Stress

• The term stress as it is currently used was coined by Hans Selye in 1963
• Hans Selye: '“the non-specific response of the body to any demand for change”'
• Selye used lab rats and subjected them to acute conditions which caused them to develop diseases
• Stereotypical physiological response


  Response to all stressors considering psychological factors
• Psychological processes involved in the way we appraise or rate stressors contribute to producing a stress response that is unique to the individual
• Perception of stimuli is an individual, subjective experience influenced by personality, belief system, past experiences, culture, educational background and genetic factors
• What may be stressful for one person may not be perceived as a stressor by another person
• The intensity and type of stress experienced varies between individuals
• Forms of stress


  • Eutress
  • Distress
• Stress


  • Activates the sympathetic nervous system
  • Physiological changes are the same for both eutress and distress
• Distress


  Negative psychological response to a stressor
• Negative psychological states in distress

  • Anger
  • Anxiety
  • Nervousness
  • Irritability
  • Tension
• Distress can be short-term, but it can persist for weeks, months or even years
• Prolonged distress can have serious and debilitating consequences for our physical and mental health
• Eustress


  Positive psychological response to a stressor
• Positive psychological states in eustress

  • Enthusiastic
  • Motivated
  • Excited
  • Active
  • Alert
• Eustress is typically short-term and can provide us with the energy and motivation needed to achieve a goal or peak performance
• Eustress is not damaging or harmful to the body
• Stressors


  Stimuli that place demands on us that require us to adapt our behaviour in some way and may even threaten our well-being and physical safety
• Physiological stressors


  • Not involuntary
  • Less control depending on the individual
  • Not observable but can be inferred through self-reports
• Categories of psychological stressors

  • Emotional changes
  • Cognitive changes
• Emotional changes


  An emotional change that influences how a person feels
• Negative feelings in emotional changes

  • Anxiety
  • Tension
  • Depression
  • Anger
  • Irritability
  • Hopelessness
  • Helplessness
• Cognitive changes


  Influence a person’s mental abilities
• Effects of cognitive changes

  • Distorted perceptions
  • Forgetfulness
  • Lack of concentration
  • Poor problem-solving
  • Poor decision-making
• A person who has had a break-up will struggle to concentrate and study for an exam
• Catastrophising


  Dwelling on and over-emphasising the potential consequences of negative events
• Cultural stressors can mean escaping famine, poverty, torture, but also adjusting to a new culture
• Acculturative stress is the stress experienced when adopting the values, customs and language of a new culture
• Challenges faced by immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers

  • Ethnic prejudice
  • Language difficulties
  • Lower socio-economic status
• Cultural stressors can produce chronic stress-related responses such as anxiety disorders, depression, diabetes
• Environmental stressors


  • Crowding
  • Loud noise
  • Air pollution
  • Extreme temperatures
  • Technological catastrophes
  • Natural catastrophes
• Social stressors


  • Relationships
  • Social interactions
  • Loneliness
  • Isolation
  • Break ups
  • Inability to form relationships
  • Making new friends
  • Bullying
  • Discrimination
• Social readjustment


  The amount of change or adjustment in lifestyle a person is forced to make following a specific event in their life
• Social readjustment can be measured by a scale called the social readjustment scale (Holmes and Rahe 1967)
• Characteristics of stressors


  • Nature
  • Duration
  • Strength
• Factors making stress severe

  • Severity of the distress
  • Duration of the stressor
  • Timing of the stressor
  • How closely it affects our lives
  • How expected it is
  • How controllable it is
• According to Selye, all stressors produce a non-specific stress response
• The body undergoes virtually the same physiological changes regardless of the type of stressor (positive or negative)
• NATURE of stress


  The body does not recognise the distinction between eustress and distress