unit 3 aos 1

• Define stress


  a state of psychological and physiological state of tension in response to a stimulus
• What are external stressors? Including examples.


  a stimulus from outside of a persons body that prompts the stress response, often including daily pressures and life events. e.g. upcoming exam, overworking at a job
• What are internal stressors? Including examples.


  a stimulus from within a persons body that prompts the stress response - can be physiological or psychological

  e.g. hunger, pessimistic attitude, low self esteem
• Eustress vs distress?

  Eustress: a form of stress characterised by a positive psychological state e.g. being told you won the lottery

  Distress: a form of stress characterised by a negative psychological state

  e.g. being told you have a test right now that you havent prepared for
• What is fight/flight/freeze response


  An involuntary and automatic response to a threat that takes the form of either escaping it, confronting it, or freezing in the face of it

  
  

  - prominent in acute stress

  - adaptive response to maximise survival and wellbeing
• What is acute stress? And what hormones are released during it?

  stress occurring over a relatively short period of time. Adrenaline is released. Often activates sympathetic physiological responses
• What is chronic stress? And what hormones are released during it?

  demands, pressures and/or worries that are constant and long lasting (either due to long lasting or cumulative) Cortisol is released.
• What is cortisol?

  a hormone released in times of stress to aid the body in initiating and maintaining heightened arousal
• What is cortisols role in chronic stress?

  - increase glucose levels to help bodily functions repair stress-caused damage from adrenaline

  - sustains high energy levels

  - 9x higher cortisol levels when stressed

  - bodys defence mechanism, keeps body safe
• What is the gut-brain axis?

  the bidirectional connection between the gut and the brain through the enteric and central nervous systems
• Why is the gut brain axis so influential

  As it carries afferent information, it passes through many organs and reaches

  through endocrine system, immune system, HPA axis.

  - has direct and indirect pathways between cognitive and emotional brain areas
• What does gut microbiota do


  This bacteria helps with digestion, destroys harmful bacteria and helps control your immune system also influences serotonin and neurotransmitter production
• What is gut microbiota and why is it important to gut health


  refers to all microorganisms that live in the gut and their interaction with the environment

  - important as it influences serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the gut
• What is gut dysbiosis?

  an unbalanced gut microbiome - associated with changes of production of neutrotransmitters, production and activity of NS neurotransmitters, immune system, digestive disorders, mood, more
• What is emerging research and why is gut-brain axis considered emerging research? plus some reminders...

  - small sample size on people

  - mostly tested on animals, making it difficult to generalise to humans

  - use language like potential links, constantly evolving and improving, more likely, may

  - NEVER use the word causes - dont make definitive statements
• What is GAs and what are the stages Hans Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome?

  GAS: a non specific model showing a predictable pattern of physiological responses to stress reflecting the biological responses an individual experiences under stress

  
  

  Alarm reaction: shock/counter shock

  Resistance

  Exhaustion
• What does GAS model look like?

  - make sure it starts at dotted line then immediately drops down

  - dont go right to the bottom cos then you are not alive

  
• If a person has been studying hard for an exam they are anxious about for a couple of weeks, and they develop a cold, what stage of GAS are they in and why?

  Resistance: high cortisol levels deplete energy and suppress non essential functions such as the immune systems. This makes people more susceptible to colds/illnesses.

  - not exhaustion because that is where serious diseases/illness/conditions occur

  - also only a couple of weeks, short term
• If a person has been experiencing stress at work for many years and they develop a serious disease, what stage of GAS are they in?

  Exhaustion: prolonged cortisol release depletes bodys energy and resources -> greater susceptibility to diseases as body falls below normal stress resistance levels
• What happens to physiological processes in counter shock?

  - sympathetic NS becomes dominant

  - fight/flight response

  - increased arousal and ability to deal with stressor
• How do normal levels of stress resistance and ability to cope with stress change across the

  GAS model?

  Shock: immediate drop in ability to cope with demands of stressor

  
  

  Counter Shock: immediate rise above normal levels of ability to cope with stressor demands

  
  

  Resistance: rise above normal levels of stress resistance and coping ability - begins to drop at the end

  
  

  Exhaustion: ability to resist demands of stressor falls to well below normal levels
• What are limitations of GAS?

  - ignores psychological aspect of stress

  - tested on animals

  - also should consider individual differences in the way people view stressors
• What are strengths of GAS?

  - biological components of stress

  - non specific (same for everyone)
• What happens in the alarm reaction?

  - Initial decrease, then sudden increase in bodily arousal in response to an immediate stressor

  
  

  - Shock: first substage of alarm - levels of bodily arousal increased to below normal

  decreased bodily arousal

  temporary state of shock

  body acts as though it has been injured, body temp, muscle tone, blood pressure momentarily decrease

  parasympathetic NS

  
  

  - Counter shock: second substage of alarm

  sympathetic NS becomes dominant

  fight/flight response

  increased arousal and ability to deal with stressor
• What happens in resistance?

