psychological and social processes irrelevant to disease

emphasizes illness over health

examine ways psychosocial factors relate to promotion and maintenence of health, and causation, prevention, and treatment to illness

chronic diseases cuase more deaths than acute diseases in developed countries and are more affected by psychosocial factors

stressful events

subjective

appraisal?

minor stressors are cumulative

pursuit of a goal is thwarted

frequently minor stressors

2 or more incompatible motivations or impulses compete for expression

approach- approach

avoidance- avoidance

approach- avoidance

noticable alterations in living circumstances that require adjustment

may be pos or neg

higher scores on life event scales associated with more physical and mental illnesses

expectations or demands to behave in a certain way

often self imposed

reports of high levels of pressure associated with high stress

emotional

physiological

behavioral

common responses: annoyance, anger, rage, apprehension, anxiety, fear, dejection, sadness grief

pos emotion associated w/ resilience

broaden and build theory of positive emotions:

broaden scope of attention, increase creativity

undo lingering effects of neg emotions

activation of:

Sympathetic nervous system- catecholamines released, inc. hr, bp, resp.

HPA-Axis- cortisol released

stress can interfere with neuogenisis

acute stress v. Chronic stress

1956- Hans Selye

response is not specific to stressor

Alarm- perceive stressor, mobilized to meet threat, fight or flight response

Resistance- efforts to cope with threat, physiological changes stabilize

Exhaustion- fail to overcome threat, depletes physiological rescourses

Coping-efforts to master, reduce, or tolerate demands created by stress, can be adaptive or maladaptive

• Perpetuates emotional reactions to stress
• Excessive self-blame unhealthy

behaving aggressively to deal with pent up emotions

little supports that it is helpful

behaving aggressively tends to result in more

learned helplessness- passive behavior produced by exposure to unavoidable aversive events, associated with distress, can contribute to depression

Goal adjustment-Stop pursuing a goal when it is unattainable, Associated with better health

Largely unconsious reactions that protect a person from unpleasant emotions

utilize self-deception

some posotive illusions may be beneficial

relativelty healthy efforts to deal with stress

confront problems directly

realistic appraisals of stress and coping rescources

learning to recognize disruptive emotional responces to stress

reducing body's vulnerability to damage cuased by stress

reappraisal-

avoid catastrophic thinking: unrealistically pessimistic appraisals of stress that exagerate the magnitude of one's problems

rational- emotive behavior therapy

Humor- may help lessen the effects of stress

suppressing emotion leads to increased stress, autonomic arousal, and more negative emotions

manner of expression important

writing and talking about emotions associated with better health

vengefulness associated with rumination, neg emotions, low life satisfaction

forgiving leads to better adjustment and less stress

meditation associated with better health

important asoects of relaxation:

quiet, distraction free env

mental device to focus on

passive attitude

comfortable position

exercise associated w/ better mental and physical health, fewer illnesses, longer lifespan

healthy eating

reduced drug use

27% of deaths in the us

coronary heart disease:

reduced blood flor in coronary arteries

atherosclerosis- more prevaltent in men, smoking, lack of excercise high cholesterol, high bp

inflammation- invloved in intitiation and prgression of atherosclerosis, C-reactive protein

Type A Personality- strong, competitive, impatience, urgent, angery, hostility, high risk for heart disease

Type B- relaxed, patient, easygoing, amicable

Anger and Hostility- increased risk of coronary events

acute stressors can trigger symptoms of heart diesease, temp. increase in inflimmation, heart attacks

depression- correlated with heart disease, may be bidirectional relationship, inf;limmation

Stressful life events associated with variety of diseases

immune response- defensive reaction to invasion by foreign substances

Chronic Stress- leads to chronic inflammation

Social support- better immune functioning, lower death, pets

Optimism- helps with coping, reduced mortality risk

consientiousness- predict longer life, better health habits

promote personal growth and self- improvement

develop new skills, reevaluate priorities, gain new insight

improved coping, resilience more common than once believed

Smoking- higher risk for most diseases, may be most dif. to quit

poor nuttrition- risk of obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes

Virus that causes AIDS

weakens immune system

transmission through semen and blood

Highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)- increases length of survival, may decrease risk of HIV infection, some resilience, complex drug regimen

deciding to seek treatment

problems communicating with health care provider

noncompliance