Chapter Notes: Introduction to Health Psychology

Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Health Psychology and Wellness
3. Stress and Its Effects
4. Reactions to Stress
5. Tend-and-Befriend Theory
6. Coping with Stress
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Introduction

Health psychology explores how mental, behavioral, and social factors influence physical well-being, emphasizing holistic wellness. Stress significantly impacts health, and understanding its types, effects, and coping strategies is key to improving outcomes. This chapter covers stress, its physiological and psychological effects, coping mechanisms, and theories like General Adaptation Syndrome and tend-and-befriend, highlighting their role in health and resilience.

Health Psychology and Wellness

Health psychology explores how thoughts, behaviors, and social factors shape physical health and promote well-being. It guides individuals toward healthier habits and supports effective illness management.

• Influence of lifestyle choices like nutrition, physical activity, and sleep on health.
• Impact of stress, anxiety, and emotions on bodily functions and recovery.
• Link between mental health and physical conditions, such as stress contributing to cardiovascular issues.
• Assisting adherence to medical treatments and addressing care barriers.
• Developing public health initiatives to prevent disease and encourage healthy living.

Stress and Its Effects

Stress significantly impacts both mental and physical health, influencing emotions, cognition, and behavior. Persistent stress can lead to serious health issues over time.

Effects of Stress:

• Weakened immune system, increasing susceptibility to illness.
• Physical symptoms like migraines, hypertension, and tiredness.
• Mental health challenges, including anxiety, depression, and difficulty concentrating.

Types of Stress:

• Positive Stress: Motivates and energizes individuals to tackle challenges. 
  • Example: Preparing for a competition.
• Negative Stress: Feels overwhelming and harms well-being. 
  • Example: Chronic work pressure.
• Stress can arise from acute events (e.g., accidents) or accumulate from ongoing daily struggles.

Long-Term Effects:

• Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can impact mental and physical health into adulthood.
• Prolonged stress increases risks of emotional distress and chronic health conditions.

Reactions to Stress

The body and mind respond to stress through a three-stage process that affects emotions, thinking, and physical health.

• Alarm Reaction: The initial response to stress, triggering a fight, flight, or freeze reaction with an energy surge to address the situation. 
  • Example: Heart racing when startled.
• Resistance: The body remains alert, attempting to manage stress through problem-solving or adaptation. 
  • Example: Working through a tight deadline.
• Exhaustion: Prolonged stress depletes resources, leading to burnout, fatigue, and increased illness risk. 
  • Example: Feeling drained after months of overwork.

Tend-and-Befriend Theory

• Tending: Involves self-care or supporting others, such as comforting a loved one. 
  • Example: Cooking a meal for a stressed friend.
• Befriending: Seeking social support for safety and connection during stress. 
  • Example: Calling a friend to discuss a problem.

This biologically influenced response may have evolved to enhance survival by fostering social bonds, offering an alternative to fight, flight, or freeze reactions.

Coping with Stress

• Problem-Focused Coping: Treats stress as a solvable issue, involving actions like planning, seeking advice, or finding solutions. Effective for controllable stressors. 
  • Example: Creating a study schedule to manage exam stress.
• Emotion-Focused Coping: Manages emotional responses through techniques like meditation, exercise, or talking to friends. Useful for unchangeable stressors. 
  • Example: Practicing yoga to cope with grief.

Problem-focused coping promotes proactive solutions and control, while emotion-focused coping regulates emotions to prevent burnout. Combining both strategies can be effective depending on the context.