Stress & Health

Stress & Health

Stress ► Used to describe the physical, emotional, cognitive and behavioral responses to events that                 are appraised as threatening or challeging

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Stressors

Stressors ► Stress-causing events

     i) Distress

           ►The effect of unpleasant and undesirable stressors.

     ii) Eustress

           ► The effect of positive events or the optimal amount of stress that people need to promote                      health and well-being.

  Example of stressors :-

•     Enviromental/Physical factors:
• Catastrophe
• an unpredictable large scale event that create a tremendous need to adapt and adjust.
• fire, floods, earthquake, etc.

• Major life changes
• ordinary life experiences, not necessarily negative events.
• marriage, going to college, etc.

• Hassles
• the daily annoyances of everyday life that leads to the causing of stress.
• picking what to eat for lunch, etc.

• Psychological factors:-
• Pressure
• produced by urgent demands or expectations for a person's behavior that come from outside source
• a student have to submit assignments on time.

• Uncontrollability
• when a person is prohibited from having any control over a particular events or situation.
• the less control the person has, the greater degree of stress.

• Frustration
• produced by the blocking of a desired goal or fulfillment of a perceived need.
• ways to overcome frustration;
• persistence ► continuation of effort.
• aggression  ► actions meant to harm.
• escape        ► leave the presence of stressors.

Conflict

     1. Approach-approach conflict

• conflict occurs when a person must choose between 2 goals.

     2. Avoidance-avoidance conflict

• conflict occurs when a person must choose between 2 desirable goals.

     3. Approach-avoidance conflict

• conflict occurs when a person must choose a goal that has both positive and negative impact.

     4. Multiple approach-avoidance conflict

• conflict in which the person must decide between more than 2 goals, with each goal possessing both positive and negative aspects.
• also known as double approach-avoidance conflict.

Coping with stress ► action that people can take to master, tolerate, reduce or minimize the effect                                           of stressors.

       1. Problem-focused coping

• eliminate the source of the stress or reduce the impact through direct action.

       2. Emotion-focused coping

• change the impact of a stressor by changing the emotional reaction towards the stressor.

       3. Meditation

• mental series of exercises meant to refocus attention and achieve translike state of consciousness.

        4. Culture/Religion

• on individual culture/religion beliefs can affect the appraisal of events as more/less stressful, the coping strategies adapted and support systems that can offer assistance.