health psychology

Question 1

what is health psychology?

Answer 1

health psych looks at the bidirectional relationship between psychology and thoughts

• how and why illness develops
• How to stay healthy
• The impact of illness
• Management of illness
  Treatment of illness.

Question 2

how has health psych changed from the past to contemporary?

Answer 2

lots of theories about the body and it’s equilibiram, churches, to now the great advances in technology etc.

Question 3

what is the biopsychosocial model of health? and how does each factor lead to understand various contributors of health & disease?

Answer 3

the biopsychosocial model talks about 3 factors that are interrelated in determining the body illnesses

biology, psychology and social factors

Question 4

what is in biology factor of biopsychosocial model of health?

Answer 4

biology
- genetics
- immune system
- endocrine ystem
- neurochemistry

Question 5

what is in psychology factor of biopsychosocial model of health?

Answer 5

Psychology:
- Perception
- Cognition
- Memory
- Attitudes & emotions
Appraisal and coping styles

Question 6

what is in social factor of biopsychosocial model of health?

Answer 6

• Social support
  
  • Family relationships
  • Culture
    Socio-economic status

Question 7

what is the difference between stress response & stressor ?

Answer 7

Stress response: tension, discomfort, symptoms that arise following experience of a stressor

Stressor: situation/ stimulus that strains our coping abilities

Stress is a:
* Stimulus
* Is a response
* Is a process

Question 8

what is appraisal on stress?

Answer 8

appraisal is the interpretation or evaluation of a situation (usually very quick)

two main stages of appraisal:

1. Primary appraisal: relevance/ salience and valence 
- "is this important for me?"
- "is this good or bad?" 

2. Secondary appraisal: coping  "do I have the capacity to deal with this?" 

• we have habits in our appraisal stages e.g. we have habits that can make us to positively or negatively appraise a situation.

Question 9

what are some more specific distinctions in appraisals?

Answer 9

1. Challenge vs threat appraisals:
   
   • Same situations, same potential stressor, but two different ways of conceptualising it
   • It will dictate what it is you do to deal with the situation.
2. Dispositional similarities and situational differences:
   
   • Individual appraisal styles
     e.g. being an optimistic, negative.

Question 10

what are the different types of coping? & give specific definitions of each:

Answer 10

1. reappraisal
   - actively trying to evaluate or reframe how we think about a situation
2. acceptance
   - what can you control in the situation
3. distraction
   - procrastination
4. rumination
   - repetitive thinkiing

Question 11

difference between problem-focused and emotion-focused coping?

Answer 11

Problem focused:
* Coping behaviours that externally deal with a problem e.g. organising a schedule etc

Emotion focused:
* Coping strategies you engage that deal with the emotion that you feel out of distress.
e.g. meditation

Question 12

difference between practical/active vs avoidant coping?

Answer 12

practical:
- planning an assignment

avoidant:
- distraction

Question 13

coping can either be;

Answer 13

1. emotion or problem focused
2. practical/ avoidant
3. adaptive/ maladaptive

Question 14

important thing to know about coping:

Answer 14

• they can be good or bad depending on how you use each.

Question 15

how does stress affect health?

Answer 15

physiologically and psychologically

physiologically:
- increases blood pressure
- release of stress hromones
- suppresion of immune system (other parts of systems are suppressed to focus on something else)

psychologically:
- less sleep/rest
- less exercise
- less social support
- less healthy good

Question 16

what are some physiological response to stress (including benign stressors to functional somatic health disorders)

Answer 16

Benign:
- increases blood pressure
- release of stress hromones
- suppresion of immune system (other parts of systems are suppressed to focus on something else)

Functional somatic;
- functional gastrointestinal disorders: - disorders of braiin-gut interaction
- irritable bowel syndrome

Question 17

what is the process of pain:

Answer 17

1. situmulation at local tissue site
2. chemical release
3. travelliing through many brain regions

Question 18

is pain psychological?

Answer 18

yes, because pain can be generated without physical input e.g. the rubber hand illusion

• negative mood causes same input to be more painful

Question 19

what is the placebo effect:

Answer 19

• Positive effect results not from any active treatment, but purely from patient’s belief in or expectations of treatment:
• There are different variations of placebos
  Can question whether if pain can be created in the mind. Can we treat through the mind?

Question 20

how can placebo effect change health psychology?

Answer 20

Can question whether if pain can be created in the mind. Can we treat through the mind?

Question 21

what is an example of placebo effeect for pain management?

Answer 21

• the use of VR for pain management

Question 22

what is the mechanisms of placebo:

Answer 22

1. expectancy theory
2. conditioning
   - conditioned response beween stiimulus and respnse of what you thiink yooure takiing and the experience you had in the past.

Question 23

what is involved in placebo?

Answer 23

happens through endogenous opiods and neurotransmitters (dopamine and serotonin) - parts of prain that light off and light up when involved in pain regulation and management.

Question 24

what are the ethics of placbeo?

Answer 24

• deception but can be solved by letting people know they may be in control or placebo group.

Question 25

questions of functinal somatic health disorderS?

Answer 25

does psychological distess cause GI symptoms or do GI symptoms cause psychhoological distress? although: mental health preceeds before GI symptoms

Question 26

what is a popular functional somatic health disorder?

Answer 26

e.g. FGID functional gastrointestinal disorders: - disorders of brain-gut interaction - irritable bowel syndrome most common and have high comorbidity with mental health issues

Question 27

more in depth of the biopsychosocial model in order

Answer 27

1. genetics & environmental factors - early life experiences - parental beliefs and behaviours - social support - culture - trauma - social learning these influence

Question 28

how is the brain-gut connected?

Answer 28

coolonies of bugs stimulate body's immune response & activate the HPA axis! this axicus allows for communication between gut microbiota, immune system, metabolism, central nervous system.

Question 29

what are some psychological treatment of GI? and how is hypersensitivity related to it?

Answer 29

cognitive behavioural therapy, behavioural therpy, hypnosis, mindfulness, relaxation * people with IBS found that there is more brain activation when prrocessing pain thann those without, from same level of stimulation and it's not a conscious perception, but just reacting to pain.

Question 30

what can psychotherapy increase and decrease?

Answer 30

psychotherapy decreases; - gi specific anxiety - catastrophising - believing things that are worse than already is? increases; - reinterpretation of pai symptoms - non reactivity - brain activity in pain processincentres

Question 31

how can psychologist help individuals achieve optimal mental & physical health?

Answer 31

psychotherapy: - e.g. CBT they can help through understanding how people might respond to and cope with the threat, and thenmake changes according to:

Question 32

what is the nocebo effect?

Answer 32

The nocebo effect is the opposite of the placebo effect. It describes a situation where a negative outcome occurs due to a belief that the intervention will cause harm. Placebo is defined as an inert substance that provokes perceived benefits, whereas the term nocebo is used when an inert substance causes perceived harm.