Lecture # 205:
Ineffective Strategies for Coping with Stress, and Health Psychology

copyright 2008 Cheryl K. Hosken, BSN, MS Psych.


Ineffective strategies for Coping with Stress

Coping with stress is bringing about change. If you do not change, you fixate and accept the same stress from the same stressor. Fixation is seldom a good reaction to stress. The old saying, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again" is good advice. But at some point we must give up a particular course of action and try something else.

Procrastination may be a form of fixation. For example, you may have an examination in two weeks. You put it off for one reason or another. The date for handing in the paper comes closer and you pay the price for not finishing it earlier. With very little time before the deadline, you are very stressed and the result is not as good as you want, but there is not time left. Psychological research has shown that procrastinators have less stress at the beginning of the school year, but as the year progresses, they have increasing stress, more illness, and more serious illnesses. They also earned significantly lower grades. In addition to not changing one's behavior, there are two other reactions to stressors that are maladaptive: aggression and anxiety.

Meditate Word By Word On These Verses:
Mat. 11:28-30
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Frustration is a prime cause of aggression. Although is does not help us for long, a flash of aggressive behavior often follows stress. For example, you try to get home from work, and the bus doesn't come. Over and over again, you look for some sign of the bus coming. It doesn't help, and still frustrated, you stamp your feet or kick the sign for the bus stop. Through this action, you have released some tension, but being angry and stamping or kicking does not solve the problem. Perhaps you will have to walk home or get a taxi. Also, people sometimes drink, smoke or take drugs to relieve stress, but these actions only provide temporary relief from the symptoms. Christians who don't believe in smoking, taking drugs or drinking alcohol, under stress sometimes drink too much caffiene, overeat, or yell at family members.

Question:
1. How do women sometimes remove anxiety from life? How do men usually remove anxiety from life?

 


 

Another negative consequence to stress is anxiety - a general feeling of tension, apprehension, and dread that causes psychological changes. Anxiety follows stress and is a component of the stress response. Sometimes the amount of stress and anxiety in life become more than one can cope with. Feelings of anxiety start to interfere with adjustment to environment and to other people. Such feelings may become the focus of one's attention and then more anxiety flows with distress so that one has more discomfort. If this reaction continues, it may result in a psychological disorder.

Question:
2. How do Peter and Paul help us understand what to do when we are anxious? (See 1 Peter 5:7; Philippians 4:6)

 


 

Health Psychology

Health psychology is the study of psychological or behavioral factors affecting physical health and illness. Health psychologists help people cope with physical diseases and try to prevent health problems from occurring. As researchers, health psychologists try to understand relationships between psychological functioning and physical health.

Psychologists are involved in the medical realm of physical health and well being because of the following four assumptions:

  1. Certain behaviors increase the risk of certain chronic diseases.
  2. Changes in behaviors can reduce the risk of certain diseases.
  3. Changing behaviors is often easier and safer than treating many disease.
  4. Behavioral changes don't cost as much money as medical treatment.

In this section, we will look at relationships between psychological variables and physical health. We understand now from our study of stress is that a physical reaction occurs and can have serious physical consequences.

Psychological Factors that Influence Physical Health

Is there a relationship between aspects of one's personality and one's state of physical health? Can psychological evaluations of a person predict physical and psychological disorders? Why do some people get sick and others stay well? Through psychological research we know there is a positive correlation between some personality variables and physical health.

Through research we know that relationships between personality and disease (coronary heart disease, asthma, ulcers, arthritis, and headaches). There are now adequate data that psychological stress makes us more susceptible to the common cold, influenza, and other communicable diseases. Women are more prone to coronary heart disease.

Question:
3. What diseases have been found to have a psychological component?
(Select the best answer.)
Headaches, ulcers and tooth decay.
Diabetes, asthma and arthritis.
Heart disease, ulcers and headaches.

 


 

One of the personality types that relates to physical disease is the Type A behavior pattern. This type of behavior is characterized by:

  1. Time urgency: concern over wasting precious, small bits of time
  2. Chronic activation: the tendency to stay alert and aroused all of the time, to be focused and concentrated for everything, even if it is mundane
  3. Multiphasia: the tendency to have several projects going on simultaneously.

