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(b) Phase (II): RESISTANCE remains high until the final stage of exhaustion, where
resistance rapidly drops.
(c) Phase (III): which starts with exhaustion and described as Collapse, where disease
occurs.
So, according to this model, stressors produce strain in the person’s biological,
psychological, and social systems. Emergency situations evoke a physiological fight-or-
flight reaction, by which the organism prepares to attack the threat or flee. When stress is
strong and prolonged, the physiological reaction goes through three stages: the alarm
reaction, the stage of resistance, and the stage of exhaustion. This series of
reactions is called the general adaptation syndrome. According to Selye, continuous
high levels of stress can make the person vulnerable to diseases of adaptation, including
ulcers and high blood pressure. Psychosocial factors influence the physiological reaction
to stress.
Critics of the GAS theory say that the theory fails to account for individual differences in the
development of stress-related illness and, further, it underestimate the multidimensional
nature of stress.
(l) Lazarus& Folkman_(1 98Q) proposed the third approach. They criticized the first and the
second models mentioned above as treating people as machines. They believe that
people have the capacity to think, evaluate, and then react. Thinking can make stress
either better or worse.
(2)Lazarus developed an interaction theory, which emphasize the role_of cognition. This
theory proposed that people engage in TWO-STAGE PROCESS of appraisal:
(1) A Primary Appraisal Process: Determine whether the event represents a threat
to the individual. This results in three outcomes:
(a) Events regarded as irrelevant.
(b) Events regarded as positive to well being.
(c) Events regarded as negative to well being. This negative appraisal leads to:
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(II) A Secondary Appraisal Process: Here the individuals assess their COPING
RESOURCES. These resources include environmental factors, social support or
help, knowledge and skills to reduce this threat.
(3)Coping with potential threat also d depends on COPING STYLE. The outcome of
appraisals of the situations and the available resources is the coping response or
COPING STRATEGY.
(4)COPING STRATEGIES: Some psychologists differentiate between Emotion-Focused and
Problem Focused strategies. In the former type, the objective is to reduce the feeling of
distress and anxiety, for example denying the existence of a disease. In the second type
of coping strategy, problem-focused, the individual concentrate on the problem and
actively seeks solutions to deal with the situation.
(5)Other distinctions between types of coping strategy include active versus passive
strategy, and approaching versus avoidance coping strategy.
(6) When coping outcomes are positive such as accepting the death of a relative or passing
an exam, a psychological adjustment or adaptation takes place. However, unsuccessful
coping leads anxiety and depression. Maladjustment or maladaptation is more frequently
associated situation when Primary or Secondary Appraisals fail to identify an
appropriate course of action. These may include:
Optimists on the other hand have better health, engage in more effective coping
strategies, and are more likely to engage in self-management health care practices.
Stress affects health in two ways. First, stress can affect health-related behaviors, such as
alcohol and cigarette use. Second, it produces changes in the body’s physical systems,
as when the endocrine system releases catecholamines and corticosteroids, which can
cause damage to the heart and blood vessels and impair immune system functioning.
The physiological effects of intense stress can even lead to sudden death.
Psychoneuroimmunology is a new field of study that focuses on how psychosocial pro-
cesses and the nervous, endocrine, and immune systems are interrelated. Stress also
plays a role in many psychophysiological disorders, such as ulcers, asthma, chronic
headache, rheumatoid arthritis, and several skin disorders. In addition, stress is
implicated in the development of hypertension, CHD, and cancer.
focused coping is to regulate the person’s emotional response to stress. This regulation
occurs through the person’s behavior, such as using alcohol or seeking social support,
and through cognitive strategies, such as denying unpleasant facts. People tend to rely
on emotion-focused coping when they believe they cannot change the stressful condi-
tions. The function of problem-focused coping is to reduce the demands of the stressor
or expand the resources to deal with it, such as by learning new skills. People tend to use
problem-focused coping when they believe they can change the situation. Adults report
using more problem-focused than emotion-focused coping approaches when they experi-
ence stress.
People use a wide variety of methods in coping with stress. These methods include direct
action, seeking information, turning to others, resigned acceptance, emotional discharge,
and intrapsychic processes. The strategies within intrapsychic processes include
cognitive redefinition and the defense mechanisms of denial, intellectualization, and
suppression. Some of these methods tend to increase the attention the person gives to
the problem, and other methods promote avoidance of the problem. There is no one best
method of coping and no method is uniformly applied or effective with all stressors.
People tend to use a combination of methods in coping with a stressful situation.
Although coping changes across the life span, the exact nature of these changes is unclear.
Young children’ s coping is limited by their cognitive abilities, which improve throughout
childhood. During adulthood, a shift in coping function occurs as people approach old
age—they rely less on problem-focused and more on emotion-focused coping. Elderly
people seem to regard stressors as less changeable than middle-aged individuals do.
People can reduce the potential for stress in their lives and others’ lives in several ways.
First, they can increase the social support they give and receive by joining social,
religious, and special interest groups. Second, they can improve their own and
others’ sense of personal control and hardiness by giving and taking
responsibility. Also, they can reduce frustration and waste less time by organizing their
world better, such as through time management. And, by exercising and keeping fit,
they can reduce the experience of stress and the impact it has on their health. Lastly,
they can prepare for stressful events, such as a medical procedure, by improving their
behavioral, cognitive, and informational control.
Sometimes the coping skills individuals have learned are not adequate for dealing with a
stressor that is very strong, novel, or unrelenting. A variety o stress management
techniques is available to help people who are having trouble coping effectively. One
technique is pharmacological, that is, using prescribed drugs, such as beta-blockers.
Behavioral and cognitive methods include progressive muscle relaxation, systematic
desensitization, biofeedback, modeling, and cognitive/behavioral approaches.
Rational emotive therapy (RET) attempts to modify stress- producing, irrational thought
patterns through process of cognitive restructuring. Stress-inoculation training is
designed to teach people skills to alleviate stress and achieve personal goals.
Stress-inoculation training is an example of multimodal therapy in it uses a variety of
techniques that are designed reduce specific components of the person’s problems.
Beneficial effects have been found for all of the behavioral and cognitive stress
management methods, particularly relaxation. Meditation and hypnosis have shown
promise for reducing stress, too. Stress management techniques can reduce coronary
risk modifying Type A behavior and by treating hypertension.
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