Stress

Stress: A person’s response to events that are threatening or challenging.

Stress is the term used to describe the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral
responses to events that are appraised as threatening or challenging.
Mental symptoms of stress include problems in concentration, memory, and decision making,
and people under stress often lose their sense of humor.
Stressors: Stress-causing events are called stressors; they can come from within a person or
from an external source and range from relatively mild to severe.
What Are Stressors? Stressors can range from the deadly serious (hurricanes, fires, crashes,
combat) to the merely irritating and annoying (delays, rude people, losing one’s car keys).
Stressors can even be imaginary.
Two kinds of stressors: those that cause distress, which occurs when people experience
unpleasant stressors, and those that cause eustress, which results from positive events that
still make demands on a person to adapt or change.
Eustress: As the optimal amount of stress that people need to promote health and well-being.
The arousal theory, is based on the idea that a certain level of stress, or arousal, is actually
necessary for people to feel content and function well.
Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS): Holmes and Rahe devised a scale to measure the
amount of stress in a person’s life by having that person add up the total “life change units”
associated with each major event in their Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
Environmental Stressors: Life’s Ups and Downs:
 Catastrophes: Losing one’s home in a tornado is an example of a stressor called a
catastrophe; an unpredictable event that happens on a large scale and creates
tremendous amounts of stress and feelings of threat. Strong stressors that occur
suddenly, affecting many people at once.
 Personal stressors: Major life events, such as the death of a family member, that have
immediate negative consequences that generally fade with time.
 Background stressors (“daily hassles”): Everyday annoyances, such as being stuck in
traffic, that cause minor irritations and may have long term ill effects if they continue or
are compounded by other stressful events. Research has indicated that hassles may also
come from quite different sources depending on a person’s developmental stage.
Psychological Stressors: What, Me Worry?
  Pressure: When there are urgent demands or expectations for a person’s behavior
coming from an outside source, that person is experiencing pressure. Pressure occurs
when people feel that they must work harder, faster, or do more, as when meeting a
deadline or studying for final exams. Time pressure is one of the most common forms of
pressure.
 Uncontrollability: Another factor that increases a person’s experience of stress is the
degree of control that the person has over a particular event or situation.
 Frustration: Frustration occurs when people are blocked or prevented from achieving a
desired goal or fulfilling a perceived need. As a stressor, frustration can be external and
internal. Some frustrations are minor and others are more serious.
 Conflict: Whenever you find yourself torn between two or more competing and
incompatible desires, goals, or actions, you are in conflict.
The High Cost of Stress: Stress can produce both biological and psychological consequences.
Often the most immediate reaction to stress is a biological one. An entire class of physical
problems known as psychophysiological disorders often result from or are worsened by
stress. Autonomic Nervous System (ANS): The part of the human nervous system that is
responsible for automatic, involuntary, and life-sustaining activities. The ANS consists of two
divisions, the parasympathetic and the sympathetic. It is the sympathetic nervous system
(the “fight or-flight” system) that reacts when the human body is subjected to stress: Heart
rate increases, digestion slows or shuts down, and energy is sent to the muscles to help deal
with whatever action the stressful situation requires. The parasympathetic system returns the
body to normal, day-to-day functioning after the stress is ended.
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): A theory developed by Selye that suggests that a
person’s response to a stressor consists of three stages: alarm and mobilization, resistance,
and exhaustion.
i. Alarm: When the body first reacts to a stressor, the sympathetic nervous system is
activated. The adrenal glands release hormones that increase heart rate, blood
pressure, and the supply of blood sugar, resulting in a burst of energy. Reactions such as
fever, nausea, and headache are common.
ii. Resistance: As the stress continues, the body settles into sympathetic division activity,
continuing to release the stress hormones that help the body fight off, or resist, the
stressor. The early symptoms of alarm lessen and the person or animal may actually feel
better. This stage will continue until the stressor ends or the organism has used up all of
its resources. Researchers have found that one of the hormones released under stress,
noradrenaline (norepinephrine), actually seems to affect the brain’s processing of pain,
 so that when under stress a person may experience a kind of analgesia (insensitivity to
pain) if, for example, the person hits an arm or a shin.
iii. Exhaustion: When the body’s resources are gone, exhaustion occurs. Exhaustion can
lead to the formation of stress-related diseases (e.g., high blood pressure or a weakened
immune system) or the death of the organism if outside help is unavailable. When the
stressor ends, the parasympathetic division activates and the body attempts to
replenish its resources.
