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What is stress?
Responding to stress
Coping with stress
Stress and health
Posttraumatic stress disorder
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Stress — response to a situation that threatens, or appears to threaten, one’s sense of well being
Stressor — something that triggers a stress response
Two types of stressors
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Acute stressor — short-term finite stressful situation
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Studying for finals, competing in a football game
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Chronic stressor — long-term stressor with no definitive end
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Poverty, high-pressure job
Our appraisal and perception of a situation triggers the emotional state connected to stress
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Feeling frustrated — an emotion experienced when something prevents us from reaching a goal
Feeling pressure — an expectation or demand that one should act in a certain way
Feeling conflict — discomfort due to two or more incompatible goals or impulses
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Approach-approach conflict — equally desirable options
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Avoidance-avoidance conflict — equally undesirable options
Approach-avoidance conflict — both good and bad in any available choice
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 Feeling endangered — Life-threatening situations produce stress
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 Daily hassles — small, everyday problems that accumulate to become a source of stress — microstressors
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Bad or rude drivers
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Cannot find keys or cell phone
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 Life changes — altered circumstances requiring adjustment
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Marriage, death, finals, break up, starting university or a new school
Social Readjustment Rating Scale
(SRRS) — assigns life change units to various events that can occur in one’s life
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Does not apply equally to all cultures or populations
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High scores on the SRRS are related to health problems
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 Traumatic events — unexpected disruptive events
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Natural disaster, witness or victim to violence
Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) — an anxiety disorder caused by a major traumatic event, characterized by lingering and persistent, frightening thoughts or memories of the event, along with anxiety and depression
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Chronic negative situations — continued negative situation
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Living in a dangerous place, poverty, illness, job stress
Sociocultural conditions — challenges associated with minority groups
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Immigrating, racism, and prejudice
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Stereotype threat — suspicions, confusion, and resulting vigilance experienced by minority group members as they interact with majority group members
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Significant stressor for minority group members, but often invisible to those in the majority group
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 The fight-or-flight response — during stress, your body makes you feel like you either want to fight or run.
How?
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HPA pathway — hypothalamus, pituitary, adrenal gland
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Hypothalamus — stimulates nerves in the sympathetic nervous system to stimulate organs to respond
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Pituitary gland releases ACTH hormone
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Adrenal glands release stress hormones
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 Under fire — riot police were in extreme danger during the riot following the Vancouver Canuck loss in 2011
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Some theorists argue that the fight-or-flight response may be a largely male response, and suggest that evolution may have selected a “tend-and-befriend” response to cope with stress in females
Regardless of the mechanism, in general females are more likely to have extensive and wellmaintained social networks than are males
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Three stage response to ongoing stress
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Alarm
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Body’s reaction to initial exposure to stressor (fightor-flight)
Resistance
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Body’s attempt to stabilize if stressor continues
May result in vulnerability to disease
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Exhaustion
Further exposure to stressor depletes energy and resistance
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 Alarm stage — as the wildfire moved closer to
Slave Lake, Alberta, in
2011, residents moved into an alarm mode, struggling to flee the fire as quickly as possible.
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In addition to bodily arousal, stress triggers emotions and changes mood
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The greater the amount of stress, the more negative the emotions associated with stress
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Anxiety, fear, anger, apprehension
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As stressors subside, mood becomes more positive
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Appraisal is key in ability to handle stressful situations
Richard Lazarus — cognitive-mediational theory of emotions
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Primary appraisal — appraisal of stressor (how big a stressor is it)
Secondary appraisal — appraisal of resources and one’s ability to deal with stressor
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Autonomic reactivity and stress
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Differences in intensity of autonomic nervous system (ANS) reaction
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Example: Individuals consistently displayed either high or low cardiovascular activity in response to stressor
Explanatory style and stress
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Generally optimistic style
Generally pessimistic style
Social support and stress
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More social support seems to correlate with less stress
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Support may increase self-confidence in dealing with stressors
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Social feedback may alter one’s perception of stressor
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Presence of others reduces bodily arousal and negative emotions
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 Personality and stress
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Hardy, or stress-resistant personality — welcome challenges, take control, view stressors as growth opportunities
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Type A personality — style resulting in continual stress
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Personality traits: competitive, impatient, angry, hostile
Type B — experience lower levels of stress
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Personality traits: more relaxed, less aggressive, less hostile
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Type C — particularly vulnerable to stress
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Personality traits: positive attitudes but unable to express or acknowledge negative feelings, tend to turn the anger inward
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 Coping — cognitive and behavioural strategies to manage stress
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Lashing out —p sychological or physical
Self-defence —d efensive, avoidant behaviours to protect oneself from stress
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Self-indulgence —a lcohol, drugs, overeating
Constructive strategies
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Problem-focused coping — efforts aimed at a stressor
Emotion-focused coping — changing feelings about the stressor
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Strong relationship between stress and health
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Psychosomatic or psychophysiological
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Interaction between psychological and biological factors
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Coronary heart disease
• Psychological (e.g., Type A) and biological
(e.g., obesity)
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Life change and illness
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Life stressors (SRRS) linked to physical illness
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Stress and the immune system
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Psychoneuroimmunology — studies links between stress, the immune system, and health
Immune system — organs, tissues, and cells that identify and fight bodily invaders (e.g., viruses, bacteria, cancer cells)
Lymphocytes — white blood cells, key in fighting bacterial and viral invaders
Biochemical activity
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Norepinephrine
Cortisol
Cytokines
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Behavioural changes in response to stress can affect the immune system
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Anxiety and/or depression may trigger other behaviours
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Examples: Smoking, alcohol or drug use, sleep deprivation
These behaviours result in slowed immune system
Personality traits improve immune system functioning and resilience in dealing with stress
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Examples: Optimism, constructive coping, and ability to
“bounce back”
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People exhibiting Type C behaviour pattern appear to be more at risk for cancer
Social support helps to shield us from the negative effects of stress
Examples: Church, family, community
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When is stress a good thing?
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Eustress — optimal stress level
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Promotes physical and psychological health
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Inoculation — dealing with small levels of stress to improve functioning in increasingly stressful situations
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PTSD — anxiety disorder in response to a traumatic event
Symptoms of PTSD
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Memories, dreams, or nightmares about event
Avoid activities, thoughts, feelings, conversations that are reminders of the event
Depression, anxiety, guilt, fear, helplessness
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Sleep problems; may feel detached from others
What events cause PTSD?
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Most commonly combat, natural disasters, abuse, and victimization
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Can occur at any age, even in childhood
10% of Canadians during course of lifetime
Twice as common in women than men
Biological factors
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Intense biochemical reactions that continue far beyond fight-or-flight
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Examples: Increased cortisol and norepinephrine in rape victims and others who experienced severe stressors
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May have exaggerated sympathetic nervous system responses and blunted HPA axis responses to stress
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May have a smaller hippocampus or the biochemical arousal may eventually shrink the hippocampus
© John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd.

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After a traumatic event:
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Personality traits associated with decreased likelihood of developing PTSD
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Examples: Optimism, constructive coping, more resilient
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Childhood experiences may increase risk of developing
PTSD
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Examples: Poverty, abuse, family psychological disorders, experienced a catastrophe at a young age
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Social environment
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Individuals with weak social support are more likely to experience PTSD
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