Coping With Stress and Happiness

Stress, Health and Human Flourishing

Chapter 10

Coping With Stress

  • Types of Coping

    1. Problem-focused coping

    2. Emotion-focused coping

  • Factors Influencing Coping Success

    • Personal control

    • Optimistic outlook

    • Emotion regulation

    • Social support

    • Finding meaning in life’s ups and downs

Personal Control and Stress

  • Importance of personal control over one’s environment

  • Lack of control can lead to learned helplessness

    • Learned Helplessness: A psychological condition where an individual feels powerless in changing a situation, often leading to passivity and depression.

Power of Personal Control

  • Increased control correlates with improved health, mood, and motivation

  • Experiments: Studies involving prisoners and employees with personalized workspaces demonstrate these effects

  • Tyranny of Choice: Too many choices may become overwhelming rather than empowering.

Locus of Control

  • Who controls your life?

    • External locus of control: Belief that external forces dictate life outcomes.

    • Internal locus of control: Belief in personal influence over outcomes.

  • Self-Control

    • Can enhance coping abilities

    • Related to ego depletion, a state where self-control resources are drained.

Optimism and Pessimism

  • Optimism: Expectation of positive outcomes; correlates with good health and effective coping strategies.

    • Runs in families and can influence longevity.

    • Excessive optimism may blind individuals to risks.

  • Pessimism: Expectation of negative outcomes and doubts in achieving goals.

Emotion Regulation Strategies

  • Benefits of Emotional Regulation: Leads to greater happiness, life satisfaction, and improved social relationships while reducing depression and anxiety.

  • Methods of Emotion Regulation:

    • Cognitive Reappraisal: Changing thoughts about a situation to influence feelings

    • Situation Selection: Altering one’s situation to better align with emotional needs

    • Distraction: Redirecting focus to lessen emotional impact

    • Acceptance: Embracing emotions rather than battling them

    • Suppression: Minimizing emotional expression can lead to poorer coping and negative emotional outcomes.

Social Support and Meaning in Life

  • Social support: Essential for coping and emotional stability

  • Finding Meaning: Contributing to better coping strategies

  • Exercise and Relaxation: Important practices for stress management

  • Meditation: Used in various religious contexts to enhance awareness and compassion; facilitated by technology (e.g., Headspace, Calm).

  • Mindfulness and Breathing Exercises: Integral to reducing suffering and increasing awareness.

Managing Stress Effects

  • Brain Functioning in Mindfulness: Studies illustrate changes in brain function related to mindfulness practices (Yi-Yuan Tang, Hozel and Posner, 2015).

  • Faith Communities and Health:

    • Regular religious attendance correlates with lower risk of dying relative to those with no attendance.

    • Health Correlates:

    • Involvement in religious organizations is linked to healthy behavior (less smoking, drinking) and positive relations (social support).

    • Better health outcomes, including reduced stress hormone levels.

    • Higher emotional positivity (hope, optimism) leads to lesser anxiety and stress levels.

Happiness

  • Definition of Happiness: Must determine if happiness is an objective or subjective experience.

  • Income and Happiness:

    • Positive emotions and life satisfaction rise with income, particularly up to about $75,000 per year.

    • Beyond this point, additional income yields diminishing returns in daily happiness but continues to improve overall life evaluation (Kahneman and Deaton, 2010).

  • Spending Money:

    • Prosocial spending on others leads to greater happiness compared to personal spending (Dunn et al., 2008).

Attributes of Happy People

  • Common traits of happy individuals include:

    • Older age

    • Gender effects: Women report higher joy but also more depression

    • High self-esteem in individualist cultures

    • Physical attractiveness

    • Optimism, agreeableness, and enjoyable outlook

    • Close, positive relationships

    • Engagement in fulfilling work and leisure

    • Active religious faith, especially in more religious societies

    • Good sleep and regular exercise

Strategies for Enhancing Happiness

  • Taking control of time

  • Acting happy: Behavioral changes can influence emotional states

  • Engaging in meaningful work and leisure: Finding activities that utilize one’s skills

  • Prioritizing experiences over possessions: Value life experiences as sources of joy

  • Ensuring adequate sleep

  • Challenging negative thinking patterns: Cognitive restructuring to promote a positive mindset.