Stress and Addiction
Hanna Pickard, Serge H. Ahmed in The Routledge Handbook of Philosophy and Science of Addiction, 2019
The term “stress” refers to our responses to harmful, threatening, overwhelming or challenging events. These responses start with, (1) perception of events or stimuli, along with (2) thoughts and cognitions, emotions, sensations and physiological arousal, and (3) adaptive or maladaptive behaviors and cognitions to resolve or reduce the stress and return to baseline or “homeostasis.” Events may be external events like a person with a weapon, or internal events such as sleep deprivation or extreme hunger, or even chronic situations such as financial difficulties or illnesses. Such events that produce stress are referred to as stressors (Sinha 2008). For example, a conflict with a loved one may result in negative thoughts and emotions, a number of sensations of heart beating faster, muscle tightness, breathing faster, screaming, and also include motivation to leave the situation or throw something, and, finally, leaving to take a walk. Such a stressor creates stress involving the above three components along with making a choice of behavior to reduce or resolve the stress. Common types of emotional stressors include interpersonal conflict, loss of relationship, death of a close family member, or loss of a child. Highly threatening or stressful events also include emotional and physical traumas such as violent victimization and emotional, physical and sexual abuse. Common internal physiological states that are stressors include hunger or food deprivation, sleep deprivation or insomnia, psychoactive drug use, extreme hyper- or hypo-thermia and drug withdrawal states (see Table 24.1).
The Acute Stress Response
Rolland S. Parker in Concussive Brain Trauma, 2016
Chronic stress refers to a continuous condition (combat, imprisonment, harassment, pain, impairment), or the persistent secondary psychological effects of an unhealed physical or mental injury (“Distracting Symptoms”) that hamper peace of mind, work, and social relationships. These are often consequent to an unhealed wound. Their secondary effect includes interference with work and other activities of daily living, such as through seizures, headaches, other pain, balance problems, reduced range of motion, and so on (Parker, 1995). Chronic stress has a much greater symptom range than the narrowly defined chronic PTSD. Examples of chronic trauma include an accident, concentration camps, combat, harassment, and unhealed wounds. Stress symptoms vary from time to time and may lead to physiological exhaustion (e.g., headaches, pain, balance and vertigo, reduced range of motion, etc.). Pre-existing coping difficulties include pragmatic communication (verbal and nonverbal); comprehension and expression; written and oral communications; capacity for self-report; productive efforts (e.g., school, work, family and social life, and community activities); and motivation for useful or pleasurable activities. Can the person lead a safe life or is some kind of supervision needed? How does the person cope with or improve the current condition? Is presentation to the provider motivated by occult need for financial or secondary gain? What are the retained or dysfunctional strengths? Can the person utilize or have access to social and community resources?
The consultation in a nutshell
Roger Neighbour, Jamie Hynes, Helen Stokes-Lampard in Consulting in a Nutshell, 2020
But quite often a third version of the problem emerges after some discussion and exploration of the initial presentation, replacing it in the patient's mind as the accepted priority agenda. In the example I've given, you will need to help the patient change the problem as they see it from I need a laxative to I have some possibly serious symptoms. Unless you can do this, it will be difficult for you and the patient to agree on a management plan. Other examples of situations calling for what we might call ‘secondary translation’ of the presenting problem into the ‘real’ or underlying problem are: Hidden agenda e.g. the patient whose pain from a mild whiplash injury seems disproportionate until you discover that an insurance claim is pending.The ‘ticket of admission’ e.g. a teenage girl who presents with mild acne but who ‘really’ wants contraception.Stress-related symptoms e.g. tension headaches in an overworked teacher.Psychosomatic or medically unexplained symptoms e.g. dyspareunia in a young woman who is the victim of domestic abuse.
Child-specific, maternal, and environmental stressors in the context of adolescent weight outcomes
Published in Children's Health Care, 2018
Amy J. Fahrenkamp, Amy F. Sato
Approximately 34% of adolescents in the United States are overweight or obese (Ogden et al., 2016). Genetic and psychosocial influences impact pediatric obesity risk (Marshall, Biddle, Gorely, Cameron, & Murdey, 2004), and stress is one important psychosocial predictor of pediatric obesity (van Jaarsveld, Fidler, Steptoe, Boniface, & Wardle, 2009). Stress is a complex construct referring to an individual’s physiological and psychological responses to a perceived threat, including threats to an individual’s physical being, sense of dignity, well-being, or interpersonal relationships (Chrousos, 2009; Pearlin, 1989). A stressor can be conceptualized as any adverse trigger of stress, whether it occurs internally, inside an individual, or externally, outside an individual (Chrousos, 2009).
Relations between stress, coping strategies, and prosocial behavior in U.S. Mexican college students
Published in Journal of American College Health, 2022
Madison K. Memmott-Elison, Mansoo Yu, Sahitya Maiya, J. Logan Dicus, Gustavo Carlo
Stress refers to physical or psychological demands placed on an individual and the accompanying physiological, psychological, and behavioral responses.13,14 For young adult college students, stressors may involve balancing academic workloads, transitioning from living with one’s family of origin to living alone, paying for one’s needs and wants, as well as adjusting to cultural norms and expectations (the latter are specific for ethnic/racial/cultural minority youth). These stressors (i.e., academic, social, financial) and many others are relevant to most young adults, though cultural stressors compound with widespread stressors during the young adult period for Latinx college students,15,16 leaving them at a heightened vulnerability for less-than-optimal adjustment.
Can the biological mechanisms of ageing be corrected by food supplementation. The concept of health care over sick care
Published in The Aging Male, 2020
Stress may result from professional, socio-economical or familial causes, from medical diseases or treatments, or from trauma (post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD). Whether, and to which extend stress provokes physical signs and symptoms depends on the “stress management skills” of the person, related to aspects of his personality and education. Stress induces the “fight-or-flight” reaction with important impact on brain function, immunology and endocrinology, especially via the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal axis [61]. Stress reactions will normally faze-out rapidly, but this may not be the case in certain persons. Persistent stress-reaction may cause permanent health damage [62] and accelerate cellular ageing [63]. Epigenetic DNA changes may be associated with stress-related psychiatric disorders [64].
Related Knowledge Centers
- Adrenaline
- Autonomic Nervous System
- Cortisol
- Physiology
- Psychological Stress
- Sympathetic Nervous System
- Psychology
- Stressor
- Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis
- Fight-Or-Flight Response