Building Resilience to Stress
David L. Swihart M.C. LPC
UA Life & Work Connections
621‐2493
Types of Stress

Acute Sudden, intense, brief
Acute ‐
Sudden intense brief

Traumatic – The result of an experience that provokes fear, horror and p
helplessness

Chronic ‐ Ongoing, fluctuating in intensity

Cumulative – Builds up over time
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Normal Dendrites
Dendrites Shortened due
to Chronic Stress
Source: McEwen, BS. www.cyberounds.com.
Used by permission.
The above images demonstrate a comparison of a clinically
depressed patient (right) compared to a matched control (left).
In the color scheme, blue represents less activity (glucose
metabolism) while red represents more (glucose metabolism).
Source: http://www.musc.edu/psychiatry/fnrd/petdep.htm (Medical University of South Carolina).
Used by permission.
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Stress: Immediate Effects

Ischemic pts: 2x increase in risk for MI Ischemic
pts: 2x increase in risk for MI
within 1 hour

“Mental stress” induced ischemia associated with  vascular resistance

Exercise induced ischemia NOT
associated with  vascular resistance.
(Cacciapo, Tassmory & Bernstein, 2000)
Chronic Stress: Effects

 Risk (2x) for Metabolic Syndrome Risk (2x) for Metabolic Syndrome (Chandola, et (Chandola et
al., 2006)
 Hypertension : +15/+7 in “unfair” working conditions. +10/+5 assoc. 16%  CHD risk, 38%  Stroke risk (Wager, et al., 2003)
 Coping Ability can alter risk for CVD p g
y
((Keltikangas‐
g

Jarvinen, et al, 2001)
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Anger

Above median hostility => 9.5 x more Above
median hostility > 9 5 x more
likely to have Ca score 20+ (ages 18‐30)
(Iribarren, et al., 2000)

Trait anger => (normotensive) 2.2 x higher risk CHD (hypertensive) No Dif
higher risk CHD, (hypertensive) No Dif
(Williams, et al., 2000)
Depression

11.6 x higher risk for development of 6 x higher risk for development of
CHD. (Anda et al, 1993)

Post‐MI depression increases risk of death 4.1 x (Bush, et al., 2001)
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Sleep Problems

Insomnia
– Hard to get to sleep
– Hard to get back to sleep

Disrupted sleep
– Poor quality of sleep
q
y
p

Productivity Cost: ~$2‐3,000/emp/year
LONG-TERM HEALTH CONSEQUENCES
Heart Disease
High
g Blood Pressure
Insulin Resistance
Suppressed Immune System - infections
Hyper Immune Response - autoimmune disorders
Ulcers, GERD, IBS
Osteoporosis
Diabetes
Rheumatoid Arthritis
Neuron Death & Brain Shrinkage
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Social Support

Social Support
Social Support
– Protective factor
– Alters perception of approaching stressors
 Supportive Supervisors & Organizations
–  Work‐family conflict (Goff, Mount, & Jamison, 1990 J
1990;Jones & Butler, 1980).
& B tl 1980)
–  Employee job satisfaction (Parasuraman et al., 1992),
–  Organizational commitment (Scandura &Lankau, 1993).
HOW FAT IS YOUR MARGIN?
Margin: Your moment by moment ability
to cope with a new stressor
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Exercise: Manifestations of Stress
 Physical
 Cognitive
 Psychological/Emotional
y
g
 Spiritual
Stress Response Process
Stressors
Perception of stressor
Physical Responses
Behavioral Responses
Health Outcomes
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Our Perceptions of Life
E
Events...
t
Determine Our Emotional
Responses
Perception: Added Meaning
 Meaning associated with Meaning associated with
stressor event
 Built historically
 Meanings can be Changed
 Ask “Dumb” Questions
– Why…
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Common Perceptions?
Resilience
 Identify (Mis)Perception
Identify (Mis)Perception
 Work to Change Your Perception
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Characteristics of Resiliency

Playful Childlike Curiosity
Playful, Childlike Curiosity
–
–
–
–
–
–
Asks lots of questions;
Wants to know how things work;
Plays with new developments;
Makes mistakes
Learns from experience
Trusts intuition and hunches
Characteristics of Resiliency

Mentally and Emotionally Flexible
– Comfortable with contradictory personality qualities, (e.g., Strong vs. Gentle, Logical vs. Intuitive, Calm vs. Emotional)
– Has Good Friendships, Loving Relationships
– Can Have Feelings w/o Feelings Having Them
– Reads Others with Empathy
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Characteristics of Resiliency

Has Solid Self‐Esteem and Self‐Confidence
– Self‐Confidence = Reputation with yourself
– Expects Things to Work Out Well
• “Its just a problem to be solved”
– Defends Self Well
• Avoids/Blocks Attacks
• Sees Through Cons
• Sidesteps Games
Characteristics of Resiliency

Positive Emotion and Laughter
Positive Emotion and Laughter
–
–
–
–
Humor
Gratitude
Interest
Love
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Characteristics of Resiliency

Hardiness
– The commitment to find meaningful purpose in life;
– The belief in one’s ability to influence surroundings or outcomes;
– The belief that one can grow and learn Th b li f h
dl
from both positive and negative experiences.
Bonnano (2004), Siebert (2003)
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