Stress
A physical and mental response to a challenging or threatening situation
Stressor
A stressful stimulus, a condition demanding adaptation
Traumatic stressor
A situation that threatens one's physical safety, arousing feelings of fear, horror, or helplessness
Vicarious traumatization
Severe stress caused by exposure to traumatic images or stories causing the observer to become engaged with the stressful material
Postraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Delayed stress reaction in which an individual involuntarily reexperiences emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of past trauma
Burnout
Syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment, often related to work
Hassles
Situations that cause minor irritation or frustration
Cognitive appraisal
Assessment of a stressor and one's resources for dealing with it.
Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
Psychological rating scale designed to measure stress levels by attaching values to common life changes
Acute stress
A temporary pattern of stressor-activated arousal with a distinct onset and limited duration
Chronic stress
Continuous stressful arousal persisting over time
Fight-or-flight
Sequence of internal processes preparing an organism for struggle or escape
General adaptation syndrome (GAS)
Pattern of general physical responses that take essentially the same form in responding to any serious chronic stressor
Alarm reaction
First stage of the GAS, during which the body mobilizes its resources to cope with a stressor
Stage of resistance
Second stage of the GAS, during which the body adapts to and uses resources to cope with a stressor
Stage of exhaustion
Third stage of the GAS, during which the body depletes its resources in responding to an ongoing stressor
Tend-and-befriend model
Stress response model proposing that females are biologically predisposed to respond to threat by nurturing and protecting offspring and seeking social support
Immune system
Bodily organs and responses that protect the body from foreign substances and threats
Psychoneuroimmunology
Multidisciplinary field that studies the influence of mental states on the immune system
Cytokines
Horomone-like chemicals facilitating communication between brain and immune system
Type A
Behavior pattern characterized by intense, angry, competitive, or perfectionistic responses to challenging situations
Type B
Behavior pattern characterized by relaxed, unstressed approach to life
Learned helplessness
Pattern of failure to respond to noxious stimuli after an organism learns its responses are ineffective
Cognitive hardiness
Mental quality of resistance to stress, based on a sense of challenge (welcoming change), commitment (purposeful activity), and control (maintaining an internal guide for action)
Resilience
Capacity to adapt, achieve well-being, and cope with stress, in spite of serious threats to development
Coping
Dealing with stress by reducing or eliminating stressful conditions and their effects
Emotion-focused coping
Responding to stress by controlling one's emotional responses
Problem-focused coping
Responding to stress by identifying, reducing, and eliminating the stress
Social support
Resources others provide to help an individual cope with stress
Psychological debriefing
Brief, immediate strategy focusing on venting emotions and discussing reactions to the trauma
Optimistic style of thinking
Pattern of thinking that interprets stressors as external in origin, temporary, and specific in their efforts
Cognitive restructuring
Psychotherapeutic technique based on client's learning to reappraise stressors as less uncertain and more within one's control
Behavioral medicine
Medical field specializing in the link between lifestyle and disease
Health psychology
Psychological specialty devoted to understanding how people stay healthy, why they become ill, and how the respond when ill
Subjective well-being (SWB)
An individual's evaluative response to life, including cognitive and emotional reactions
Stress
A physical and mental response to a challenging or threatening situation
Stressor
A stressful stimulus, a condition demanding adaptation
Traumatic stressor
A situation that threatens one's physical safety, arousing feelings of fear, horror, or helplessness
Vicarious traumatization
Severe stress caused by exposure to traumatic images or stories causing the observer to become engaged with the stressful material
Postraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Delayed stress reaction in which an individual involuntarily reexperiences emotional, cognitive, and behavioral aspects of past trauma
Burnout
Syndrome of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment, often related to work
Hassles
Situations that cause minor irritation or frustration
Cognitive appraisal
Assessment of a stressor and one's resources for dealing with it.
Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS)
Psychological rating scale designed to measure stress levels by attaching values to common life changes
Acute stress
A temporary pattern of stressor-activated arousal with a distinct onset and limited duration
Chronic stress
Continuous stressful arousal persisting over time
Fight-or-flight
Sequence of internal processes preparing an organism for struggle or escape
General adaptation syndrome (GAS)
Pattern of general physical responses that take essentially the same form in responding to any serious chronic stressor
Alarm reaction
First stage of the GAS, during which the body mobilizes its resources to cope with a stressor
Stage of resistance
Second stage of the GAS, during which the body adapts to and uses resources to cope with a stressor
Stage of exhaustion
Third stage of the GAS, during which the body depletes its resources in responding to an ongoing stressor
Tend-and-befriend model
Stress response model proposing that females are biologically predisposed to respond to threat by nurturing and protecting offspring and seeking social support
Immune system
Bodily organs and responses that protect the body from foreign substances and threats
Psychoneuroimmunology
Multidisciplinary field that studies the influence of mental states on the immune system
Cytokines
Horomone-like chemicals facilitating communication between brain and immune system
Type A
Behavior pattern characterized by intense, angry, competitive, or perfectionistic responses to challenging situations
Type B
Behavior pattern characterized by relaxed, unstressed approach to life
Learned helplessness
Pattern of failure to respond to noxious stimuli after an organism learns its responses are ineffective
Cognitive hardiness
Mental quality of resistance to stress, based on a sense of challenge (welcoming change), commitment (purposeful activity), and control (maintaining an internal guide for action)
Resilience
Capacity to adapt, achieve well-being, and cope with stress, in spite of serious threats to development
Coping
Dealing with stress by reducing or eliminating stressful conditions and their effects
Emotion-focused coping
Responding to stress by controlling one's emotional responses
Problem-focused coping
Responding to stress by identifying, reducing, and eliminating the stress
Social support
Resources others provide to help an individual cope with stress
Psychological debriefing
Brief, immediate strategy focusing on venting emotions and discussing reactions to the trauma
Optimistic style of thinking
Pattern of thinking that interprets stressors as external in origin, temporary, and specific in their efforts
Cognitive restructuring
Psychotherapeutic technique based on client's learning to reappraise stressors as less uncertain and more within one's control
Behavioral medicine
Medical field specializing in the link between lifestyle and disease
Health psychology
Psychological specialty devoted to understanding how people stay healthy, why they become ill, and how the respond when ill
Subjective well-being (SWB)
An individual's evaluative response to life, including cognitive and emotional reactions