  - high levels of bodily arousal in response to persistence stressors

  
  

  - Sympathetic NS response decreases in an attempt to stabalize its environment

  
  

  - Energy used to confront stressor - resistance to that stressor increases while others decrease

  
  

  - immune system and digestion decreases
• What happens in exhaustion?

  - depletion of energy levels and bodily responses resulting in an inability to cope with stressor - falls below normal coping ability

  
  

  - occurs with prolonged and persistent exposure to the stressor or not effectively dealt with e.g. poor coping mechanisms

  
  

  - cannot maintain a heightened physiological state, cannot deal with stressor

  
  

  - more susceptible to serious chronic conditions, like cardiovascular disease as prolonged presence of cortisol weaken the immune system
• What is the explanatory power of GAS?

  High explanatory power of biological components of stress, however poor explanatory power of psychological aspects
• What is the Lazarus and Folkman's transactional Model of Stress and Coping?

  Model saying

  stress is a subjective transaction between an incoming stressor and the personal and environmental factors specific to an individual
• What are the stages in the transactional model of stress?

  Primary appraisal, secondary appraisal
• What happens in primary appraisal? And what are the 3 initial responses?

  Primary appraisal: the initial process of evaluating the nature of an incoming stressor, specifically the kind of stress it might cause

  
  

  Interpreted as

  - benign positive : An initial appraisal of a stimulus as neutral or good that does not cause stress for the individual e.g. missing a tram but theres one right behind it

  
  

  - irrelevent : initial appraisal of a stimulus as a non-issue

  
  

  - Stressful: initial appraisal that a stimulus is a source of worry or emotional significance e.g. missing a tram and youre gonna be late to school
• What are the 3 potential psychological responses that could occur if a stimulus is deemed to be a stressor?

  - Harm/loss: A further appraisal of a stressor as having caused some damage to the individual. This means the individual has already experienced direct distress as a result of the stressor.

  
  

  - Threat: A further appraisal of a stressor as potentially causing damage to the individual in the future. This appraisal causes the individual to experience distress, even if the stressor has not directly caused distress yet.

  
  

  - Challenge: A further appraisal of a stressor as potentially providing a positive opportunity for growth or change for the individual
• What is secondary appraisal?

  Secondary appraisal: evaluation of whether they have the resources required and available to cope with the stressor

  decides coping mechanisms or strategies will be needed to confront the stressor

  
  

  Further stress is created when the individual believes that their coping resources cannot meet the demands of the stressor
• Does everyone always reach the exhaustion stage?


  No, depends on the length of the stressors and coping mechanisms, often ends in resistance and may never reach exhaustion
• What is coping flexibility?

  the individuals ability to adjust or change ones coping strategies depending on the unique and changing demands of a stressor

  
  

  - replacing ineffective coping strategies with ones more suited or effective

  
  

  - determines extent to which someone can cope with circumstancial changes, and how creative they can be using available resources to manage their stress

  
  

  - high coping flexibility links to lower incidence of mental illness and hence more positive outcomes
• What are emotion focused and problem focused solutions?


  emotion focused coping: use of coping strategies that target the emotional components of a stressor - indirectly confronting e.g. sleeping, venting to someone, mediation, distraction

  
  

  problem-focused coping: directly targeting the sources of stress, reducing it in a practical way using approach strategies e.g. making a to-do list, sending an email to who you are late to meet with, information seeking, taking control, evaluating pros and cons
• What is context specific effectiveness?


  when the coping strategy used is appropriate for the unique demands of the stressor

  
  

  - also involves unique characteristics like past experience, knowledge, skills, support systems
• Whats an avoidance strategy?


  - coping strategies that evade the stressor, seeking to indirectly reduce stress

  
  

  - protective strategy

  
  

  - failure to engage or deal with stress by protecting oneself from psychological distress

  
  

  - disengagement with the stressor

  
  

  e.g. denial, ignoring the problem
• Whats an approach strategy?

  coping strategies that directly confront the source of the stress, like addressing or finding a solution to problems

  
  

  e.g. if you lose a job, apply for another

  aims to target stressor in practical ways to diminish stressors nature

  
  

  typically healthy response, feel like you are under control

  engagement with stressor
• Definition of coping?

  the process of dealing with stressors, involving constantly changing thoughts and behaviours so we can manage the demands of stressors we appraise as taxing or exceeding our resources
• Why is stress a psychological process?

  - focuses on COGNITIVE (mental) and AFFECTIVE (emotions) functions of stress response

  e.g. learning, memory, problem solving, and emotions

  
  

  - subjective - interpretations of stressors are based on or influenced by personal feelings or preferences

  
  

  - unique for each person, hence people respond to stressors differently