Stress and Coping

1
Stress and Coping

• How to stay in control when things are out of
  control.

2
Emotions

• Emotions are feelings that involve
• physical and psychological changes
• within the body
• Fight or Flight these are physical response to
  emotions related to challenge or threat.
• 1. prepares body for aggression (fight)
• 2. prepares body to escape perceived danger
  (flight)
• Learning to control emotions is a major task.
• Children learn to repress unacceptable emotions.

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Types of Emotions

• Anxiety - vague unpleasant feeling that produces
  physical sensations. Results in tension and
  increased heart rate. Individual often cannot
  identify reason for distress.
• Fear - results of a specific, identifiable
  cause. Physical reactions similar to anxiety.

4
Types of Emotions Contd

• Anger inborn and instinctive. Emotional
  reaction to loss.
• Aggression combination of frustration, hate or
  rage.

5
Perceptions of Control

• Being in control perception that one has
  choices and is able to create change .
• Powerlessness perception that ones
  actions cannot effect changes in outcome.

6
Perceptions of Control Contd.

• Hopelessness perception that ones needs have
  no potential to be met.
• 1. long term feelings of powerlessness lead to
  feelings of physical and mental fatigue (which
  can lead to depression).
• 2. long term feelings of hopelessness often
  lead to depression.

7
Perceptions of Control Contd.

• Spiritual Distress leads individuals to
  question
• 1. the meaning of ones life
• 2. meaning of pain and suffering
• 3. value of living
• Short term spiritual distress is a form
  of introspection that promotes personal growth
  and development. Prolonged spiritual distress
  leads to depression.
• 
  

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Definitions

• Stress the subjective feeling of tension to
  perceived events.
• Coping refers to how the mind reacts to stress
• Coping Mechanisms vary from person to person. An
  event that stresses one person, might not stress
  another. Conscious behavior is usually based on
  success of previous coping experiences.

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Defense Mechanisms

• Defense mechanisms are unconscious and operate
  automatically. Types of defense mechanisms
  include
• Compensation covering weaknesses by emphasizing
  a more desirable trait or by overachievement in a
  more comfortable area.
• Example high school student is too small to
  play football becomes star tennis player.
• Purpose allows person to overcome
  weakness and achieve success.

10
Defense Mechanisms Contd.

• Denial attempt to ignore unacceptable realities
  by refusing to acknowledge them
• Example a mother, though she has been told her
  daughter has terminal cancer, continues to plan
  for her daughters college entrance.
• Purpose temporarily isolates person from
  full impact of a traumatic situation.

11
Defense Mechanisms Contd.

• Displacement transferring emotional reactions
  from one object or person to another object or
  person.
• Example a boyfriend and girlfriend are arguing,
  and he gets so angry that he slams his fist into
  the wall.
• Purpose allows feelings to be expressed through
  or to less meaningful objects or people.

12
Defense Mechanisms Contd.

• Intellectualization an emotional response that
  would normally accompany a painful incident is
  avoided by use of intellectual explanations that
  remove personal feelings from the incident.
• Example pain over best friends sudden death is
  reduced by saying he wouldnt have wanted to
  live disabled.
• Purpose protects person from
  emotional reality of loss

13
Defense Mechanisms Contd.

• Minimization not acknowledging the significance
  of ones behavior
• Example teenager says dont believe everything
  my kid brother tells you. I wasnt so drunk I
  couldnt drive.
• Purpose allows a person to decrease
  responsibility for behavior.

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Defense Mechanisms Contd.

• Projection projects shortcomings or feelings on
  to others.
• Example A disgruntled college freshman when
  called to meet with her advisor, believes that
  shes called in because her advisor doesnt like
  her
• Purpose Allows person to deny existence of
  shortcomings.

15
Defense Mechanisms Contd.

• Rationalization justification of certain
  behaviors by faulty logic and attributing
  socially acceptable motives that did not inspire
  the behavior.
• Example a student cheats on an exam but blames
  the teacher for not making the material more
  understandable.
• Purpose helps person cope with
  inability to acknowledge inappropriate
  behavior.

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Defense Mechanisms Contd.

• Reaction Formation individual acts exactly
  opposite to the way he/she feels
• Example teenager has bitterness towards
  girl who beat her out of cheerleader
  position, but acts very sweet and
  friendly when they see each other.
• Purpose form of repression that allows
  feelings to be acted out in a more
  acceptable way.

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Defense Mechanisms Contd.

• Regression resorting to an earlier stage of
  life that is generally less demanding and
  responsible.
• Example an adult throws a temper tantrum when
  he cant have his own way.
• Purpose allows person to return to a point in
  development when nurturing and dependency were
  acceptable.

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Defense Mechanisms Contd.

• Repression an unconscious mechanism by which
  threatening thoughts, feelings, and desires are
  kept from becoming conscious.
• Example child who was verbally abused by her
  alcoholic mother cannot remember certain events
  during her childhood.
• Purpose protects person from traumatic
  experience until he/she has resources to cope

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Coping Mechanisms

• Effective Coping
• A slight to moderate level of worry that engages
  adaptive activity to relieve mental distress.
• Ineffective Coping
• Leads to excessive use of defense
  mechanisms.

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Types of Behavior

• Maladaptive Behavior
• Result of ineffective coping
• Psychotic Behavior
• Most severe form of ineffective coping. Caused
  by psychosis (lack of contact with reality, mind
  unconsciously uses many defense mechanisms to
  deny, destroy and avoid reality when it cant
  consciously cope and solve problems).

21
Relaxation Techniques

• Relaxation is the key to avoiding stress and
  learning how to cope with daily anxieties.
• Lets practice.