STRESS AND HEALTHPertemuan 21

Matakuliah : L0014/Psikologi UmumTahun : 2007

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HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY

• The field of psychology that uses psychological principles to encourage healthy life styles and to minimize the impact of stress

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STRESS

Any event or circumstances than strains or exceeds an individual’s ability to

cope

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Source of Stress (1)

1. Life EventsPsychology significant events that occur in a person life, such divorce, childbirth, or change in employment– Crime, sexual assault and violence– Loss of a family member– Natural disasters– Terrorism– Daily hassles

2. FrustrationThe result of being unable to satisfy a motive

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Source of Stress (2)3. Conflict

The state in which two or more motives can not be satisfied because they interfere with one another– Approach – Approach conflict

Conflict in which the individual must choose between two positive goals of approximately equal value

– Avoidance – Avoidance conflictConflict in which the individual must choose between two negative outcomes of approximately equal value

– Approach – Avoidance conflictconflict in which achieving a positive goal will produce a negative outcome as well

– Multiple Approach – Avoidance conflictConflict that requires the individual to chose between two alternatives, each of which contains both positive and negative consequences

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Source of Stress (3)

4. Pressurestress that arises from the threat of negative events

5. Environmental condition- temperature, air pollution, noise, humidity, etc.- These environmental sources of stress do not appear to

be as potent as other stressor but apparently contribute to our overall stress level

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General Aspect of Stress Reaction

1. We react to stress as a whole – physical & psychological reaction

2. Psychological and bodily reactions to stress are highly similar, whether the stress is physical or psychological

• Psychological reaction to stresschanges in emotions, motivations and cognition

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Physical Reaction to stress and health• Biopsychosocial model of health : the theory that physical health

is influenced not only by biological factors, but also by psychological and social factors

• General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)Hans Selye : the mobilization of the body to ward off threats, characterized by a three-stage pattern of the alarm reaction, the resistance stage and the exhaustion stage– The alarm reaction : the body initial response to any threat– The resistance stage : the body’s resources have been fully

mobilized and resistance to the stress is high– The exhaustion stage : if the stress continues, the individual’s

resources may become exhausted and resistance to the stress and infection is lowered

• Depression and HealthDepression is a common mental disorder that presents with depressed

mood, loss of interest or pleasure, feelings of guilt or low self-worth, disturbed sleep or appetite, low energy, and poor concentration

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Factors that Influence Reaction to stress (1)

• Prior experience with the stress• Developmental factors• Predictability and control• Social Support

The role played by friends and relatives in providing advice, assistance, and someone in whom to confide private feelings

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Factors that Influence Reaction to stress (1)

Person variables in reaction to stress all characteristics of an individual that are relatively enduring, such as ways of thinking, beliefs, or psychological reactivity to stress

• Cognitive and Personality– Cognitive factors– Personality Characteristic : Type A ?

Type A : the pattern of behavior characterized most by intense competitiveness, hostility, overwork and a sense of time urgency

• Gender & Ethnicity– Women are more likely that men to experience lasting reaction to

traumatic events– Married people are healthier that people who are not in committed

relationship– Fight-or-fight and Tend-and-befriend– Ethnic differences

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Coping with stress

• Coping : attempts by individuals to deal with the source of stress and/or control their reactions to it

• Effective Coping– Removing stress– Cognitive coping

• Reappraisal : changing how a person thinks about or interprets a potentially stressful event to reduce its stressfulness

– Managing stress reactions• Ineffective Coping

– Withdrawal– Aggression– Self medication– Defense mechanism

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Changing Health – Related Behavior Patterns

• Learning to relax– Progressive relaxation training : a method of learning to

deeply relax the muscles of the body

• Improve eating habits• Exercise regularly• Medical Complience