Thank Me With TEA!

Health Psych – Module 5

Resources and summaries taken from the lecture, slides and book chapter.

Resources

The Breakdown

Here is a summary of the material related to Module 5, focusing on coping and stress management, drawn from the provided sources and our conversation history.

Important

  • Midterm Exam Date and Time – The midterm exam is on the 18th of October, a Friday, from 6 to 9 PM.
  • Midterm Exam Format – The exam is multiple choice and short answer, lasting three hours, although people are typically finished in about an hour and a half.
  • Midterm Exam Coverage – The midterm will cover chapters one through seven plus anything else that has been discussed in class.
  • Textbook Use for Exams – The bulk of what will be asked on exams comes from what is talked about in class and the slides provided. The textbook is a resource to confirm what has been learned and clarify unclear parts; random questions buried in the text that were not discussed in class will not be asked.
  • Assignment Anchor – The entire assignment is anchored on you having a health behavior.
  • Assignment Credible Sources – Statistics and facts used for the assignment should come from credible sources such as peer-reviewed journal articles, legitimate websites like Stats Canada or Public Health Canada, and not unreliable sources. Canadian stats and facts are a bonus.
  • Assignment Goal – The goal of the assignment campaign is to educate, convince, and change health behavior, with a clear take-home message.
  • Biopsychosocial Model Components – All three factors (Biological, Psychological, and Social) must be considered in a diagnosis when using the BPS model.

Core concepts

  • Coping Methods: People use a great variety of coping methods in stressful situations to alter the problem or regulate their emotional response. There are hundreds of methods described in research.
  • Measuring Coping: Many instruments designed to measure coping retrospectively have not been very useful in predicting mental or physical health or accurately measuring coping.
  • Benefit-Finding: This involves acknowledging the positive changes or outcomes that occur as a result of stress or adversity. Research suggests it is associated with less depression and greater feelings of well-being.
  • Stress Management Techniques Effectiveness: Using a single stress management technique to lower blood pressure often has limited success; these methods are more effective when combined in multidimensional programs. Meditation may be more effective than other single techniques.
  • Insomnia and Stress: Insomnia often results from stress, such as worrying about jobs or health. Poor sleep interferes with restorative processes and is linked to work difficulties, accidents, higher endocrine reactivity to stressors, impaired immune functioning, more rapid physical aging, and greater risk of cardiovascular disease and early death.
  • Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This is a technique used to modify behavior by helping individuals understand their internal monologue, change negative self-talk, and develop coping strategies to deal with stress and anxiety. It empowers the patient using cognitive power without drugs.

Theories and Frameworks

  • Biofeedback: A technique using an electromechanical device to monitor physiological processes (like heart rate or muscle tension) and immediately report this information back to the individual, allowing them to gain voluntary control.
  • Systematic Desensitization: A procedure for reducing fears and anxieties by arranging feared stimuli in a hierarchy and presenting them individually while the person is relaxed, progressing from least to most fearful.
  • Stress-Inoculation Training: A stress management program that involves a conceptual phase, a skills acquisition and rehearsal phase, and an application and follow-through phase, teaching cognitive and behavioral skills for coping. It is useful for people anticipating a stressful event.
  • NUTS Model of Stress: Discussed within the DeStress for Success Program, this model suggests that stress arises from situational variables characterized by Novelty, Unpredictability, Threat to personality, and a Sense of low control.

Notable Individuals

  • Elisabeth Kübler-Ross: Proposed stages of adjustment to dying, which were also applied to the grieving process (though this is discussed in Chapter 15).
  • David Reynolds: Conducted a study with rats demonstrating that impulses from the brain could inhibit the perception of pain, supporting the gate-control theory (though this is discussed in Chapter 11).
  • Ronald Melzack: Recognised the multidimensional nature of pain and developed the McGill Pain Questionnaire (though this is discussed in Chapter 11).
  • Corinne Fischer: Researcher at the University of Toronto studying the role of music in patients with Alzheimer’s disease (though this is discussed in Chapter 13).
  • Michael Thaut: Canada Research Chair in Music and Health Sciences at the University of Toronto researching music’s role in Alzheimer’s disease (though this is discussed in Chapter 13).
  • Steven Blair: Professor at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina who studied the impact of physical activity on health (though this is discussed in Lecture 4).
  • Wolfgang Linden: Researcher who conducted a meta-analysis on stress management programs for hypertension, finding multidimensional programs more effective (though this is discussed in Chapter 5).
  • Laura Chambers: Researcher who collaborated with Wolfgang Linden on the meta-analysis of stress management programs (though this is discussed in Chapter 5).
  • Dr. Lupien: Developed the DeStress for Success Program at the University of Montreal aimed at teaching students stress recognition and coping strategies (though this is discussed in Chapter 5).