Ab stress

Stress means...

1) the enviromental stimulus that triggers a stress response- THE THING THAT CAUSES YOU TO ACT STRESSED
2) AND the response to the stimulus- OUR REACTION

*THE RESPONSE THAT OCCURS WHEN WE THINK WE CANT COPE WITH THE PRESSURES IN OUR ENVIRONMENT

Hypothalamus is the bit of the brain that responds to stress!
- The celebral cortex decides whether something is a stressor, then the celebral cortext sends signals to hypothalamus 

Hypo triggers two repsonses in body- 1) Sympathomedullary pathway 2) Pituitary adrenal system 

ENERGY TO RUN- FIGHT OR FLIGHT, OR TEND AND BEFRIEND

In initial shock repsonse, HYPOTHALAMUS triggers activity in SYMPATHETIC BRANCH of AUTONOMIC NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

THEN.. branch becomes more active when body is stressed

THEN... it stimulates adrenal medulla (which is inside the adrenal glands) to release adrenaline and noradrenaline into blood stream. 

IF EFFECTS THE BODY BY...
1) blood pressure and heart rate increase (to get blood to places quickly where needed)
2) Digestion decreases (so blood can be concentrated to muscles and brain)
3) Muscles become more tense (so the body can physically respond)
4) Perspiration increases (so body can cool down)
5) Breathing rate increases (so more oxygen can be sent to muscles)

EFFECT OF THIS IS THAT THE BODY IS MORE READY TO USE ENERGY TO DEAL WITH STRESSFUL SITUATIONS! 

(IF STRESS IF LONGTERM SYPATHOMEDUALLRY WILL START TO USE UP THE BODY'S RESOURCES) therefore p-a-s produces a countershock response to provide more fuel.

ACTION...
1) Hypothalamus triggers release of CRH (corticotropin-releasing hormone) which stimulates the anterior p-g
2) This then releases hormone called ACTH (adrenocorticotropic hormone) which travels through the body and then stimulates the adrenal cortex (near the kidneys)
3) THEN the adrenal cortex releases corticosteroids which gives us energy (by converting fats and proteins into energy) 

ENERGY IS NEEDED TO REPLACE THE ENERGY USED UP BY INITIAL REACTION TO STRESS. 

Hans Selye- THREE STAGE RESPONSE
1) The alarm stage- increase arousal levels so ready to make response
2) The resistance stage- if stressor remains, our bodies can adapt to situation and we seem to cope
3) The exhaustion stage- long term exposure leads to bodies being unable to cope. Could develop illnesses, depression, high blood pressure.  

Krantz- LONG TERM STRESS EFFECTS ON CARDIOVS
-Lab exp of 39 people. Did maths test, stroop test and public speaking
- Blood pressure measure
- Stress likely to have direct effect on bodily functions (high myocardial ischaemia had high pressure) DIS- not all showed same reaction

Brady- STRESS ON THE IMMUNE SYSTEM (ULCERS)
- Monkeys put in pairs and given electric shocks every 20 seconds for 6 hour sessions. One monkey could push lever to postpone shock
- Executive monkey more likely to develop illness (ulcers) as stress of being in control. Effected the immune system by making it less able to fight the ulcers. DIS- cant generalise from monkeys to humans.

Kiecolt-Glaser- STRESS AND WOUND HEALING
- Punch biopsy created small would in arms of 13 women that cared for relatives with alzheimers and also a control group of 13. Would healing took an av of 9 more days for carers. LONG TERM STRESS IMPAIRS EFFECTIVENESS OF IMMUNE SYSTEM TO HEAL WOUNDS.  

Holmes and Rahe SOCIAL READJUSTMENT RATING SCALE (SRRS)- studied 5000 hospital patients' records to analyse what effected stress. 

-43 common life events and got people to rate highest stress to lowest then they gave each event LIFE CHANGE UNITS (LCU). 
e.g. Death of a spouse- score 100, divorce- score 73, Christmas- score 12.

+ Support from LCU and illness study by Rahe - 2500 american seamen completed SRRS form. Found that higher LCU scores linked with higher illness. HOWEVER not representative as only men and american...

- Does not separate positive and negative life events, so stress may be more focused on negative events. 
- Minor sources of stress (everyday hassles) not considered.

