CHAPTER 13: STRESS AND HEALTH

stressors - specific events or chronic pressures that place demand on a person or threaten the person's well-being stress - the physical and psychological response to internal or external stressors health psychology - the subfield of psychology concerned with ways psychological facts influence the causes and treatment of physical illness and the maintenance of health chronic stressors - sources of stress that occur continuously or repeatedly fight-or-flight response - an emotional and physiological reaction to an emergency that increases readiness for action general adaptation syndrome (GAS) - a three stage physiological response that appears, regardless of the stressor that is encountered immune system - a complex response system that protects the body from bacteria, viruses, and other foreign substances type A behavior pattern - the tendency toward easily aroused hostility, impatience, a sense of time urgency, and competitive achievement strivings burnout - a state a physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion resulting from long-term involvement in an emotionally demanding situation and accompanied by lowered performance and motivation