Chapter 14 pt. 1: Stress and Health
Bellringer
 Fill
out the survey and find out if
your stressed.
 On
the back write out the things
that stress you out the most.
Then think about ways you can
cope with your stress or lessen it.
Agenda (Note: Beginning of Unit
12, another short one)
1. Bell Ringer: What causes stress? (5)
 2. Notes: Stress and Health Pt. 1(20)
 3. Bullying article and discussion (10)
 4. Stress activity (20)
 5. Video Clip: Getting into college
discussion (15)

Studying the Effects of Stress
on Health
Behavioral Medicine: field that combines
knowledge of biomedical perspective and
behavioral perspective to study and treat health
and illness. Term is often used interchangeably
with Psychiatry.
 Health Psychology: subfield of psychology
that is used to contribute to behavioral
medicine. Looks at psychological causes of
illness and stress (cognitive, environment,
social, biological, etc.)

Killers of Yesterday and Today
Percentage
U.S.deaths
30
Percentage
U.S.deaths
30
20
20
10
10
0
0
Tuber- Pneu- Diarrhea/ Heart
culosis monia enteritis disease
1900
Heart Cancer Strokes Chronic
disease
lung disease
1991
What is Stress?
 Stress
is the process by which we
respond to events, that we appraise
as threatening or challenging.
 Stressors: are the events/things that
stress us out!
Stress Is Not Caused By An
Event Itself!
 Cognition
affects how we react and
appraise an external event which affects
how we respond.
Stressors
Catastrophes
Life changes
Hassles
Intervening
factors
Appraisal
Perceived control
Personality
Social support
Coping behaviors
Stress
reactions
Physiological
Emotional
Behavioral
Stress Can Be Harmful or Helpful
Depending on Your Appraisal
Appraisal
Response
Threat
(“Yikes! This is
beyond me!”)
Panic, freeze up
Challenge
(“I’ve got to apply
all I know”)
Aroused, focused
Stressful event
(tough math test)
Yerkes-Dodson Principle of Arousal
(Remember?)
 Yerkes-Dodson Principle of Arousal:
general tasks are performed best with a
medium amount of stress/arousal.
Biology of Stress? What is
Activated When You Feel Stress?
 Stress-Response Cycle Includes:
– 1. Sympathetic and parasympathetic cycles
are activated
– 2. Withdraw. Pull Back. Conserve Energy.
– 3. Women- “Tend and Befriend”
Secondary Response Cycle
Animals and Humans Tend to React To
Stress
In
the
Same
Pattern.
 Hans Selye discovered the responsive cycle
for how we react to stress which he named
the:
 General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
– Phase 1: Alarm: activation of sympathetic
nervous system. (“Fight or Flight”)
– Phase 2: Resistance: arousal remains
high as you attempt to cope with the
stressor.
– Phase 3: Exhaustion: body becomes run
down with constant stress which can leave
you more vulnerable to illness or even death.
Diagram of GAS
The body’s resistance to stress can only
Last so long before exhaustion sets in
Stress
resistance
Stressor
occurs
Phase 1
Alarm
reaction
(mobilize
resources)
Phase 2
Resistance
(cope with
stressor)
Phase 3
Exhaustion
(reserves
depleted)
Stressful Life Events Can Create
Serious Health Risks

Categories of Stressful Life
Events:
– 1. Catastrophes: unavoidable
natural disasters, etc.
– 2. Significant Life Changes:
loss of loved one, leaving home,
loss of job, etc.
– 3. Everyday Hassles:
traffic, long lines at Best Buy, etc.
Perceived Control Effects
Health and Stress
 Stressful
events are
especially harmful if they
are perceived as
negative and
uncontrollable.
 Those who feel stressful
events are beyond their
control are also more
susceptible to illness
and disease.
The Rat With No Control Over
the Shocks Develops Ulcers
“Executive” rat
To shock control
“Subordinate” rat
To shock source
Control rat
No connection
to shock source
Other Influences on Health and
Stress
Poverty: poorer people are
more at risk for a premature
death.
 Inequality: areas where
there is a large
discrepancy/gap between
rich and poor have lower life
expectancies than areas
where differences are less
extreme.

Other Influences on Health and
Stress
Optimism-Pessimism:
Those with more
positive outlooks tend to
cope with stressful
events better and have
better health than those
who dwell on the
negative.
 Outlooks often tied to
feelings of control.

