Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Stress & Coping Strategies
Stress & Coping Strategies
• What is stress
• Characteristics
• Types of stress • Transactional Model (Appraisal,
Coping Strategies)
• Stages of stress(GAS model)
• Person-Fit Environment
• Stress & Immune system Approach
• Stress & Digestive • Causes/Sources of Stress
• Stress & Circulatory system • Consequences/Effects of Stress
• Other effects of Stress (on behaviour, personality and
performance
• Stimulus Oriented Approach
• Social Support & Wellbeing
• Coping Strategies- Unhealthy &
Healthy
WHAT IS STRESS?
• Stress is defined as the physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioural response to
events that are appraised as threatening or challenging.
• Stress is also defined as a particular relationship between the person and the
environment that is appraised by the person as taxing or exceeding their capacity by
endangering their wellbeing (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984)
• Events which cause stress are called stressors.
• Stressors can range from the deadly serious (e.g.., hurricanes, fires, combat) to the
merely irritating and annoying (e.g., delays, rude people, losing keys)
• Research suggests that university students are extremely prone to stress (Ross,
Neibling & Heckert, 2008).
• It can manifest in various ways:
1. Physical problems: Eg., Fatigue, sleeping problems, frequent colds, and even chest pains
2. Behavioural problems: Eg., Uncontrollable crying, binge eating, hitting
3. Emotional problems: Eg., Anxiety, fear, irritability, anger
IS ALL STRESS BAD?
EPISODIC STRESS
CHRONIC STRESS
ACUTE STRESS
Appraisal
Coping
Stressor (Primary or
strategies
Secondary)
STAGES OF APPRAISAL
In our primary appraisal,
PRIMARY APPRAISAL In the secondary appraisal, After this point, we start to
SECONDARY APPRAISAL
Positive Effects
• As shown by the graph, performance levels increase when stress management is effective. Stressors such as
pressure and demands can facilitate better stress response and thus, higher levels of performance. For instance, a
basketball player tries to run faster, shoot a three-point shot and succeeds in it because of the pressure he has
obtained from the audience, the close scores and the tough opponents.
• Another example is the short but adequate deadline given to an employee, which motivates and encourages her to
work actively and efficiently on the project assigned to her. Yet another instance is an approaching major
examination which leads a college student to double time on studying and reviewing of lessons.
Negative Effects
• When stress is perceived as uncontrollable or unmanageable, the person begins to experience a gradual to drastic
decrease in performance levels, causing a decline in productivity and enthusiasm to respond to the stress.
• For instance, a very tight deadline is given to an office employee who has to take care of her four children at home
and a sick mother at the hospital. This overwhelming mix of situations, if not managed carefully and totally, will
result to a poor performance at work, bad relationships with other members of the family, ill health, and burnout.
STRESS RESPONSE CURVE
SOCIAL SUPPORT & WELLBEING
What is a social support network?
• A social support network is made up of friends, family and peers. Social support is different from a support group, which is
generally a structured meeting run by a lay leader or mental health professional.
• Although both support groups and support networks can play an important role in times of stress, a social support network is
something you can develop when you're not under stress. It provides the comfort of knowing that your friends are there for
you if you need them
Risks of isolation and benefits of social support
• Studies have demonstrated that social isolation and loneliness are associated with a greater risk of poor mental health and
poor cardiovascular health, as well as other health problems. Other studies have shown the benefit of a network of social
support, including the following:
• Improving the ability to cope with stressful situations
• Alleviating the effects of emotional distress
• Promoting lifelong good mental health
• Enhancing self-esteem
• Lowering cardiovascular risks, such as lowering blood pressure
• Promoting healthy lifestyle behaviors
• Encouraging adherence to a treatment plan
COPING STRATEGIES
UNHEALTHY STRATEGIES
• Substances
• Overeating or undereating
• Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
• Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities
• Procrastinating
• Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems
• Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical
violence)
HEALTHY STRATEGIES
• Stress management starts with • A stress journal can help you • If you can’t change the
identifying the sources of stress identify the regular stressors in stressor, change yourself. You
in your life. This isn’t as easy as it your life and the way you deal • Take a
can adapt to stressful
sounds. Your true sources of with them. Each time you feel situations and regain your breath.
stress aren’t always obvious, and stressed, keep track of it in your Take a
it’s all too easy to overlook your journal. As you keep a daily log, sense of control by changing
your expectations and break. Take
own stress-inducing thoughts, you will begin to see patterns and the time to
feelings, and behaviors. Sure, you common themes. Write down: attitude. Reframe problems.
may know that you’re constantly • What caused your stress. Try to view stressful situations relax
worried about work deadlines. • How you felt, both physically and from a more positive
But maybe it’s your emotionally. perspective. Rather than
procrastination, rather than the • How you acted in response. fuming about a traffic jam,
actual job demands, that leads to • What you did to make yourself
deadline stress.
look at it as an opportunity to
feel better. pause and regroup, listen to Take the
your favorite radio station, or
enjoy some alone time. Look
time to
at the big picture. Take recharge
Identifying the Start a stress perspective of the stressful
Adapt to the
situation.
source journal stressor