-genuine physical symptoms that are caused by/worsened by emotional factors

-aka psychosomatic disorders

-real diseases involving damage to the body

-not in DSM-IV

-applicable to any disease

-term created by Hans Selye

-distress: damaging/unpleasant stress

-eustress: positive/pleasant stress

-stressor: stress as a stimulus

-major (death of loved one), minor (stuck in traffic), acute (failed test), or chronic (bad work environment)

-psychogenic (stem from psychological factors) or neurogenic (stem from physical stimulus)

-allostatic load: chronic, intermittent, unpredictalbe stressors

-how people try to deal w/ a problem or handle emotions

Two Types

-Problem-focused coping: taking direct action to solve the problem

-Emotion-focused coping: efforts to reduce the negative emotional reactions to stress

-the adaptivity of a particular coping response depends on the match between the coping response and what is called for ideally by the problem situation

Homes and Rahe:

1. Death of spouse

2. Divorce

3. Marital Separation

4. Jail term

5. Death of close family member

6. Personal injury or illness

7. Marriage

8. Fired from work

9. Marital reconciliation

10. Retirement

11. Change in health of family member

12. Pregnancy

SRRS took in deaths of various relatives, etc

-Stone and Neale

-relationship between daily life and health

-desirable events decrease illness

-structural social support: basic network of social relationships

-well established predictor of mortality

-functional social support: quality of relationships

-emotional support: sense of being cared for by warm and sensitive others

-instrumental support: tangible forms of assistance

Somatic Weakness Theory

-connection btw stress & a particular PPD is a weakness in a specific body organ

Specific Reaction Theory

-individuals respond to stress in their own idiosyncratic ways

-body system most responsive becomes a candidate for the locus of a subsequent PPD

Prolonged Exposure to Stress Hormones

-the body pays a price if it must constantly adapt to stress

Stress and the Immune System

-stressors have been found to produce changes in the immune system

Cognitive and Behavioural Factors

-regrets & worries

-stimulation of the sympathetic-system & secretion of stress hormones

Psychoanalytic Theories

-specific conflicts & their associated negative emotional states give rise to PPD

-diseases involving the heart and blood-circulation system

-hypertension & coronary heart disease

-aka high blood pressure

-leads to atherosclerosis, heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure (death)

-essential hypertension: hypertension w/o an evident biological cause

-risk factors: genetic factors, obesity, excess of alcohol & salt, lack of physical activity, bad diet, stress

-risk factors: age, sex (males^), smokers, high BP, high serum cholesterol, increase in size of left ventricle of heart, obesity, physical inactivity, excessive alcohol, diabetes

two principle forms:

-angina pectoris:

-periodic chest pains

-cause: insufficient supply of oxygen to the heart, due to atherosclerosis

-myocardial infarction (heart attack):

-caused by insufficient supply of oxygen to the heart

-usually results in permanent damage to heart

-low SES associated w/ higher rates of mortality from all causes

-more likely to engage in behaviours that increase risk for disease

-higher stressor levels

Biofeedback

-means of helping people control one or another bodily mental state

-gives prompt, exact info on muscle activity, brain waves, skin temp, heart rate, BP, etc

Cardiac Rehabilitation Efforts

Treating Hypertension and Reducing CHD Risk

Stress Management

-helps to cope w/ challenges of life

-arousal reduction: training in muscle relaxation

-cognitive restructuring: altering belief systems, improving clarity of logical interpretations of experience

-mindfulness: trained w/ manualized approach to develop mindful awareness of perceptible experiences in a way that is non-evaluative, emotionally non-reactive

-behavioural skills training

Management of Pain

-acute & chronic