CHAPTER 13

Health, Stress, and Coping

ANSWERS TO CONCEPTS AND EXERCISES

Recognizing Stressors

12.Got a run in her nylons, picking up dog for his veterinary appointment, vacuum cleaner broken, children screaming, dog whimpering, dirty floors, struggling with dinner

13.Deadline, new crisis, wife starting to complain

14.First day of first grade, sit next to the neighborhood bully, ramming his tricycle into hers, grabbing her swing, pushing it too high, imagining what he will do

15.New roommate, roommate goes to bed at 8 p.m., roommate wants to study in the room every night until 7:45 p.m., roommate must have complete quiet, roommate has some great posters of Bambi, wants to keep his ranking in college, worried about his social life.

Recognizing Stress Reactions

1.Resistance stage of GAS. Elevated levels of corticosteroids are associated with the resistance stage of the GAS. During this stage a person may be unaware of the wear and tear hir or her body is experiencing. (see “Physical Responses”)

2.Catastrophizing. A person who makes a mountain out of a molehill is overemphasizing the negative consequences of an event. (see “Psychological Responses”)

3.Burnout. The stress caused by a divorce and working three jobs has led to burnout for Lois. Burnout causes people to become less reliable workers and to become withdrawn, depressed, or accident-prone. (see “Linkages: Stress and Psychological Disorders”)

4.Physical coping strategy. Nancy is not making a logical response to her distress over her husband’s use of a drug. Use of a drug is a physical coping strategy, but it can have extremely negative consequences. A person may become addicted to the drug and be unable to use other methods of coping. (see “Programs for Coping with Stress and Promoting Health”)

ANSWERS TO Critical Thinking

1.Sam’s hypothesis is that Rita died of a naturally occurring heart attack”.

2.Sam is using the pathologist’s report as evidence to support his hypothesis.

3.Martina hypothesizes that the husband, knowing his wife had a bad heart, behaved in ways that would expose her to very consistent and sometimes high levels of stress. Martina may think Jeff wants the insurance money all to himself.

4.Martina knows that ongoing little daily hassles can be just as stressful as major catastrophes. She also knows that consistent stress can lead to diseases of adaptation. The stress induced by Rita’s husband may have caused her health to deteriorate to the point of her having a heart attack. (NOTE: Critical thinking is a constant process of hypothesizing, examining evidence, rehypothesizing, and collecting more evidence. Martina may not be correct.)