Alarm and resistance are stages that people experience many times throughout life, allowing
people to adapt to life’s demands. It is the prolonged secretion of the stress hormones during
the exhaustion stage that can lead to the most harmful effects of stress. It was this aspect of
Selye’s work that convinced other researchers of the connection between stress and certain
diseases of adaptation. The most common of these diseases are ulcers and high blood
pressure.
Immune System and Stress: As Selye first discovered, the immune system (the system of cells,
organs, and chemicals in the body that responds to attacks on the body from diseases and
injuries) is affected by stress. Researchers in this field have found that stress triggers the same
response in the immune system that infection triggers. Certain enzymes and other chemicals
(including antibodies) are created by immune cells when the immune cells, or white blood
cells, encounter an infection in the body. The white blood cells surround the bacteria or other
infectious material and release the chemicals and enzymes into the bloodstream. From there,
these chemicals activate receptor sites on the vagus nerve. It is the activation of these
receptor sites that signals the brain that the body is sick, causing the brain to respond by
further activation of the immune system. Hormones also play a part in helping the immune
system fight the effects of stress. Researchers have found that a hormone called
dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), known to provide antistress benefits in animals, also aids
humans in stress toleration perhaps by regulating the effects of stress on the hippocampus.
The positive effects of stress on the immune system only seem to work when the stress is not
a continual, chronic condition. As stress continues, the body’s resources begin to fail in the
exhaustion phase of the general adaptation to stress.
Heart Disease: Stress has been shown to put people at a higher risk of coronary heart disease
(CHD), the buildup of a waxy substance called plaque in the arteries of the heart. This
relationship is at least in part because the liver, which is not activated while the sympathetic
nervous system is aroused, does not have a chance to clear the fat and cholesterol from the
bloodstream, leading to clogged arteries and eventually the possibility of heart attacks or
strokes. Biological risk factors for heart disease: obesity, high blood sugar, high triglycerides (a
type of fatty acid found in the blood), and low levels of HDL or “good” cholesterol. Stress and
the production of stress hormones were found to be strongly linked to all four biological risk
factors: The more stress the men were exposed to in their work environment and home life,
the more likely they were to exhibit these risk factors. Recent studies have shown a clear
relationship between stress in the workplace and an increased risk of coronary heart disease
as well as depression, sleep disturbances, and unhealthy habits such as a lack of physical
activity none of which are good for coronary health. Prolonged stress is simply not good for
the heart.
Diabetes: As weight problem is also associated with stress. One chronic illness sometimes
associated with excessive weight gain is diabetes, specifically Type 2 diabetes. Research has
continued to link high levels of stress with increased risk of diabetes. Those men who reported
experiencing permanent stress, related to home life and/or work life, had a 45 percent higher
chance of developing diabetes compared to men who reported no stress or only periodic
stress.
 Stress may impact the effectiveness of cancer treatments as well.
 Children in families experiencing ongoing stress are more likely to develop fevers with
illness than are other children.
 Work-related stress in middle age may increase an individual’s chances of developing
both physical and mental disabilities in old age.
How Culture Affects Stress:
Acculturation means the process of adapting to a new or different culture, often the dominant
culture. The stress resulting from the need to change and adapt to the dominant or majority
culture is called acculturative stress. Integration, in which the individual tries to maintain a
sense of the original cultural identity while also trying to form a positive relationship with
members of the majority culture. In Assimilation, the minority person gives up the old cultural
identity and completely adopts the majority culture’s ways. Separation is a pattern in which
the minority person rejects the majority culture’s ways and tries to maintain the original
cultural identity. The greatest acculturative stress will most likely be experienced by people
who have chosen to be marginalized, neither maintaining contact with their original culture
nor joining the majority culture.
Cognitive Factors in Stress: Lazarus’s Cognitive Appraisal Approach: Richard Lazarus
developed a cognitive view of stress called the cognitive–mediational theory of emotions.
