Stress: harms immune system; stressors: catastrophes & daily hassles
- Stressors: eustress (motivating) or distress (debilitating); can be experienced as traumatic or as daily hassles that can build up over time
- Selye's General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS): ARE
- **Alarm (sympathetic nervous response)
- Resistance
- Exhaustion (illnesses)
Coping Strategies
- Emotion focused (e.g. deep breathing, meditation, medication)
- Problem-focused (seeing stress as a problem to be solved and seeking solutions until a solution is found)
- Tend-and-Befriend Theory: some react to stress by tending to their own or others' needs and seeking connection with others; seems to occur mostly in women
Type A Personality: high in achievement motive (Thematic Apperception Test), competitive, angry, hostile, higher risk for heart attack / cardiovascular disease (Type B is more relaxed)