RESEARCH IS CORRELATIONAL  (are two things related) e.g. several life changed could connect with eachother- getting fired could then lead to financial problems!

Kanner did study on 100 ADULTS and they filled out questionnaire on stress and consequences of illnesses, weight etc. Found hassles linked to stress and health. 

Stress in workplace comes from FIVE places 1) Relationships at work, 2) Work pressures, 3) Physical environment (noisy), 4) Stresses linked to role (prospects for promotion), 5) Lack of control

- Marmot did study on 7000 civil service employees. info was obtained about their grade of job. Found that if you think you have little control over your work then you get stressed and develop illness. HOWEVER, cannot generalise as only done on 'white collar' workers. 

- Frankenhaeuser studied two groups of workers at a sawmill and targeted their repetitive task of log chopping. Found that jobs that had little change and social contact had higher stress effects. More likely to suffer from high blood pressure. 

Personality types- A (COMPETITIVE AND AMBITIOUS) B (RELAXED AND EASY-GOING), C (SUPPRESS EMOTIONS), D (NEGATIVE AND DEPRESSED)

- Friedman and Rosenman studied 3000 adult males and assessed their personalities. 8 years later 257 had CHD, 70% of these were classified as type A. DIS OF STUDY- only targeted one type and cannot generalise to females etc.

C people have a risk on CANCER
A CORONARY HEART DISEASE
D HEART ATTACKS

- Kobasa came up with 'hardiness'- Hardy people showed high levels of COMMITMENT, CHALLENGE AND STRONG CONTROL (internal locus of control)
Non hardy- negative,unable cope,give up easily. DIS- dif measure and fluctuates.

Differences between genders
- Bio- men role of 'hunter-gatherer' therefore men have 'fight or flight' rather than women that care for the kids with their 'tend and befriend' attitude
- Social- Western stereotype is that men are less open about feelings therefore less likely to discuss stressful situations and may use other methods e.g. drugs
- Cog- Vogele claims that women are better at controlling anger. Men feel anger is an acceptable way to respond.

CULTURE

1)  different factors in different cultures lead to stress e.g. poor living conditions could lead to negative thinking.

Drugs- 
1) they help slow down CNS. Anti anxiety drugs BZS increase the bodys reaction to its own natural anxiety relieving chemical GABAwhich slows down activity of neurones and helps us feel relaxed
2) they reduce activity of SNS (sns increases heart rate etc and levels of cortisol. High levels of c can make immune system weak). Beta blockers reduce all unpleasant symptoms.  

Biofeedback- gives people info about internal processes they not know about
- to give them more control over there body and working the functions
1) attached to machine that feedback on heart rate etc
2) Then taught how to control symptoms of stress e.g. muscle relaxation
3) feeling of relaxation acts as reward therefore they repeat involuntary
4) Person learns to use techniques in real life situations

Exercise
- Morris compared bus drivers and bus conductors and found bus c had lower rates of cv problems (probably due to having a more active job)

+ All are effective (drugs are quick, easy, convenient and kahn found bzs were superior compared to placebo)
+ Drugs easier to use than biofeedback as biofb needs specialist equipment and expert supervision (some argue biofb benefits could be gained from dif relaxing)

- Drugs only help with symptoms and not cause
- Drugs have side effects such as dizziness and tiredness
- Withdrawal symptoms
- BZS are highly addictive  

Problem focused- making a plan on how to cope then following plan
Emotion focused- adapting behaviour e.g. take a break to see a film

Stress inoculation training (SIT) by Meichenbaum- works like immunisation
1) Conceptualisation- identify fear and concerns with help of therapist
2) Skills acquisition and rehearsal- train to do relaxation and positive thinking
3) Application and follow through- Practice newly acquired skills in real-life
Hardiness training by Maddi
1) Focusing- learn to recognise physical symptoms of stress 
2) Relieving stressful encounters- Learn to analyse stressful situ to cope better
3) Self improvement- take on challenges that will help build confidence and control

dis- only help determined people, procedures are very lengthy, concepts complex

BECKS COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING THERAPY- COG TRIAD
1) Themselves (im good at somethings)
2) The future (i will improve)
3) The world (i am good enough to succeed in life)