Unit 6 – Adjustment and
Breakdown
Stress and Health
Sources of Stress
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What is stress?
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Event, response, or perception of a
situation that causes conflict
Person’s reaction to their inability to cope
with a certain tense event or conflict
Sources of Stress
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Components of stress:
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Stress-causing event or situation = stressor
Stress reaction – often negative
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From acute anxiety or pressure = distress ??
(harassment, mugging, illness, breakup…)
Always bad?
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From motivating challenges = eustress ??
(precompetition nerves, stage jitters…)
Sources of Stress
Conflict situations:
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Must choose between two or more options with
conflicting motives…examples ??
4 different types:
1.
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2.
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Both good = approach-approach ??
(accepted to 2 colleges, concert or ballgame, invited to
2 parties…)
Both bad = avoidance-avoidance ??
(study physics or math, study or do chores, bad job or
no job…)
Sources of Stress
3.
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4.
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One good one bad = approach-avoidance ??
(ask for raise – get raise or get fired, ask for
date – get date or get rejected, ask parents to
go out – yes or no…)
Multiple options with good and bad = double
approach-avoidance ??
(2 vacation choices, aggressive or
conservative golf shots…)
Sources of Stress
Why do some people view a situation
as stressful but others don’t?
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Level of stress you feel depends on how
you appraise the situation
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Immediate evaluation of a situation = primary
appraisal
Deciding how to deal / cope with the situation
= secondary appraisal
Sources of Stress
Environmental ??
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noise, crowding…
Life changes ??
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teenage issues…
SRRS
Male participants rated on scale of 1-100.
Concerns: one stressor creates / compounds another
scale doesn’t assess ongoing stressors (poverty, racism etc.)
Sources of Stress
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Hassles - relatively minor, day-to-day events,
gradually weaken body’s defense system ??
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slow traffic, lose keys, forget homework…
Uplifts – small, positive events
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doing well on test, winning match, nice visit with
a friend…
Reactions to Stress
How do people react?
(Physical, behavioral, psychological)
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We are holistic organisms
Mind over matter
Will to live
Reactions to Stress
Hans Selye – identified 3 stages in the
body’s stress reaction General Adaptation
Syndrome
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1.
2.
3.
Alarm – fight or flight, heartrate & breathing
faster, more alert, muscles tense, pupils dilate
Resistance – find means of coping with stressor,
may develop psychosomatic symptoms (real
physical symptoms caused by stress & tension)
Exhaustion – adrenaline depleted,
disorientation, delusions
Reactions to Stress
Types of reactions??
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Emotional
Cognitive
Behavioral
Physical
Reactions to Stress
Emotional:
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Anxiety – vague, generalized
apprehension or feeling of danger (most
common response to sudden & powerful
stressor)
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Anger – irate reaction to frustration
Fear – real or imagined danger
Overreacting to minor irritations, self
doubt, tension, short temper
Reactions to Stress
Cognitive:
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Difficulty concentrating, thinking
Recurring thoughts, worry
Poor decision making
Unjustified suspicion, distrust
Continued frustration - burnout
Reactions to Stress
Behavioral:
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Nervous habits (pacing, trembling)
Gulp meals
Smoke, drink, take drugs
Become lethargic, aggressive
Lose interest in eating, grooming
Escape, unemployment
Not all bad - heroism, cooperation
Reactions to Stress
Physical:
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Psychosomatic - real physical symptoms caused
by stress and tension??
(headaches, stomachaches, muscle pain,
insomnia, migraines, sweating, dry mouth)
(urinary / bowel trouble, ulcers, hypertension,
arthritis, asthma, heart disease)
(indirect contribution to illness - tampers with
immune system)
Reactions to Stress
What factors influence individual reactions?
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Personality
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Type A – irritable, impatient, hostile, extremely
competitive, eat/move fast – impact on health??
(constant adrenaline flow, coronary artery disease,
heart attacks)
Type B – relaxed, patient, better coronary health
Emotional expressiveness (don’t express – cancer risk)
Perceived control
Social support
Coping with Stress
How do we decide how to cope with
stressors?
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(cognitive appraisal-> interpretation of
event -> stress impact)
Coping with Stress
If threatened, how might we cope?
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Defensive coping strategies ??
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3 groups see gruesome film, one told nothing
one told events not real – denial = decide
event isn’t a stressor
one told film is educational, importance of
safety – intellectualization = emotionally
detached viewpoint, block out feelings
control group had higher stress levels
Coping with Stress
If challenged, how might we cope?
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Active coping strategies ??
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hardiness = belief we can control out
situation, commitment to establish and pursue
goals, and view situation as a challenge
control – escape, withdraw, manage timing
problem solving – rational analysis
explanatory style – style of thinking:
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Optimist = puts best face on any set of events
Pessimist = always sees the dark side
Coping with Stress
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progressive relaxation
meditation
biofeedback
humor to release pent up feelings and
maintain perspective
exercise
support groups, professional help
training
improving interpersonal skills
Stress in Your Life
Adjusting to college, work force
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College shock – people from diverse backgrounds, challenges
high school identity
Autonomy = taking care of yourself & making decisions
Developmental friendships = close relationships that force friends
to reexamine ideas and beliefs (Madison – this & student culture
have more impact than professors)
Resynthesis = combining old ideas with new ones, reorganizing
feelings, renew identity
Comparable worth = concept that men & women should receive
equal pay for jobs with comparable skill and responsibility
Work satisfaction – coworker relationships, challenge, comfort