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STRESS MANAGEMENT FROM WIKIPEDIAStress management
encompasses techniques intended to equip a person with effectivecoping mechanisms for dealing withpsychological stress, with stress defined as a person'sphysiological response to an internal or external stimulus that triggers thefight-or-flightresponse. Stress management is effective when a person utilizes strategies to cope withor alter stressful situations.
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Historical foundations
Walter CannonandHans Selyeused animal studies to establish the earliest scientific
basis for the study of stress. They measured the physiological responses of animals toexternal pressures, such as heat and cold, prolonged restraint, and surgical procedures,then extrapolated from these studies to human beings.
Subsequent studies of stress in humans by Richard Rahe and others established the viewthat stress is caused by distinct, measurable life stressors, and further, that these lifestressors can be ranked by the median degree of stress they produce (leading to theHolmes and Rahe Stress Scale). Thus, stress was traditionally conceptualized to be aresult of external insults beyond the control of those experiencing the stress. Morerecently, however,
it has been argued that external circumstances do not have anyintrinsic capacity to produce stress, but instead
their effect is mediated by theindividual's perceptions, capacities, and understanding.Models of stress managementTransactional model
Richard Lazarusand Susan Folkman suggested in 1984 that stress can be thought of asresulting from an “imbalance between demands and resources” or as occurring when“pressure exceeds one's perceived ability to cope”. Stress management was developedand premised on the idea that stress is not a direct response to a stressor but rather one'sresources and ability to cope mediate the stress response and are amenable to change,thus allowing stress to be controllable.
In order to develop an effective stress management programme it is first necessary toidentify the factors that are central to a person controlling his/her stress, and to identify theintervention methods which effectively target these factors. Lazarus and Folkman's
interpretation of stress focuses on the transaction between people and their externalenvironment (known as the Transactional Model). The model conceptualizes stress as aresult of how a stressor is appraised and how a person appraises his/her resources tocope with the stressor. The model breaks the stressor-stress link by proposing that if stressors are perceived as positive or challenging rather than a threat, and if the stressedperson is confident that he/she possesses adequate rather than deficient copingstrategies, stress may not necessarily follow the presence of a potential stressor. Themodel proposes that stress can be reduced by helping stressed people change their perceptions of stressors, providing them with strategies to help them cope and improvingtheir confidence in their ability to do so.
Health realization/innate health model
The health realization/innate health model of stress is also founded on the idea that stressdoes not necessarily follow the presence of a potential stressor. Instead of focusing on theindividual's appraisal of so-called stressors in relation to his or her own coping skills (asthe transactional model does), the health realization model focuses on the nature of thought, stating that it is ultimately a person's thought processes that determine theresponse to potentially stressful external circumstances. In this model, stress results fromappraising oneself and one's circumstances through a mental filter of insecurity andnegativity, whereas a feeling of well-beingresults from approaching the world with a "quietmind," "inner wisdom," and "common sense".
This model proposes that helping stressed individuals understand the nature of thought--especially providing them with the ability to recognize when they are in the grip of insecurethinking, disengage from it, and access natural positive feelings--will reduce their stress.
Techniques of stress management
There are several ways of copingwith stress. Some techniques of time managementmay
help a person to control stress. In the face of high demands, effective stress managementinvolves learning to set limits and to say "No" to some demands that others make.Techniques of stress management will vary according to the theoreticalparadigmadheredto, but may include some of the following
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Listening to certain types of relaxing music,
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Measuring stress
Levels of stress can be measured. One way is through the use of the Holmes and RaheStress Scaleto rate stressful life events. Changes inblood pressureand galvanic skin
responsecan also be measured to test stress levels, and changes in stress levels. Adigital
thermometer can be used to evaluate changes in skin temperature, which can indicateactivation of thefight or flight response drawing blood away from the extremities.
Stress management has physiological and immune benefit effects.
Effectiveness of stress management
Positive outcomes are observed using a combination of non-drug interventions:
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talking therapy (around relationship or existential issues)
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See also
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References
1.
Cannon, W. (1939). The Wisdom of the Body, 2nd ed., NY: Norton Pubs.2.
Selye, H (1950). "Stress and the general adaptation syndrome".
Br. Med. J.
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Lazarus, R.S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, Appraisal and Coping. New York:Springer.4.
Mills, R.C. (1995).
Realizing Mental Health: Toward a new Psychology of Resiliency.
Sulberger & Graham Publishing, Ltd. ISBN-10: 09458197815.
Sedgeman, J.A. (2005). Health Realization/Innate Health: Can a quiet mind and apositive feeling state be accessible over the lifespan without stress-relief techniques? Med. Sci. Monitor 11(12) HY47-52.[1] 6.
Spence, J.D., Barnett, P.A., Linden, W., Ramsden, V., Taenzer, P. (1999). Lifestylemodifications to prevent and control hypertension. 7. Recommendations on stressmanagement. The Journal of the Canadian Medical Association,160(Suppl 9):S46-50.12365525
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www.naturalproductsassoc.org8.
Lehrer, Paul M.; David H. (FRW) Barlow, Robert L. Woolfolk, Wesley E. Sime(2007).
Principles and Practice of Stress Management, Third Edition
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Stress Management From Wkipedia
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| Upload Date: | 01/31/2009 |
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