Objective 7.1
______ is anything that is perceived as challenging, threatening, or demanding. They may be external or internal. The perception and effects of these vary per person.
What is a stressor?
This term describes the long-term result of effective coping strategies in response to stress or change, allowing individuals to function better in new circumstances.
What is adaptation?
These techniques help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, leading to decreased physiological arousal and a sense of calmness.
What are relaxation techniques?
What is deep breathing?
What is guided imagery?
What is progressive muscle relaxation? calming music, aromatherapy, meditation, etc.
A nurse jogs after work to manage stress, boosting the brain's production of these natural “feel-good” chemicals that help reduce pain and promote a sense of well-being.
What are endorphins?
Stress is the body's natural response to a perceived threat or challenge that triggers the "________" response.
What is the 'fight or flight' response?
This defense mechanism involves unconsciously pushing distressing memories or thoughts out of conscious awareness — a short-term fix that helps you function, even if the issue isn't resolved.
What is repression?
This level of stress prevention focuses on stopping stress before it starts by reducing exposure to stressors or increasing resilience.
What is primary stress prevention?
To help a patient relax before a procedure, a nurse dims the lights, plays soft music, and uses lavender aromatherapy—examples of this kind of stress management technique.
What is sensory manipulation?
When a person exhibits signs of stress, you may see these common physiological and psychological responses to stress.
What are increased heart rate, sweating, dilated pupils, dry mouth, difficulty concentrating, irritability, anger?
After failing a test, a student says, “It wasn’t important anyway.” This coping strategy protects self-esteem by offering logical but false excuses.
What is rationalization?
These two key neurotransmitters—one often linked to the “fight or flight” response and the other to mood regulation—play major roles in how the brain responds to stress.
What are norepinephrine and serotonin?
Hospitalization, changes in health status, financial concerns, and fear of the unknown are all examples of these factors that can increase a patient’s emotional and physical stress levels.
What are client-related stressor?
See a full list in your textbook Box 5-3
This is a relatively stable state of physiologic equilibrium. The body maintains consistency by adjusting and readjusting in response to changes in the internal and external environments that foster disequilibrium.
What is homeostasis?
A college student throws a tantrum after getting a bad grade, reverting to childhood behaviors in stressful situations through this mechanism.
What is regression?
During this level of stress prevention, we minimize the consequences of a disorder through aggressive rehabilitation or appropriate management of the disease?
What is tertiary stress prevention?
What are the first three actions a nurse must do when a person is experiencing a stressor?
1. Identify the stressors
2. Assess the client's response to stress
3. Eliminate or reduce the stressor
see full list in textbook under Nursing Implications pg 62.
The purpose of ______ is to maintain homeostasis. This requires the use of self-protective properties and mechanisms for regulating homeostasis. To achieve this, responses by the CNS, ANS, and endocrine system are coordinated.
What is adaptation?
When someone treats a person they dislike with exaggerated friendliness, they may be using this coping mechanism that masks true feelings with the opposite behavior.
What is reaction formation?
Developed by Holmes and Rahe, this tool assigns numerical values to life events like divorce or moving, to estimate a person’s risk of illness due to stress.
What is the Social Readjustment Rating Scale?
Refer to your textbook Table 5-5
In this stage of the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), physiological changes work to restore homeostasis.
What is the stage of resistance?
(the other two stage of alarm and state of exhaustion)