There is a two-step process in assessing the degree of threat or harm of a stressor and how
one should react to that stressor.
 i. Primary Appraisal: The first step in appraising a stressor is called primary appraisal,
which involves estimating the severity of the stressor and classifying it as a threat
(something that could be harmful in the future), a challenge (something to be met and
defeated), or a harm or loss that has already occurred.
ii. Secondary Appraisal: In secondary appraisal, people who have identified a threat or
harmful effect must estimate the resources that they have available for coping with the
stressor. Resources might include social support, money, time, energy, ability, or any
number of potential resources, depending on the threat. If resources are perceived as
adequate or abundant, the degree of stress will be considerably less than if resources
are missing or lacking.
Personality Factors: Prsonality differences affect how one assesses a stressor, the coping
strategies used, and possible health outcomes
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. People experience more
physical symptoms and depression when they perceive that they have little or no control than
they do when they feel a sense of control over a situation.
 Optimists are less likely to develop learned helplessness.
 Optimists are more likely than pessimists to take care of their health by preventive
measures.
 Optimists have more effectively functioning immune systems than pessimists do
Coping with Stress:
Coping strategies are actions that people can take to master, tolerate, reduce, or minimize the
effects of stressors, and they can include both behavioral strategies and psychological
strategies.
Two main categories:
 Emotion-focused coping. In emotion-focused coping, people try to manage their
emotions in the face of stress, seeking to change the way they feel about or perceive a
problem. Examples of emotion-focused coping include strategies such as accepting
sympathy from others and looking at the bright side of a situation. Emotion focused
coping is a strategy that involves changing the way a person feels or emotionally reacts
to a stressor. Emotion-focused coping also works for stressors that are uncontrollable
and for which problem-focused coping is not possible. Definitely, ignoring a problem is
not a good strategy when there is something a person can actively do about solving the
 problem. But when it is not possible to change or eliminate the stressor, or when
worrying about the stressor can be a problem itself, ignoring the problem is not a bad
idea. Using humor can also be a form of emotion-focused coping. laughter actually
boosted the action of the immune system by increasing the work of natural killer cells
(cells that attack viruses in the body).
 Problem-focused coping. Problem-focused coping attempts to modify the stressful
problem or source of stress. Problem-focused strategies lead to changes in behavior or
to the development of a plan of action to deal with stress. When people try to eliminate
the source of a stress or reduce its impact through their own actions, it is called
Problem-Focused Coping. Problem-focused coping might include talking to the
professor after class, asking fellow students to clarify the concepts.
Some forms of coping are less successful.
 One of the least effective forms of coping is avoidant coping. In avoidant coping, a
person may use wishful thinking to reduce stress or use more direct escape routes, such
as drug use, alcohol use, and overeating. Avoidant coping usually results in a
postponement of dealing with a stressful situation, and this often makes the problem
even worse.
 Another way of dealing with stress occurs unconsciously through the use of defense
mechanisms. Defense mechanisms are unconscious strategies that people use to reduce
anxiety by concealing the source from themselves and others. Defense mechanisms
permit people to avoid stress by acting as if the stress were not even there.
Coping Styles: The Hardy Personality:
Among those who cope with stress most successfully are people who are equipped with
hardiness, a personality characteristic associated with a lower rate of stress-related illness.
Hardiness consists of three components.
 Commitment: Commitment is a tendency to throw ourselves into whatever we are
doing with a sense that our activities are important and meaningful.
 Challenge: Hardy people believe that change, rather than stability, is the standard
condition of life. To them, the anticipation of change serves as an incentive rather than a
threat to their security.
 Control: Hardiness is marked by a sense of control—the perception that people can
influence the events in their lives.
 Resilience: is the ability to withstand, overcome, and actually thrive after profound
adversity
The Positive Benefits of Social Support: Social support: A mutual network of caring,
interested others. A social-support system is the network of friends, family members,
neighbors, coworkers, and others who can offer help to a person in need.
