Stress and coping strategies.

• Stress formation


  Complex interplays between cognitive, emotional, and physiological factors, each contributing to the body's response to external demands
• Cognitive theory of stress


  • When the demands of a situation exceed one's cognitive processing capacity, distress ensues
  • Stress serves the function of preparing the body for environmental demands
  • If the demands align with one's capacity, it may lead to eustress, activating cognitive abilities
  • If the requirements surpass capacity, it results in distress
• Emotional theories of stress


  • Excessive stress can lead to failure to meet needs, frustration, decreased motivation, aggression, and a general deterioration of life situations
  • Learned helplessness, proposed by Seligman, suggests that experiencing uncontrollable negative events can induce apathy and depression, fostering a belief in one's helplessness in manageable situations
• Physiological theories of stress

  • Fight or flight response proposed by Walter Cannon, focus on the body's physiological reactions to stressors
  • Sympathetic nervous system release of adrenaline and noradrenaline, preparing the body for action
  • Hans Selye's theory of general adaptation syndrome (GAS) describes stress as a non-specific bodily response to demands
  • GAS involves three phases: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion
• Transactional Model of Coping with Stress

  • Primary assessment, individuals gauge the level of threat posed by the situation
  • Secondary evaluation, they assess their options for responding and anticipate the consequences of their actions
  • Reconsideration, evaluating the effectiveness of coping strategies employed
  • Individuals' appraisals of events as controllable, predictable, or challenging greatly influence their perceived stress levels
• Stress responses


  • Acute stress response, characterized by transient mental disorder, arises from excessive mental or physical stress
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a delayed and persistent response to exceptionally threatening stressors
  • Adjustment disorders, occur in response to life changes and events that exceed an individual's adaptive capacity
• Layers of stress response

  • Physiological
  • Emotional
  • Behavioral
  • Cognitive
• Physiological stress response


  • Increased blood pressure, elevated pulse rate, sweating, and altered breathing patterns
• Emotional stress response


  • Anger, fear, surprise, and joy
• Behavioral stress response


  • Smoking, consuming alcohol, physical activities like walking or sports, or even mundane tasks like cleaning
• Cognitive stress response


  • Inner monologues, thought stumbling, or unfocused thinking
• Crises or challenging life events

  • Test an individual's ability to cope effectively
  • Linked to outbreaks of psychoneurosis within the framework of psychoanalytic theory
  • Characterized by time, loss of mental balance, overstepping resilience boundaries, and cumulative effects
• Hardiness


  • Commitment, challenge, and control
  • Commitment involves coping strategies and cognitive control
  • Challenge pertains to dedication and the meaningfulness of life
  • Control encompasses adaptability to changes and challenges, reflected in the concept of locus of control
• Salutogenesis


  • Sense of coherence, comprising understandability, manageability, and meaningfulness
• Coping strategies


  • Problem-oriented
  • Emotion-focused
  • Escape-focused
  • Stress avoidance
  • Stress resistance
• Defense mechanisms


  • Displacement
  • Suppression
  • Rationalization
  • Negation
  • Scotomization
  • Identification
  • Projection
  • Compensation
  • Hypercompensation
  • Regression
  • Fixation
  • Isolation
  • Suppression
  • Negativism
  • Downplaying
  • Daydreaming
  • Substance or non-substance addictions
  • Suicidal thoughts or experiments