1st Quarterly Exam Reviewer ESP 10

Stress and Coping

Stress – A state of an individual when he perceives that his well-being (physical and psychological) is
endangered and that he must mobilize all his energy for his protection. Stress is the state of a
disturbed equilibrium between the person and his environment. Stress therefore includes a process
of:

A. Appraising events as threatening, challenging, and harmful.

B. Responding to such events on different levels:
 physiological (muscle tension)
 emotional (apprehension/fear)
 behavioral (fight or flight)

TERMS TO REMEMBER:

Stressor – which causes stress (stimuli).

Strain – reactions to stress.

a. behavioral – crying
b. emotional – depressed
c. physical – insomnia

ASPECTS OF STRESS

Stress is unavoidable – stress is a central part of life. The only way in which there would be no stress
would be if the environment would place no demands on people and if they would have no needs on
them to fulfill.

Some Stress is good – Stress is a spice of life. Many people perform at their best when they are
under a moderate degree of stress. Eustress refers to the amount of stress a person needs to operate
at an optimum level of performance. Positive Stress

Stress: What does it do? It affects the organism (body and mind). It mobilizes resources as the
body attempts to ward off the effects of stress.

STAGES IN DEALING WITH STRESS

Alarm and Mobilization – Typically, your body’s initial stress response is strong as it works to fight
the stressor: you may notice an increased heart rate, nervous fidgeting, and more as your body
reacts to the cause of your stress.

- When a stressor threatens the organism, It prepares itself for battle. (first line of defense) –
- The body’s reaction activates the Sympathetic Nervous System (directs the body's rapid
involuntary response to dangerous or stressful situations).

Resistance – Generally, when you enter into this stage you will begin to feel calmer, almost as if the
stress has disappeared, and have the false sense that you are no longer under any mental stress.
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- If the stress continues, the organism will fight the stress and will be able to cope with the
stressor.
- The person does something about the problem (normal/abnormal way)

Exhaustion and Disintegration – In this stage, you’ll find yourself feeling ran down and with far less
energy than normal. You may fall ill more easily as your immune system can also weaken due to
stress.

- If the attempts to meet the demands of stress-provoking situations are inadequate, or they
continue too long, a person’s ability to cope with stress declines to a point where the
stressor is overwhelming. If it lasts for a certain period of time, it will develop into a burnout.

Burnout – A collapse of all ability to cope, resulting in symptoms of emotional exhaustion and
depression.

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Preventive – be aware of what may lead to it (potential stressor).

Remedial – be informed of what can be done.

BASIC SOURCES OF STRESS

a. Physical Environment (traffic)

b. Social Environment (disagreements)
c. Physiological Sources (illness)
d. Cognitive Appraisal (the way it is perceived and interpreted by the person)

COPING

1. Problem-focused coping –Finding a solution to the stress-creating problem.

2. Emotion-focused coping – The person tries consciously to ease the stress caused by the
problem. (defensive coping)

COPING MECHANISMS

 Be in control of your life.

a. Change your behavior.
b. Change your perception.
c. Search for information.
 Have a social support.
o Company prevents misery.
o We are part of a mutual network of caring.
 Stress Inoculation
 Adequate rest
 Take control of the body’s Physiological Reactions
 Take time out for yourself – Have fun.
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DEFENSE MECHANISM AND DEFINITION

A. Denial: refusal to recognize or acknowledge a threatening situation.

B. Repression: "pushing" threatening or conflicting events or situations out of conscious
memory.
C. Rationalization: making up acceptable excuses for unacceptable behavior.
D. Projection: placing one's own unacceptable thoughts onto others, as if the thoughts
belonged to them and not to oneself.
E. Reaction formation: forming an emotional reaction or attitude that is the opposite of one's
threatening or unacceptable actual thoughts.
F. Displacement: expressing feelings that would be threatening if directed at the real target
onto a less threatening substitute target.
G. Regression: falling back on childlike patterns as a way of coping with stressful situations.
H. Identification: trying to become like someone else to deal with one's anxiety.
I. Compensation (substitution): trying to make up for areas in which a lack is perceived by
becoming superior in some other area.
J. Sublimation: turning socially unacceptable urges into socially acceptable behavior.

REMEMBER: The point is not to escape the effects of stress, which are inescapable in any case, but to
channel and control them.

Psych rule 101:

We are not responsible for what we feel but we are responsible for what we do with our feelings.