Langer and Rodin Sense of Control Study
Aim: Explore the effects of increasing the sense of control among
residents of a particular nursing home.
Procedures: On one fl oor,
Individuals were brought together and led in a discussion by a sta ff about personal responsibility and the various ways they had personal control in their residence . Each
participant then received a small plant and was asked to take care of it. In a second condition, on a neighboring floor, participants were told about all the things in the nursing home available to them, with no mention of their control. They too received plants but were told that the sta ff would water and care for them.
Results: Participants on the floor who emphasized personal control showed greater increases in happiness compared with those on the neighboring floor.
What is the effect of optimism on health?
A sense of optimism predicts better physical health in many different ways.
