Stress and Your Health

Hymie Anisman is a Professor in the Department of Neuroscience at Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada. He also holds a Canada Research Chair in Neuroscience and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada. Professor Anisman’s research includes the influence of stressors on neurochemical and neuroendocrine systems, and how these influence psychological (anxiety, depression) and physical (immune-related) disorders. He is the author of An Introduction to Stress and Health (2014) and co-editor of Handbook of Psychoneuroimmunology (Wiley, 2014).

“This is a worthwhile read, especially for those wanting to gain a good grounding in the subject of stress.”  (The British Psychological Society, 1 October 2015)

• Preface xiiiAcknowledgments xvi1 Stressors, Stress, and Distress 1What this book is about 1What do we mean when we talk about stressors? 3The characteristics of stressors: comparing apples, oranges, and lemons 5Chronic stressors and allostatic overload 10Before you go… 112 Individual Differences in Relation to Stressors and Stress Responses 12Vulnerability and resilience 13Genetic influences 13Age 17Sex 18Personality differences in relation to stress responses 18Previous stressor experiences 19Stress generation 19Before you go… 203 Appraising Stressful Events 21Appraising stressors 22Guidance through primary and secondary appraisals 22Thinking fast and slow 22Guideposts and anchors 25Appraisals based on what others think 27Appraisals in relation to learning, memory, automaticity, expectation, and habit 28Positive and negative emotions 30Gauging stressors 31Before you go… 334 Coping with Stressors 35First responses to stressors 36Coping methods 36Personal growth and finding meaning 38Social support 40Loneliness 40Unsupportive interactions 42Social rejection 44Forgiveness and trust 46Empathy 48Before you go… 485 Hormones and What They Do 50What’s a hormone? 51Linking hormones and behaviors 51The hormonal stress response 54Hormones of the autonomic nervous system 54The hypothalamic]pituitary]adrenal (HPA) axis and glucocorticoids 55What cortisol (corticosterone) does for us 55The cortisol/corticosterone response to an acute stressor 55Cortisol variations in humans 56Yesterday’s stressors influence today’s responses 59A cacophony of hormones associated with stress, eating and energy regulation: leptin, ghrelin, CRH, and neuropeptide Y 60Oxytocin and positive responses 62Estrogen and testosterone 64Before you go… 676 Neurotransmitter Processes and Growth Factors 69Neuronal and glial processes in relation to challenges 70Stressors influence neurotransmitter functioning 72Acetylcholine (ACh) 72Serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine 75Corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH): beyond the HPA system 76Glutamate 78Gamma]aminobutyric acid (GABA) 79Cannabinoids 79Neurotrophic factors 80The past influences the future 82Before you go… 837 Immunological Effects of Stressors 84A brief look at how the immune system works 85Cells of the immune system 86Immune memories 87Cytokines: messenger molecules of the immune system 88Immune–hormone interactions 88Stress, brain processes, and immunological changes 91Cytokine changes in response to stressors 93Before you go…. 938 Stress across the Life Span 95Connections over time 96Prenatal experiences 96Biological correlates of prenatal stress in humans 98Consequences of prenatal infection in animals and humans 99Stress experienced early in life 101Transitional periods 104Older age 106Before you go… 1079 Cardiovascular Disease 108Coronary artery disease (CAD) 109The heart’s response to a challenge 109Psychosocial factors associated with heart disease 110The influence of stressors on heart disease 110Job strain 112Depressive illness and heart disease 113Socioeconomic status (SES) 114Sex]dependent trajectories for heart disease 114Personality factors and heart disease 115Type A personality 115Type D personality 116Physiological stress responses associated with heart disease 116Sympathetic nervous system reactivity 116Inflammatory processes in heart disease 117Stress, pathogen burden, and heart disease 118Obesity, cytokines, and heart disease 119Before you go… 12010 Diabetes 121Type 1 diabetes 122Type 2 diabetes 122Stressor influences in relation to the development of Type 2 diabetes 123Immune factors in Type 2 diabetes 126Genetic contributions 127Before you go… 12711 Stress, Immunity, and Disease 128Immunity and illness 128Allergies 129Infectious illness 130Stressors influence vulnerability and the course of infectious illness 133Autoimmune disorders 134Exacerbation of autoimmune disorders by stressful experiences 137Before you go… 13712 Stress and Cancer: Cancer and Stress 138The cancer process 139The stress–cancer link 141Implication for cancer treatment 144Stress stemming from cancer 145Treating cancer]related distress 147Before you go… 14813 Depressive Illnesses and Cognitive Mistakes 149What is depression? 