Chapter 9: Stress

Stress is the response to events (stressors) that threaten our physical or psychological functioning.

Biomedical model: considers biological factors involved in illness/stress
     General Adaptation Syndrome:
          Alarm stage: body mobilizes resources against stressor
          Resistance stage: body strives to maintain high level of activity
          Exhaustion stage: coping resources are depleted; may lead to illness

Biopsychosocial model: we're multi-dimensional beings
     Cognitive appraisal
          Primary appraisal: assess threat to well-being
          Secondary appraisal: evaluate coping resources and assess potential effectiveness

     Health belief model: willingness to seek medical help
          Depends on perception that threat to health exists
          And on belief that a particular behavior will effectively reduce the threat and is worthwhile