ENVIRONMENTAL

SYSTEM
Life stressors
Social resoufces

LIFE CRISES
COGNITIVE
AND HEALTH
APPRAISAL
TRANSITIONS AND COPING AND
Event-related factors PROCESS WELL-BEING

PERSONAL
SYSTEM
Demographic factors
Personal factors

Figure 7.3 The coping process

Source: Adapted from Holahan et al. (1996): 27.
Table 7.2 Functional and dysfunctional, problem, emotion and
avoidance focused coping strategies
Type Aim Functional
Dysfunctional
Problem-focused Problem
solving Accepting responsibility for solving the problem " Taking little
"Seeking accurate information responsibility for solving the
" Seeking dependable
advice and help problem
"Developing a realistic action plan " Seeking inaccurate information
"Following
" Postponing
through on the plan " Seeking questionable advice
" Developing
" MaiFtaining competing activities " Not unrealistic plans
an optimistic view of one's
solve the problem capacity to following through an plans
" Procrastination
" Holding a
Emotion-focused Mood pessimistic iew of ane's capacity
to solve the
regulation wMaking and maintaining socially supportjve and problem
empathic friendships " Making and
maintaining destructive
Seeking
Catharsis meaningful spiritual support
and enmotional relationships
Seeking
meaningiess spiritual support
"Reframing and cognitive processing "
Seeing the stress in a restructuring " Unproductive wishful chinking
Long-term denial
4Relaxation routines humorous way " Taking the stress
" Drug and alcohol too seriously
Physical exercise
Avoidance-focused Avoiding Temporarily "Aggression
abuse
SOurce of mentally
Temporally engaging indisengaging from the problem "Mentally
stress
Teinporally engaging in distracting activities disengaging from che problem for
the long term
distracting relationships " Long-term engagement in diseraccing activicies
Long-term engagemenc in discracting
Source: Based on Zeidner and Endler relacianships
(1996).
 Meditation
Whether we are facing alarge uncontrollable stress _uch as
bereavement
o
just the daily round of hassles and challenges of.evéryday life, one way f
coping is to focus our attention on something other than. rumjnative
thòughts and to actively disengage from these while stres
not denyjing
their existence. This process is at the heart of westernised
adaptations
eastern mystical calming forms of meditation such as Jon Kabat Zin
(1990, 1994) Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Transcendental Medil
tion, and Herbert Benson's (1975) Relaxation Response. All of thesg
techniques involve sitting quietly without interruption for set periods of
time each day. Then, while accepting that a variety of thoughts (positie
and negative) may enter consciousness, to focus attention on the present
moment or a fixed stimulus such as one's breath or amantra and simply
observe rather than suppress or engage with thoughts as they arise and leave
consciousness. In mindfulness-based meditation we take an observer role,
and watch our thoughts flow past. In mindfulness-based meditation we
recognise that we are not our thoughts, but we are free to observe them. We
also recognise that our thoughts are not reality and so we do not have to
accept them as true.
There is a large body of scieptific evidence to show that
involves this process, has al po_itive effect on immediatemeditation, which
and long-ternl
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Table 7.3 Relaxation exercises
RELAXATION EXERCISES
rid of uwnted botytnsion
After a couple of weeks daily practice, you will have developed enough skill to use these exercises to get
exercises.
" Set aside 20 minutes a day to do these relaxation every day.
Do them at the same time and in the same place sies or shoes)
"Before you begin, remove all distractions (by turning off bright lights, the radio etc.) and loosen any tight clothes (ke belts,
with the eyes lightly closed.
" Lie on a bed or recline in a comfortable chair saying the word rela
"Before and after each exercise breath in deeply and exhale slowly three times while
" Repeat each exercise twice. parent is helping, you ask them to speak in a
calm relaxed quiet voice.
" Throughout the exercises, if your

Area Exercise

Close your hands into fists. Then allow them to open slowly. change to continue further and furcher
still so che
Hands
change from tension to relaxation in your hands and allow this
Notice the
more and more relaxed.
muscles of your hands become hands.
touch your shoulders with your in your arms and allow this
change from tension to relaxation relaxed.
Arms Bend your arms at the elbow and the resting position. Notice the more
return to your arms become more and
Then allow them to further still so the muscles of
change to continue further and position.
your ears. Then allow them to return to the restingchange to continue further and
further stillso the
Shoulders Hunch your shoulders up to to relaxation in your
shoulders and allow this
Notice the change from tensionbecome more and more relaxed.
muscles of your shoulders
Then allow them to return to the resting position. this change to continue furcher and further
Point your toes downwards. fronts of your legs and allow
Legs the change from tension to relaxation in the more and more relaxed.
Notice fronts of your legs becomne
still so the muscles in the to return to the resting
position. change to continue further
and furcher stil
Then allow them
Point your toes upwards.tension backs of your legs and allow
chis
from to relaxation in the more relaxed.
Notice che changeche backs of your legs become more and breach oue siowiy.
so the muscles in stomach as you do so. Then
it for three seconds. censing the muscles in your chis change cO concinue futher and further still
and hold muscles and allow
Stomach Take a deep breathfrom tension tO relaxation in your stOmach
hotice the change
S your stOmach muscles become more and more
relaxed.
 change
Notice the change from tensionand to relaatior i your jw and allow this
tightly together. Then relax. more refaed.
Clench your teeth so the muscles in your jaw
become more
Face
to continue further and furcher still front of your bee
Notice the change from tension to relaxation in the muscles around themore relaored.
Wrinkle your nose up. Then relax. become more and
and further still so the muscles of your face
and allow chis change to continue further in the muscles around your eyes and allow this
Shut your eyes tightly. Then relax. Notice the change from tension to relaxation
eyes become more and more relaed.
muscles around your
change to continue further and further still so the Think of your
that all areas of your body are as relaxed as can be.
All over Now that you've done all your muscle exercises, check
hands and allow them to relax a little more.
more.
Think of your arms and allow them to relax a little more.
little
Think of your shoulders and allow them to relax a more.
Think of your legs and allow them to relax a little
Think of your stomach and allow it to relax a little more.
Think of your face and alluw it to relax a little more.
slowly.one.two.three..four..five...six .and again.
Breathing Breath in .one...two.three...and out slowly..one.two.three.four..five..six ..and again.
Breath in .one..two.three...and out
one.two.three.four...five.. six.
Breath in .one...two.three....and out slowly.
body.
Visualising Imagine you are lying on a beautiful sandy beach and you feel thesun.sun warm your
Make a picture in your mind of the golden sand and the warm
more relaxed.
As the sun warms your body you feel more and more reaxed.
As the sun warms your body you feel more and relaxed.
As the sun warms your body you feel more and more
drifting away into the distance.
The sky is a clear, clear blue. Above you, you can see a small white cloud
As it drifts away you feel more and more relaxed.
It is drifing away and you feel more and more relaxed.
It is drifting away and you feel more and more relaxed.
As the sun warms your body you feel more and more relaxed.
As the coud drifts away you feel more and more relaxed.
(Wait for 30 seconds)
and calm.
When you are ready open your eyes to face the rest of the day relaxed