Stress 1 Flashcards
(159 cards)
What does stress tell us about our bodies?
Our body is preparing us for survival (fight or flight)
What can stress people?
- Exams
- Grades
- Deadlines
- Traffic
- Family relationships ̈ Facebook posts
- Careers
What is not a significant stressor in our lives now compared to our evolutionary past lives?
1) Being eaten/preyed on
2) Catching and hunting food in the wild
What stresses a zebra?
1) Serious physical injury
2) Predators (e.g. lions)
3) Starvation
Who wrote a book on “Why zebras don’t get ulcers”?
Sapolsky 1994
Sapolsky 1994 wrote….?
“Why zebras don’t get ulcers”
What is stress?
A situation that ‘causes stress’ to a system
(e.g. aversive event)
Simply = something in the environment that causes us to respond in a specific way (stressed)
Is stress precise?
Stress is imprecise (a term used too often in everyday language; lost its true meaning)
A situation that ‘causes stress’ to a system
(e.g. aversive event)
What is this?
Stress
The way we respond to a stressor
What is this?
Stress reactivity
What is stress reactivity?
The way we respond to a stressor
2022 Liz Truss - ended up avoiding PM questions when under substantial stress
Is this high or low stress reactivity?
High stress reactivity (did not endure criticism and hate well)
2011 Donald Trump - after a scathing review, Trump sent the journalist a picture of herself with ‘face of a dog!,’ scrawled on it.
Is this high or low stress reactivity?
Low stress reactivity (endured criticism and hate well)
How does our body change when we feel stress?
- Changes in breathing
- Exacerbate existing mental health conditions
- Changes in eating behaviour
- Diarrhea/ constipation
How does our breathing change when we feel stressed?
We feel more anxious when there’s a stressor around
- Increased risk of asthma attack/ emphysema
- Hyperventilation during stress – increased risk of a panic attack in those with panic disorder (especially people with psychiatric disorders)
How does our eating behaviour change when we feel stressed?
We might eat more or less than usual
e.g. During exam season, you feel more stressed than usual and thus, eat a lot more junk food than usual
What does stress predict?
Mental health conditions
Based on DSM, many conditions are brought about by highly stressful points in one’s life
What is it called when stress is prolonged?
Chronic stress
What is Chronic stress?
When stress is prolonged and your body is in constant fight-or-flight mode
What happens to our bodies if we experience chronic stress?
- Muscles of the body are in a constant state of guardedness (tensed)
- Tension-type headaches/ migraines
- Long-term heart/ blood problems which leads to Hypertension and increased risk of a Heart attack
Why study stress?
Study the evidence that actually shows that health problems and chronic stress symptoms are more likely to occur due to stress
Who conducted a multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis?
Everson-Rose et al. 2014
What did Everson-Rose et al. 2014 do to investigate the effects of stress?
1) Did a multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis (heart problems)
2) A population-based study of 6749 adults (45-84 years old, free of cardiovascular disease)
3) Did a follow-up over an average of 8.5 years (to observe what happened to them)
4) Stress was measured as a burden in 5 domains to try and predict whether the participants went on to have heart problems at the longitudinal, follow-up point
What were the 5 domains of stress burden in Everson-Rose et al.’s study?
- Health problems
- Health problems of others (whether they had to care for other people)
- Job or ability to work problems
- Relationships
- Finances