Health Psychology

Health Psychology

• investigates the psychological factors related to wellness and illness, including the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of medical problems

Stress

• a person’s response to events that are threatening or challenging

• pleasant or unpleasant events• varies from one person to another, depending

on the person’s interpretation of events• stress is greatest when important goals are

threatened, the threat is immediate, or the anticipation of a threatening event extends over a long period

Categorizing Stressors

• cataclysmic events (strong, sudden, many people at once)

• personal stressors (major life events, immediate consequences, fade with time)

• background stressors (daily hassles, minor irritations, have long-term ill effects if continuous)

Uplifts

• minor positive events that make us feel good - even if only temporarily

• the greater the number of uplifts experienced, the fewer the psychological symptoms people report

The High Cost of Stress• increase in hormone secretion by adrenal glands• increase in heart rate and blood pressure• deterioration of body tissues (blood vessels and heart)• immune system becomes weak• psychophysiological disorders (formerly psychosomatic

disorders; high blood pressure, headaches, backaches, skin rashes, indigestion, fatigue, constipation)

• less able to recover from illness• reduce ability to cope with future stress• change attitude and perception• irritability, inability to concentrate

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

• a theory developed by Hans Selye (sell – yay) that suggests that a person’s response to a stressor consists of three stages:– alarm and mobilization (awareness of stressor)– resistance (coping)– exhaustion (inadequate resistance, negative

effects of stress)

Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI)

• the study of the relationship among psychological factors, the immune system, and the brain

• focuses on the outcomes of stress

• Direct physiological effects– elevated blood pressure– decrease in immune system functioning– increased hormonal activity– psychophysiological conditions

• Harmful behaviors– increased smoking, alcohol, drug use– decreased nutrition, sleep

• Indirect health-related behaviors– decreased compliance with medical advice– increase in delays in seeking medical advice

Coping with Stress

• Coping (the efforts to control, reduce, or learn to tolerate the threats that lead to stress)

2 main categories:1. emotion-focused coping2. problem-focused coping

• avoidant coping – wishful thinking to reduce stress or use more direct escape ways

• defense mechanisms• emotional insulation – person stops

experiencing any emotions at all• proactive coping – anticipating and preparing

for stress before it is encountered

Learned Helplessness

• a state in which people conclude that unpleasant or aversive stimuli cannot be controlled- a view of the world that becomes so ingrained that they cease trying to remedy the aversive circumstances, even if they actually can exert some influence

• elderly persons in nursing home or hospital

Hardy Personality

• Commitment – activities are important and meaningful

• Challenge – change, rather than stability, is the standard condition of life

• Control – perception that people can influence the events in their lives

Effective Coping Strategies

• Turn threat into challenge.• Make a threatening situation less threatening.• Change your goals.• Take physical action.• Prepare for stress before it happens.

Psychological Aspects of Illness and Well-Being

Coronary Heart Disease

• Type A behavior pattern (cluster of behaviors involving hostility, competitiveness, time urgency, and feeling driven)

• Type B behavior pattern (cluster of behaviors characterized by a patient, cooperative, non-competitive, and nonaggressive manner)

Cancer

• Emotional responses of cancer patients to their disease may have critical effect on its course.

Smoking

• Why people smoke?

• Quitting smoking

Characteristics of Happy People

• Happy people have high self-esteem.• Happy people have a firm sense of control.• Happy people are optimistic.• Happy people like to be around other people.