Module 43:
Stress and Health
Stress
• Stress – the process by which we perceive and respond to certain
events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging
• How we think about an event influences how much stress we
experience and how effectively we respond
– “I’ve got to pass this test. If I don’t my college aspirations are over!” OR
– “This is just one test of many I’ll need to take. If it doesn’t go well, I can always
do some test corrections and try studying with a partner next time”
• Two types of stress
– Distress – stress that is perceived as negative; those events we
typically think of when we think of “stress”
• A job with a horrible boss or a family member with cancer
– Eustress – stress perceived as positive, but it still involves
heightened arousal
• Playing for the state championship in your sport
– Both can be bad for us if we endure them over a long period of
time.
The Effects of Stress
• When short-lived, or we perceive them as challenges, stressors can
have positive effects
– Mobilize the immune system
– Arouses and motivates us to solve problems
– Adversity (such as rebounding from a lost job) can beget growth
• But extreme or prolonged stress can harm us by lowering our
resistance to infections and threatening our mental and physical
well-being
– People who lose their jobs (especially later in their career) have been
found to have a higher risk of heart problems and death
– Troops who have PTSD have higher rates of circulatory, digestive,
respiratory, and infectious diseases
– Brain’s production of new neurons slows and some neural circuits
degenerate with prolonged stress
• Telomeres (pieces of DNA at the end of chromosomes) may also shorten
Stressors
• Three main types of stressors:
– Catastrophes
• Unpredictable large-scale events, such as wars,
earthquakes, floods, wildfires, and famines
• Can negatively affect physical and mental health
– Significant life changes
• Life transitions can cause stress
• More vulnerable to diseases around big life changes
– Daily hassles
• Ex: rush-hour traffic, aggravating siblings, long lunch
lines, too many things to do, and family frustrations – these
can add up and cause stress
• Counterparts to daily hassles are daily uplifts – pleasant
and satisfying experiences, like hearing good news, getting a good night of
sleep, or solving a difficult problem
The Stress Response System
• Fight or flight – sympathetic nervous system
increases heart rate and respiration, diverts
blood from digestion to skeletal muscles, dulls
feelings of pain, and release sugar and fat
from the body’s stores
• The hypothalamus and pituitary gland tell the
the adrenal glands to secrete glucocorticoid
stress hormones such as cortisol
• General adaptation syndrome (on next slide)
General Adaptation Syndrome
• General adaptation syndrome (GAS) – Hans
Selye’s concept of the body’s adaptive response to
stress in three phases–alarm, resistance,
exhaustion
– Seyle proposed that the body’s response to stress is so
general that it sounds no matter what the stressor is
– The human body copes well with temporary stress, but
prolonged stress can damage it
General Adaptation Syndrome
• General adaptation syndrome (GAS)
– Phase 1: alarm reaction – body mobilizes
resources
• Sympathetic nervous system is activated
• Heart rate increases, blood goes to skeletal
muscles
– Phase 2: resistance – fully engaged,
summoning all your resources to meet the
challenge
• Adrenal glands release hormones into
bloodstream
• Temperature, blood pressure, and respiration
remain high
– Phase 3: exhaustion – body’s reserves run
out
• More vulnerable to illness or collapse and
death in extreme cases
• Try describing the General Adaptation
Syndrome for taking a final exam or asking
someone out on a date
G.A.S. – An Example
The Stress Response System
• Can deal with stress by withdrawing, pulling back, and
conversing energy
• Or seek and give support
– Tend-and-befriend response – under stress, people (especially
women) often provide support to others (tend) and bond with
and seek support from others (befriend)
• Ex: help after a natural disaster
• Men more often than women tend to socially withdrawn, turn
to alcohol, or become aggressive when faced with stress
• Women more often respond by nurturing and banding
together
– Oxytocin (a stress-moderating hormone released by cuddling between
humans) may play a role in this
– Women’s brains become more active in areas used for face processing
and empathy while men’s becomes less active