Questions On Stress

Submitted By kross18
Words: 7950
Pages: 32

Psych module 3

Stress- hypothalamus/pituitary kick in fight or flight
Medulla secretes catecholamines, which cause damage to cp system after long term exposure
Cortisol also damages heart
Different types of stressors’ responses
General adaptation syndrome
3 phases
Alarm- hypersensitive, something’s not right
Resistance- I should fight this stress
Exhaustion-emotional or physical
Serotonin plays role in mood
Main neurotransmitter implicated in depression
Factors that affect stress response
Perception, spirituality, social relationships, etc
Effective stress busters
Sleep
Exercise
Burns off agitation and stress/anxiety
Decrease or cessation of caffeine intake
Music
Soft, relaxing, soothing music
Pets
Therapeutic pets
Petting an animal can help decrease BP and HR
People with pets tend to live longer
Massage
Relaxation techniques
Breathing
Meditation
Hypnosis
Counting
Yoga
Diversional therapy
Coloring
Watching TV
Puzzles
Guided imagery
Coping techniques
Health sustaining habits
Exercise
Nutrition
Caffeine decrease
Quitting smoking
Coping without meds
Life satisfactions
Happy life decreases anxiety and depression
Social supports
Family, friends, social groups
Effective and health responses to stress
Nonpharmacological
Not relying on any type of drug or alcohol to cope
Anxiety levels
Normal-Mild
Beneficial
Allows learning
Usually transient
Give oral meds between here and mild anxiety
Moderate
Develops catecholamine response, damage to cardiopulmonary system
Anxiolytic meds should be given IM at this point
Take safety measures for patient
Selective inattention
Tension, pounding heart, shaky voice, trembling hands, increased pulse and RR, mild somatic symptoms, perspiration
Can be constructive, may be a signal that something in life needs attention
Severe
Focus on one specific detail or many scattered details
Difficulty noticing details in environment
Learning and problem solving impossible in this state
Person may be dazed and confused
Somatic symptoms often increase
Hyperventilation and a sense of impending doom or dread occur
Panic
Feels like it will go on forever
Self-limiting about 10 minutes
Development of complete tunnel vision
No real hearing of surroundings
Don’t touch them, they will assault you more than likely
Give simple directions
Inability to process environmental stimuli
Hallucinations can occur
May lead to exhaustion
Agoraphobia
Intense, excessive anxiety or fear about being in places or situations from which escape might be difficult or embarrassing or in which help might not be available if a panic attack occurred.
Causes panic attacks
Feared places are avoided in order to control anxiety
Avoidance behaviors become debilitating and life constricting.
Defense mechanisms
Compensation
Make up for perceived deficiencies and cover up shortcomings related to deficiencies to protect conscious mind from recognizing them
Conversion
Unconscious transformation of anxiety into a physical symptom with no organic cause, often used to gain attention or as an excuse
Denial
Involves escaping unpleasant, anxiety causing thoughts, feelings, wishes, or needs by ignoring their existence
Displacement
Transference of emotions associated with a particular person, object, or situation to another nonthreatening person, object, or situation.
Dissociation
Disruption in usually integrated functions of consciousness, memory, identity, or perception of the environment. May result in separation between feeling and thought. Can also manifest in compartmentalizing uncomfortable or unpleasant aspects of oneself.
Identification
Attributing to oneself the characteristics of another person or group, can be conscious or unconscious
Intellectualization
Process in which events are analyzed based on remote, cold facts and without passion, rather than incorporating emotion into processing.
Introjection
Process by which outside world is incorporated