Stress & Coping

Stress

• A person’s response to events that threaten (or are perceived to threaten) or challenges one’s ability to cope

Characteristics of Stress

• A person’s response to events that threaten (or are perceived to threaten) or challenges one’s ability to cope

• Even pleasant events can evoke stress

  • E.g. moving, marriage, surprise parties, starting a new job 

• Daily life involves a series of repeated sequences of perceiving a threat, considering ways to cope with it , and ultimately adapting to the threat, with greater or lesser success 

• An attempt to overcome stress has impacts

Lazarus & Folkman Stress model

Stress is a subjective experience: the same stressors works differently on others, which in turn relates to how we appraise the stress.

Two processes with Lazarus and Folkman Model

1. Primary appraisal: is this event relevant to me, is it significant, and threatening

2. Secondary appraisal: Can I deal with this event, do I have the resources to cope

Types of stressors

cataclysmic events, personal stressors, daily hassles

Cataclysmic

strong stressors that occur suddenly and typically affect many people simulation: like pandemic (COVID), disasters, terrorist attacks. This affects a lot of people

personal stressors

major life events that produce an immediate major reaction that usually tapers off, death of a loved one, a relationship. Hard at the start, but gets better

Background stressors

daily hassles which may not be deemed as stress (minor irritation), but background stressors being being continued or compounded with other events, have long-term stress. For instance, work, traffic, etc.

Why do cataclysmic events

• Clear end point, for instance, the ending of a terroristic event or natural disaster

• The stress of these events are shared with others, the social support buffers some of the stress derived from the event

• Once the disaster ends, people can look to the future knowing the worst is behind them 

Background stressors: Minor irritations of life that we all face repeatly

• Rarely thought of as significant sources of stress

• Other back stressors are long-term chronic problems

  • Long term dissatisfaction with school/work

  • Being in an unhappy relationship

  • Living in crowded space without privacy (privacy is important) 

PTSD:

When survivors of major catastrophes or strong personal stressors feel long-lasting effects

• Reliving of a traumatic event 

• Can be triggered by sounds or smells

• Symptoms include re-experiencing the events in flashback or dreams, emotional numbing, sleeping difficulty, problem relating to other people, drugs and suicide 

Daily uplifts and their impact on stress/health.

Uplifts: minor positive events that make oneself feel good/uplifted: frequency of this may protect psychological health

Greater number of uplifts result in fewer negative psychological symptoms

Compliments from a friend or partner

• Random change with a store employee

• A great meal

• Accomplishing a goal

• Seeing results for your hard work

How stress affects our body and psychologically

Adrenal gland releases stress hormones: cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline) and norepinephrine 

• These increase blood pressure

• Cortisol can coat the blood vessels, chorsetal plaque

  • Increases chance of heart attack/stroke

• Stress causes brain to not be harmous with the rest of body; like the gut bacteria changing causing IBS or GERD

• Shortening of telomeres (ends of chromosomes) resulting in lower life expectancy (cell age quicker)

• Acne, hair loss, sexual dysfunction, headache, muscle tension

Selye’s general adaptation syndrome (GAS) - be able to identify what stage a person is at from scenarios

The different stressors led to the same physiological responses, achieved through stressing animals in a lab. Three responses

Three responses from Selye

Alarm and mobilization, Resistance, Exhaustion

Alarm and mobilization

when we become aware of the stress, autonomic nervous system is  is activated, stress hormones

Resistance

if stress continues, our body adapts to and finds ways to cope with the stressor, using physiological changes to stabilize

Exhaustion

if stress is problematic or chronic, ability to cope with stress is depleted: lead to disease of adaptations: diabetes, heart disease, sleep is a mild example

Psychological effects: Type A personality and health, relationship to the course of cancer

Type A behaviour: driven such as being competitive, time urgent, and being driven 

Type B: characterised by being cooperative, patent, non competitive, and non-aggressive

Type D (distressed): characterized by insecurity, anxiety, and a negative outlook 

Change of Coronary Heart Disease: 

• Type A: High

• Type B: Low

• Type D: Very high, 

Hostility

Type A pattern of behaviour and heart disease is hostility (focus on hostility for test)

Coping

efforts to control, reduce, or tolerate threats that lead to stress

3 points of stress

We habitually use certain coping responses to deal with stress

Most of the time, we are not aware of it

When we typically encounter stress, we resort to negative coping strategies like eating unhealthy foods, substance abuse

Emotion focused coping:

attempting to change the way we feel about perceive a problem

• For instance, feeling good about an exam instead of being nervous about it 

Problem-focused coping

attempting to modify the problem or source of stress itself

• For instance, bad marks bringing stress, so you study harder to get better grades so you do not get stressed from bad marks

Meditation and Stress

• Reduction in stress hormones and inflammatory response

• Reduction in anxiety, depression

• Increase in positive emotions, gratitude, empathy

• Improves quality of sleep

• Greater self-awareness, insight, sense of self-efficacy

• Increase memory attention span, less mind wandering 

Social support:

relation with others are a major buffer against stress

• Enables us to experience lower levels of stress an be better able cope

  • This is due to us feeling valued, heard, seen

• Connections with other provide information and advice about appropriate ways of dealing with stress (informational support)

  • For instance, people answering a question which resolves a stressor

• People who are part of a social support network can provide goods and services

Maladaptive Coping Strategies (not good strategies) 

Avoidant coping: cope with stress by avoiding them

• Self medication (Alcohol increases stress hormones, Junk Food)

• Sleeping

• Procrastination

Defense mechanism: unconscious strategies to reduce anxiety by concealing the source from oneself and others 

• This includes repression, projection, displacement and emotional isolation

• Does not deal with reality, just hides the problem temporary