Meditation and Relaxation as a Coping Mechanism: Meditation is a series of mental exercises
meant to refocus attention and achieve a trancelike state of consciousness. Concentrative
Meditation: the form of meditation best known to the general public. In concentrative
meditation, the goal is to focus the mind on some repetitive or unchanging stimulus (such as a
spot or the sound of one’s own heart beating) so that the mind can forget daily hassles and
problems and the body can relax. Meditation produces a state of relaxation in which blood
pressure is lowered, alpha waves (brain waves associated with relaxation) are increased, and
the amounts of melatonin secreted at night (the hormone that helps induce sleep) are
increased. Meditation can reduce the levels of chronic pain, reduce the symptoms of anxiety,
depression, and hostility, reduce the risk of heart disease and reduce stress levels in cancer
patients.
Some General Guidelines:
 Turn a threat into a challenge
 Make a threatening situation less threatening
 Change your goals
 Take physical action
 Prepare for stress before it happens
Types of Stress:
Not all types of stress are harmful or even negative. Some of the different types of stress that
you might experience include:
 Acute stress: Acute stress is a very short-term type of stress that can either be positive
or more distressing; this is the type of stress we most often encounter in day-to-day life.
 Chronic stress: Chronic stress is stress that seems never-ending and inescapable, like
the stress of a bad marriage or an extremely taxing job; chronic stress can also stem
from traumatic experiences and childhood trauma.
 Episodic acute stress: Episodic acute stress is acute stress that seems to run rampant
and be a way of life, creating a life of ongoing distress.
 Eustress: Eustress is fun and exciting. It's known as a positive type of stress that can
keep you energized. It's associated with surges of adrenaline, such as when you are
skiing or racing to meet a deadline.
Smoking:
People smoke for a variety of reasons, many of which can be understood from a psychological
perspective. Here are some key factors:
 Addiction and Dependence: Nicotine, the primary psychoactive substance in tobacco, is
highly addictive. When people smoke, nicotine rapidly reaches the brain, releasing
neurotransmitters like dopamine, which create pleasurable sensations and reinforce
smoking behavior. Over time, this leads to physical and psychological dependence,
making it difficult to quit.
 Stress Relief: Many smokers report that smoking helps them manage stress. This can be
understood through the following mechanisms:
 Immediate Relaxation: Nicotine can have a calming effect in the short term by
influencing neurotransmitter systems related to mood regulation. This can lead smokers
to perceive smoking as a way to cope with stress or anxiety.
 Withdrawal Avoidance: Regular smokers may experience withdrawal symptoms when
nicotine levels drop, including irritability and increased stress. Smoking alleviates these
symptoms temporarily, creating a cycle where smoking seems to reduce stress but
actually maintains dependence.
Coping Mechanism:
Smoking can be a learned behavior used to cope with various psychological states:
Emotional Regulation: Individuals might smoke to manage emotions such as anger, sadness,
or boredom. This can be a maladaptive coping strategy learned over time.
Social Factors: Smoking can also be influenced by social contexts. People might start smoking
due to peer pressure, social norms, or as a way to fit in with certain groups. Over time, the
behavior becomes associated with social interaction and stress relief.
Habit and Routine: Smoking often becomes a habitual behavior intertwined with daily
routines. Certain activities or times of day can trigger cravings, making it part of the smoker's
lifestyle and a go-to activity during stressful times.
Psychological Reward and Conditioning: The psychological rewards of smoking, such as the
perceived relaxation and pleasure, reinforce the behavior through operant conditioning.
Smokers learn that smoking leads to positive outcomes (e.g., feeling calm), which strengthens
the habit.
Cognitive Factors: Smokers might hold certain beliefs that justify or perpetuate their behavior,
such as thinking that smoking helps concentration or weight control. These cognitive biases
can make it harder to quit and contribute to the cycle of smoking and stress relief.
Stress and Smoking: A Paradox: Interestingly, while smoking may provide short-term stress
relief, it generally increases overall stress levels. The cycle of nicotine dependence means that
smokers often feel more stressed when they cannot smoke, and the relief they feel when they
do smoke is primarily the alleviation of withdrawal symptoms rather than true stress
reduction.
Psychological Interventions:
 Behavioral Therapy: Identifying and modifying triggers and routines associated with
smoking.
 Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Changing the thought patterns that contribute to
smoking and developing healthier coping mechanisms.
 Mindfulness and Stress Management: Techniques like mindfulness meditation and
stress management training can help individuals manage stress without relying on
smoking.