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What is stress?

Stress: A negative emotional state occurring in response to events that are perceived as taxing or exceeding a person’s resources or ability to cope (page 553). Whether we experience stress from a stressor can depend on many factors including • intensity, • predictability, • duration, • chronicity and • controllability

of these life events as well as our cognitive appraisal of the event and the resources we have available to deal with the stressor.

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Stress: Warning Signs

How do we recognize when someone (including ourselves) is experiencing stress? Emotional signs • Anxiety • Apathy • Irritability • Mental fatigue

Behavioral signs • Avoidance of responsibilities and relationships • Extreme or self-destructive behavior (e.g. cutting

oneself) • Self-neglect • Poor judgment

Physical signs • Frequent illness • Exhaustion • Overuse of medicines • Physical ailments and complaints

Source: (Doctor and Doctor, 1994)

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Why is it important to recognize being stressed?

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Sources of Stress

• Life Event and Change • Daily Hassles • Social and Cultural Sources • Conflicts

o Approach-approach o Avoidance-avoidance o Approach avoidance

• Expectations

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Sources of Stress: Life Events and Change

One early approach looked how an individual’s life events and changes in their life produce stress.

Table 13.1: Life Events and Stress: The Social Readjustment Rating Scale Life Change Life Change Life Events Units Life Events Units

Death of spouse 100 Change in responsibilities at work 29 Divorce 73 Son or daughter leaving home 29 Marital separation 65 Trouble with in-laws 29 Jail term 63 Outstanding personal achievement 28 Death of close family member 63 Spouse begins or stops work 26 Personal injury or illness 53 Begin or end school 26 Marriage 50 Change in living conditions 25 Fired at work 47 Revision of personal habits 24 Marital reconciliation 45 Trouble with boss 23 Retirement 45 Change in work hours or conditions 20 Change in health of family member 44 Change in residence 20 Pregnancy 40 Change in schools 20 Sex difficulties 39 Change in recreation 19 Gain of new family member 39 Change in church activities 19 Business readjustment 39 Change in social activities 18 Change in financial state 38 Mortgage or loan for lesser purchase Death of a close friend 37 (car, TV etc.) 17 Change to different line of work 36 Change in sleeping habits 16 Change in number of arguments Change in number of family get- with spouse 35 togethers 15 Mortgage or loan for major purchase Change in eating habits 15 (home, etc.) 31 Vacation. 13 Foreclosure on mortgage or loan 30 Christmas 12 Minor violations of the law 11

However, individual differences in stressor such as: • intensity, (spilled 2 liters of Pepsi versus 12 ounces) • predictability, (aware of job cuts or not) • duration, (being sick for 2 weeks versus 1 day) • chronicity and (being sick each month versus each year) • controllability (choosing which school to change to versus

being forced into a school) of these life events limited this approach.

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Sources of Stress: Daily Hassles Everyday minor events that annoy and upset people. What are examples of daily hassles? • Being late • Losing your keys or wallet • Waiting (in line for the bank, cash machine, for the

doctor, at a traffic light) • Cleaning up an unexpected mess • Getting stuck in traffic

All of these are exacerbated (made worse) when you are in a hurry. Married women experienced both more daily hassles than men and had higher levels of psychological stress than their husbands. • For women, family demands and interpersonal

conflicts were the most frequent cause of stress. • For men, the source of daily hassles were financial

and job-related problems. The frequency of daily hassles is linked to both psychological distress and physical symptoms, such as headaches and backaches. The number of daily hassles is a better predictor of physical illness and symptoms than is the number of life event changes experienced.

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Common Daily Hassles

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10 Most Common Uplifts

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Sources of Stress: Social and Cultural Sources

What kind of things can lead to stress?

• Racism, sexism, intolerance of others…etc. • Poverty • Unemployment • Crowding • Crime • Inadequate health care • Substandard housing • War • Co-workers not doing their job, and making it more

difficult for you • Acculturative stress: Integration, Assimilation,

Separation, Marginalization (see Culture and Human Behavior 13.1)

o Do I value my own culture? o Should I seek positive relations with the dominate

culture? People in the lowest socioeconomic levels of society tend to have the highest level of psychological distress, illness and death. These people are more experience negative life events, daily hassles and have fewer resources to cope with stress. When people live in an environment that is inherently stressful, they experience chronic stress (see physiological effects of chronic stress).

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Sources of Stress: Conflicts Approach-Approach People select between two

attractive options Avoidance-Avoidance People select between two

unattractive options Approach-Avoidance A single opportunity that has

both positive and negative aspects

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Types of Conflicts

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Sources of Stress: Expectations and Questionable Beliefs

False expectations and beliefs can lead to stress. Why should you recognize these expectations and beliefs? • Your job (too high expectations) • What are false expectations your parents have for

you? • What about expectations you think your parents have

for you (but really don't)? • Social images of beauty, perfection and the body. • “Love at First sight” and “Live happily ever after” • The belief that sleep is “wasted time”. Some people

believe that sleep is “overrated”. How important is sleep?

• What expectations do men have of women? What expectations do men think women have of men?

• What expectations do women have of men? What expectations do women think men have of women?

• At what age do you expect children to walk, crawl, talk, produce language, etc.?

• You are just out of high school. You watch a lot of television and are socialized into the belief that you can buy a house, marry and have 2.5 children (one dog and cat) after high school. To achieve this "American Dream", you can get a job making $8/hour (about $16,000 annual salary), and gradually make your way to a higher salary.