Emotions, stress, and health / Alex J. Zautra.

Includes bibliographical references (p. [267]-299) and index.

The Nature of Emotional Experiences -- Emotions in Two Dimensions -- Stress and the Eyes of the Beholder -- The Effects of Stress on the Experience of Emotions -- Positive Emotions and Mental Health: Are We Chasing the Rainbow? -- The Role of Positive Emotions in Health -- Emotional Intelligences -- Attention and Pain: The Role of Emotions -- Depression and Anxiety: Two Frequent Disturbances of Emotion under Stress -- Addiction and Emotions -- Emotions Abused -- Marriage and Other Close Relationships: A Two-Dimensional Look -- The Quality of Emotional Life at Work -- The Preservation of Quality of Emotional Life as We Age -- The Emotional Community.

Publisher description: In this volume, Zautra illustrates how experience with difficult or stressful emotional situations can, contrary to popular belief, be beneficial; for example, our ability to adapt to stress can be improved by experiencing difficult moments of emotional intensity. Although people often feel the need to cope with problems before beginning to pursue happiness, the ability to move forward does not depend solely on correcting problems. The quality of our lives depends upon how well we integrate both the negative and the positive. Zautra identifies a unique and important role for stressful life events in shaping awareness of our emotional experiences. He offers an insightful view of how stress and emotions can influence health and illness, demonstrates the wide applicability of this perspective across domains of love and marriage, work, aging, and community, and provides new insights into clinical problems through a review of research on chronic pain, depression, child abuse, and addiction.