Persistent Day to Day Stress
May Lead to Burnout
 Burnout:
physical,
emotional, and
mental exhaustion
brought on by
persistent job-related
stress.
 Often common in
teachers, nurses, and
police officers.
Stress and Heart Disease
 Although
relatively rare in 1900, by the
1950s coronary heart disease has become
the leading cause of death in America.
 Coronary Heart Disease: when vessels
of heart are clogged which stops heart
muscles from being nourished.
 Many behavioral factors help contribute to
this disease but stress is also a major
factor.
Hopelessness and Heart
Disease
Hopelessness
scores
3.5
3
2.5
Men who feel extreme hopelessness
are at greater risk for heart attacks
and early death
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Heart attack
Low risk
Death
Moderate risk
High risk
Personality Type and Heart
Disease
 Type
A Personality: competitive, hard
driving, impatient, verbally aggressive,
and anger prone people.
 Type
B Personality: easy-going and
relaxed people.
 Who’s
at greater risk for heart disease?
Stress Related Illnesses
 Psychophysiological
Illnesses:
“mind-body” illnesses. Physical
illnesses caused by stress.
–Ex: Hypertension and some
headaches.
 Blood
pressure also increased by
too much stress.
 Are also referred to as
Psychosomatic disorders.
Somatoform Disorders (Not In
Book)
 Somatoform
Disorder: illnesses
where you have some physical symptoms
without an apparent physical cause.
Illnesses are said to be psychological in
nature.
 Theories about causes of somatoform
disorders are often rooted in
psychoanalytic theory.
 Illnesses are often referred to as
“Hysteria.”
Examples of Somatoform
Disorders
 Conversion:
when a person converts
intense emotional difficulties into the loss
of a specific physiological function.
– Ex: blindness or paralysis without a physical
cause.
 Symptoms
often have sudden onsets,
terminations, and reappearances.
 Behavior is unintentional and outside of
the conscious control of the patient.
Cortisol

The Stress Hormone: secreted at higher
levels during “fight or flight.”
– Increases in times of stress give your body
the energy to survive.

Too much over time and it can have a
negative impact on your health.
Examples of Somatoform
Disorders
 Hypochondriasis:
is
when a healthy person
becomes preoccupied
with imaginary
ailments. Person is
genuinely convinced
they are ill.
 Often associated with
OCD and anxiety
disorders
Examples of Somatoform
Disorders
 Factitious
Disorder: an
illness whose symptoms are
either self-induced or
falsified by the patient.
 Sometimes patients lie about
disorder to get attention or
sympathy; others are often
interested in receiving drugs Factitious
or other benefits associated Ulcer
with the feigned illness.
The Immune System and Stress
 Lymphocytes:
Main defender against
disease in immune system made up of
two types of white blood cells.
 B lymphocytes form in the bone marrow
and release antibodies that fight bacterial
infections
 T lymphocytes form in the thymus and,
among other duties, attack cancer cells,
viruses and foreign substances
Fighting Disease with Immune
System
 Macrophage:
other agent of
immune system which identifies,
pursues, and ingests harmful
invaders.
Problems with Immune System

Immune System can either react too strongly
or under react to harmful bodies.
– Over-reaction causes body to attack its own tissues.
Ex: arthritis, allergies, lupus, M.S.
– Under-reaction causes harmful bodies to spread.
Ex: cancer

Stress can divert energy away from the
immune system making illnesses more
likely.
Conditioning the Immune
System
 Experiments
UCS
(drug)
UCR
(immune
suppression)
CS
(sweetened
water)
CS
(sweetened
water)
UCS
(drug)
UCR
(immune
suppression)
CR
(immune
suppression)
have been
conducted
illustrating
power to
condition the
immune
system to
respond in
certain ways.
Promoting Health- Coping with
Stress
Aerobic Exercise
has positive
psychological and
physical benefits.
 Increases heart and
lung fitness and may
also help alleviate
depression and
anxiety.

Depression 14
score 13
No-treatment
group
12
11
10
Relaxation
treatment
group
9
8
7
6
Aerobic
exercise
group
5
4
3
Before treatmentAfter treatment
evaluation
evaluation
Using Biofeedback to Improve
Health
 Biofeedback:
system for
electronically
recording, amplifying,
and feeding back
information regarding
a subtle physiological
state like blood
pressure and muscle
tension.
Promoting Health
A
strong social network which offers
support strongly promotes health
during an illness and when healthy.
% with
high
support
Promoting Health
Spirituality and Faith
Communities has a strong
correlation with positive health
and enhancing medical treatment.
Possible reasons behind
correlation with religion?
Overview of Healthy and
Unhealthy Tendencies
Life events
Personal appraisal
Challenge
Threat
Personality type
Hostile
Depressed
Pessimistic
Easy going
Nondepressed
Optimistic
Personality habits
Nonsmoking
Regular exercise
Good nutrition
Smoking
Sedentary
Poor nutrition
Level of social support
Close, enduring
Lacking
Tendency toward
Health
Illness