About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about the role of stress in illness, focusing in particular on: (i) some inherent issues with stress research, including that it has historically ignored the psychological element of the stress response, focusing exclusively on physiology; (ii) a key negative consequence of stress being suppression of the immune system, via cortisol release; (iii) the important positive impact of a strong social support system for limiting the negative impacts of stress on health; (iv) the impact that a condition like clinical anxiety can have when interacting with a physiological issue, like a brain injury.

About the lecturer

Dr Shanti Shanker is a senior lecturer in the Department of Psychology at Bournemouth University. Dr Shanker’s research interests are in the translation of empirical and cognitive research findings to clinical and counselling applications, using behavioural and neuropsychological approaches. Some of Dr Shanker’s recent publications include 'Stuck in a Moment: Concreteness and psychotherapy after acquired brain injury' (2013) and 'Characterizing cognitive deficits and dementia in an aging urban population in India' (2012).