Key TermsBehavioral Medicine - an interdisciplinary field that integrates behavioral and medical knowledge and applies that knowledge to health and disease.
Health Psychology - a subfield of psychology that provides psychology's contribution to behavioral medicine. *Stress - the process by which we perceive and respond to certain events, called stressors, that we appraise as threatening or challenging. *General Adaptation Syndrome - Seyle's concept that the body responds to stress with alarm, resistance and exhaustion. *Burnout - exhaustion of physical or emotional strength or motivation, usually as a result of prolonged stress or frustration. Coronary Heart Disease - the clogging of the vessels that nourish the heart muscle; the leading cause of death in many developed countries. *Type A - Friedman and Rosenman's term for competitive, hard-driving, impatient, verbally aggressive, and anger-prone people. *Type B - Friedman and Rosenman's term for easygoing, relaxed people. Psychophysiological Illness - Literally, "mind-body" illness; any stress-related physical illness, such as hypertension and some headaches. Lymphocytes - the two types of white blood cells that are part of the body's immune system: 'B' form in the bone marrow and release antibodies that fight bacterial infections; 'T' form in the thymus and other lymphatic tissue and attack cancer cells, viruses, and foreign substances. Aerobic Exercise - sustained exercise that increases heart and lung fitness; may also alleviate depression and anxiety. *Biofeedback - a system for electronically recording, amplifying, and feeding back information regarding a subtle physiological state, such as blood pressure or muscle tension. Alternative Medicine - A variety of therapeutic or preventative health care practices that are alternatives to mainstream medicine, such as chiropractic, homeopathy, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, naturopathy, and herbal medicine. *Approach-Approach Conflict - a conflict in which one must choose between two equally attractive options. *Avoidance-Avoidance Conflict - the internal conflict that occurs when competing alternatives are equally unpleasant. *Approach-Avoidance Conflict - the internal conflict that occurs when a course of action has both positive and negative aspects. *Coping - alleviating stress using emotional, cognitive, or behavioral methods. |
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Stress and Health
When your stressed out, do you find you have more headaches? Are you more irritable and feel like nothing is going right? That could be a problem because stress affects you in a negative way if not dealt with in the right way. How are we able to approach situations and choose a choice between two different options?