stressors
specific events or pressures that place demand on a person or their well being
chronic stressors
source of stress that occurs continuously
physical reactions
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fight or flight response
emotional and physiological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action
general adaptation syndrome
three stage physiological response that appears regardless of the stressors that is encountered. (alarm, resistance, and exhaustion)
alarm phase
phase where initial reaction, energy is required and body calls stored fat and muscle. equivalent to "fight or flight
exhaustion phase
phase where body's resistance collapses. Creates gradual damage as they operate. Aging, irreversible, organ damage and death.
type A behavior pattern
tendency toward easily aroused hostility, impatience, a sense of time urgency and competitive achievement strivings.
primary appraisal
allows you to realize what is stressful or not
secondary appraisal
determining whether the stressor is something you can handle or not, control over event
PTSD
after a person lives through an experience so threatening and uncontrollable that he or she is left with feelings of terror and helplessness.
burnout
state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion created by long term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accompanied by lower performance and motivation
repressive coping
avoiding situations or thoughts that are reminders of a stressor and maintaing an artificially positive view point
rational coping
facing a stressor and working to overcome it
reframing
finding a new or creative way to think about a stressor that reduces its threats
relaxation therapy
technique for reducing tension by consciously relaxing muscles of the body
relaxation response
a condition of reduced muscle tension, heart rate, breathing rate and blood pressure
biofeedback
use of an external monitoring device to obtain information about a bodily function and possibly gain control over that function
social support
aid gained through interacting with others
tend and befriend
taking care of people and bringing them together
somatoform disorders
set of psychological disorders in which the person displays physical symptoms and develops an exaggerated belief that the symptoms signify a life-threatening illness
psychosomatic illness
interaction between mind and body that can produce illness
hypochondriasis
psychological disorder in which a person is preoccupied with minor symptoms and develops an exaggerated belief that the symptoms signify a life threatening illness
somatization disorder
psychological disorder involving combinations of multiple physical complaints with no medical explanation
conversion disorder
disorder characterized by apparently debilitating physical symptoms that appear to be volunteer
the sick role
socially recognized set of rights and obligations linked with illness
malingering
some people feign medical or psychological symptoms to achieve something they want
optimism
a general disposition to expect the best in all things
hardiness
thick-skinned, able to take stress or abuse that can be devastating to others in a different way. By using commitment, control and challenge
self-regulation
exercise of voluntary control over the self to being the self into line with preferred standards.
unique invulnerability illusion
systematic bias toward believing that they are less likely to fall victim to the problem than are others