At the same time, this "type A" person is competitive, achievement oriented, often hostile and angry. People who are relaxed and easy-going are said to have a Type B behavior pattern. Some research shows us, that the Type A personality may predict coronary heart disease. What is most significant in the research is that type A persons have significant rise in blood pressure and heart rate when stress occurs. The type B individuals did not. With the increase of blood pressure and heart rate, there is an increase in cardiac problems.

Question:
4. What are Type A and Type B behavior patterns? What type are you? What type was Saint Peter?

 


 

Questions:
5-1. Do you think that these behavior patterns are apparent in your country?
yes / no.

5-2. If your country is changing, do you think it will have more behavior-related illnesses?
yes / no.

 


 

Promoting Healthy Behaviors

It is possible that some that some personality characteristics have an impact on physical health. The specific traits involved and how they affect people remain subjects of debate and continued research. But there is no debate that certain behaviors put people at risk for physical disease and poor health.

Why Do People Die?

It is obvious that people die for a number of reasons. Ultimately, death is unavoidable. On the other hand, many deaths are premature and preventable. There are a number of factors that lead to illness and death - genetic, biological, social, environmental, and behavioral. Behavioral variables such as cigarette smoking, nutrition, obesity, and stress have been identified as important in affecting health. This means that millions of people engage in what is a deadly lifestyle. A deadly lifestyle involves behaviors that directly lead to death; for example, failing to wear seatbelts in a car.

Interventions designed to prevent health problems from affecting us in the first place have been applied to many behaviors and situations that include smoking and the misuse of alcohol. Programs have tired to change nutrition, physical fitness and exercise, control of stress and high blood pressures, immunization, and unsafe sexual behaviors. Psychologists also use behavioral techniques in attempts to promote healthy and safe behaviors. Many psychologists say that we should be doing all we can to promote healthy environments, that is, smoke-free spaces, safe working places, opportunities to exercise at work, the installation of air bags in cars, and clean burning fuels.

What can be done to help smokers stop smoking? It is one of the most difficult things to do, but often with God's help the habit ends. People who can learn to control their stress levels usually have more success at quitting smoking. Some people find that an antidepressant medication helps them for the most difficult period after they first stop smoking. Then with stress reduction learning, they are successful.

Question:
6. Why is learning about reducing stress important for the person who wants to stop smoking?

 


 

There are two areas where psychologists have been particularly active: helping people to stop smoking and helping people heal from or prevent sexually transmitted diseases.

Efforts to bring people to stop smoking have been great because it is such a deadly habit. In the U.S. smoking accounts for one third of cancer deaths and 400,000 of all deaths. It is estimated that 3 million deaths occur worldwide each year from smoking. Concerns include the impact of "second-hand smoke". We find evidence that children of parents who smoke are at risk for lung cancer even though they have never smoked. This is of particular concern because many children live with smokers.

Question:
7. Why are psychologists trying to stop smoking behaviors?
(Select the best answer.)
Because a deadly lifestyle involves behaviors that directly lead to death.
Because smoking kills 3 million people worldwide each year.
Because of the impact of second-hand smoke.

 


 

With teens, there have been some successful programs to stop them from even beginning smoking. There are adults who are role models who teach skills to resist the pressures to smoke. These programs focus on benefits of not smoking such as freedom from coughing and bad breath, improved appearance, and better physical condition.

It has also been found that the limbic system in the mid-brain responds directly to nicotine in cigarettes. The nicotine increases the neurotransmitter glutamate in the brain. This increases the firing of the neurons in the limbic area that causes a feeling of pleasant mood and alertness. If some drug can block this effect, perhaps addictive smoking can be stopped.

Question:
8. What experience have you had with people who try to stop smoking?

 


 

There are many attempts to stop sexually transmitted diseases. Many of these fail because they do not admit responsibility before God for their behavior. We recently heard of a program conducted by New Life that is offering a pamphlet and video film for almost everyone in one of the countries of Africa in an attempt to stop the spread of AIDS.

Question:
9. Do you know of any Christian program that teaches Christians and non-Christians to prevent sexually transmitted diseases?

 


 

In the U.S., education programs have been reasonably successful. Every family in the U.S. was mailed a pamphlet about the infection and how to avoid the disease. However, many teen-agers think they will live for a long time and therefore do not change their sexual behavior. Group therapy seems to also be effective.

Although AIDS is a physical disease, it has huge psychological complications. AIDS patients are depressed and rejected by society. They are sometimes rejected for medical treatment. Many commit suicide.

Question:
10. Why is AIDS such a terrible disease?