Behavioral Medicine
an interdisciplinary field that integrates behavioral and medical knowledge and applies that knowledge to health and disease
Health Psychology
a subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine
Stress
the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)
Selye's concept of the body's adaptive response to stress in three stages--alarm, resistance, exhaustion
Coronary Heart Disease
the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries
Type A
Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people
Type B
Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people
Psychophysiological illness
literally, "mind-body" illness; any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches. This is distinct from hypochondriasis�misinterpreting normal physical sensations as symptoms of a disease
Lymphocytes
the two types of white blood cells that are part of the body's immune system: B lymphocytes form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections; T lymphocytes form in the thymus and other lymphatic tissue and attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances.
Coping
alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods
Problem-focused coping
Attempting to alleviate stress directly by changing the stressor or the way we interact with that stressor.
Emotion-focused coping
attempting to alleviate stress by avoiding or ignoring a stressor and attending to emotional needs related to one's stress reaction
Aerobic exercise
sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also alleviate depression and anxiety
Biofeedback
a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension
Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Unproven health care treatments not taught widely in medical schools, not used in hospitals, and not usually reimbursed by insurance companies