150Depressive subtypes 152Cognitive theories of depressive disorders 153Helplessness 153Hopelessness 154Depression from an evolutionary perspective 156Depression from a neurochemical vantage 158Neurobiological explanations of depressive disorders 158Serotonin, norepinephrine and dopamine in relation to depressive disorders 159Gene and environmental interactions 160Reward processes in depression: dopamine and anhedonia 161Depression and anxiety: corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH) as a player in depression 162Coordination and discoordination of neuronal process: gamma]aminobutyric acid (GABA) 163Growth factors and depression 164Inflammatory processes and depressive disorders 165Before you go… 16914 Fretting over Anxiety Disorders 171A plague of anxiety disorders 172Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) 172Panic disorder 173Obsessive]compulsive disorder (OCD) 174Phobias and social anxiety 177Before you go… 17815 Acute Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder 179Acute stress disorder 180Posttraumatic stress disorder 180Vulnerability and resilience 181Neuroanatomical underpinnings of PTSD 182Biochemical determinants of PTSD 184CRH and corticoids in relation to PTSD]related memories 185Norepinephrine and serotonin and PTSD]related memories 187GABA and the extinction of fear responses in PTSD 187Neuropeptide Y (NPY) and resilience 188Before you go… 18816 Addictions and Forbidden Fruits 190What’s an addiction 190Stress as a provocateur in the addiction process 191Reward and aversion in relation to addiction: a multistep process 191Dopamine in relation to stress and reward 192Corticotropin hormone in relation to stress and addiction 193Can eating become an addiction? 195An integrated perspective 195Treatment for addictions 196Before you go… 19717 Coping with Illness, Caregiving, and Loss 199How might illness come to affect health? 200Major physical illnesses 201What patients know and what they need to know 201Appraising and coping with illness 202Personal control, decision]making, and trust 203Social support and unsupportive interactions in the face of illness 204Mood changes associated with illness 205Adjustment to chronic illnesses: psychological resilience in the face of illness 206Stress associated with caregiving 207Loss and grief 208Before you go… 20918 The Workplace for Better or Worse 211Job]related distress 212Status and job strain 212Burnout 212Absenteeism and presenteeism 212Bullying in the workplace 213Social support in the workplace 215Trust in the workplace 216Unemployment 216Time management and juggling 217Before you go… 21819 Transmission of Trauma across Generations 220Traveling across generations 221Parental stress influences on children 221Intergenerational effects of trauma: beyond poor parenting 222Environments modify gene actions 223The case of epigenetic effects 223Collective and historic trauma 226Before you go… 22920 Stress Reduction through Cognitive and Behavioral Strategies 231Prelude to dealing with stress 232Relaxation training 233Exposure therapy 233Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) 234Interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) 237Meditation 237Mindfulness 238The default mode network 240Positive psychotherapy (PPT) 241Giving and receiving 242The social cure 243Before you go… 24421 Drug Remedies to Attenuate Stress and Stress]Related Disorders 246Something about drug treatments 247Placebo and nocebo responses 247Selecting the right treatment and related caveats 249Treating depression 250Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) 250A cocktail of acronyms: SNRI, NDRI, NaSSA, MAOI 253Ketamine 256Deep brain stimulation 257Anti]inflammatory agents 258Treating anxiety disorders 259Treating PTSD 259Herbal (naturopathic) treatments 262Before you go… 26622 Epilogue 267It’s OK to go now… 267References 269Index 272