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Essay Unit 26 - Health Psychology
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Unit 26Stress is the body's reaction to pressure. Different circumstances or life events may result in
stress. It can be triggered when we encounter something new or unexpected that challenges
ourselves, it can also be when we believe we have little control over a situation. People
handle stress differently. The ability to cope can be determined by our genetics, early life
experiences, personality, and socioeconomic conditions. (Mental Health Foundation, 2021)
Stress could set off our fight or flight response. The fight or flight response is a physiological
reaction to a potentially stressful or scary event. The threat stimulates the sympathetic
nervous system and can causes an acute stress reaction and prepares the body to either
fight or to flee. (Psychology Tools, 2022)
General adaptation syndrome is a process that has 3 stages that describes the physiological
changes to your body that happens when it is under stress. The first stage is the alarm
reaction stage, which is the moment when the body responds to stress; it is where you
flee or protect yourself in harmful situations. During this time, your heart rate increases, and
your adrenal gland produces cortisol. The second step is the resistance stage, which occurs
following the fight or flight reaction and is when the body begins to heal itself. During this
time, your heart rate and blood pressure begin to drop, and the adrenal gland produces
reduced amounts of cortisol. Following a traumatic experience, your body remains on high
alert until you recover. Some situations might endure for long periods of time, which means
that your body is constantly on high alert, but your body should learn to adjust to these high
stress levels. The third stage is exhaustion which is caused by prolonged stress. Having
prolonged periods of time can drain your physical and mental health to the point that your
body will give up. Some signs of this is fatigue, anxiety, depression, irritability and
frustration. (Higuera, 2017)
There are many different types of stress one of them is general stress, which is a response to
everyday pressures. General stress requires no intervention and typically resolves itself after
2 to 3 days, but it normally lasts only a few hours. (MedlinePlus, 2022) Cumulative stress,
also known as chronic stress, happens when the body accumulates stress over time. You may
develop more severe symptoms that are difficult to treat, such as depression, persistent
fatigue, and headaches. This might be due to work demands, relationship concerns, or
financial challenges. (Oncology Nurse Advisor, 2012) Subconscious stress is a sort of stress
that you may feel without realising it. It can build up over time without your knowledge. It
might be triggered by underlying worries/fears or unsolved difficulties that impact us
subconsciously. We may create habits, routines, and behaviours as coping mechanisms
because of harmful events in our childhood memories that we are not even aware of.
(Moore, 2014) Acute stress disorder is a condition that can develop following an unseen
traumatic experience. It can cause have significant impact on the body and can cause
stress reactions such as memory loss, nightmares (re-living the incident), low moods, and
increased irritability or angry outbursts. Psychotherapy and self-care are options for
treatment. It can usually last, between three days to four weeks. (Barnhill, 2023). PTSD (Post-
traumatic stress disorder) is a mental health condition that you can develop after severe
stress because of severe psychological trauma. It causes symptoms like flashbacks,
nightmares, and intense anxiety, that can have long lasting effects. It can cause an inability to
manage everyday tasks. (Mind, 2021)
, The biological response to stress activates the sympathetic nervous system, causing the
release of stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. This response primes the body
for "fight or flight" responses, raising heart rate, blood pressure, and energy levels. Chronic
stress may affect this system, resulting in conditions such as anxiety, depression, and
cardiovascular disease. (Chu et al., 2022).
Richard Rahe and Thomas Holmes developed the Life Event Theory, which states that
important life events, both positive and negative, can cause stress and have an impact on
health. The Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) assigns numerical ratings to the stresses
associated with different life experiences. This scale assesses an individual's risk of stress-
related disorders by considering the impact of these experiences throughout a period of
time. (McLeod, 2010) Some examples are personal injury or illness, which has an impact
score of 53, and change in financial status, which has an impact score of 38. Jonathan has
both of these things going on in his life, and they are both pretty high on the stress scale.
The combination can link to health problems in the future.
The psychosocial model proposes that stress is influenced by both psychological and social
factors. Psychological elements include our thoughts, feelings, and coping methods, whereas
social factors include our connections, support networks, and socioeconomic situations in
which we live. Taking into account both characteristics, the psychosocial model helps us
comprehend how we handle stress in situations. (Aneshensel, 2016)
Psychological factors, such as locus of control and personality type, play a significant role in
how individuals respond to stress. Lotus of control is a psychological framework that is
about whether about how either internal or external factors control the events that happen
in our lives. People with an internal locus of control feel they can influence the outcomes of
situations through their own actions. If a person has an external locus of control, it suggests
that they believe that other causes like outside influences have the most impact over their
lives. (Main, 2024)
Type A people are competitive, ambitious, impatient, and frequently suffer from stress-
related health problems because of their aggressive behaviour. Type B people, on the other
hand, are more relaxed, patient, and less likely to experience stress-related health issues.
(Sissons, 2022) Friedman and Rosenman's study aimed to evaluate the link between
personality type and coronary heart disease. They discovered that Type A individuals were
more likely to have coronary heart disease than Type B individuals. (Saadi et al., 2022)
Coping mechanisms are the habits and behaviours that people use to deal with stressful
situations and tough emotions. There are different types of coping mechanisms that include
problem-based coping, emotion-based coping, and defence mechanisms. Problem-based
coping occurs when you address the source of stress directly to fix the problem and alleviate
feelings of stress. For Jonathon, this could include following through on prescribed
treatments like as exercises or seeking financial support for chiropractic care. Emotion-based
coping occurs when you process and regulate your emotions caused by the stress. Jonathon
could do this by seeking support from a counsellor to deal with his stress and fears about his
condition. Defence mechanisms are tactics used by people to shield themselves from
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