Sources of Stress

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Sources of Stress

Main Idea

Stress can result from our


perceptions of demands placed
upon us and our evaluations of
situations we encounter
What is Stress?
To some psychologists, stress is an event that produces
tension or worry. Others describe it as a person’s physical
or psychological response to such an event. Still other
researchers regard stress as a person’s perception of the
event.
• Stress: is the anxious or threatening feeling resulting
from our appraisal of a situation and our reaction to
demands placed upon us.
Components of Stress

To refer to the stress-producing event or situation, we shall


use the term stressor. It is important to note that an event
that is stressor for one person may not be for another.
Stress will be use to refer to a person’s reactions-whether
perceptual, cognitive, physical, or emotional-to a stressor.
• Stress reaction: the body’s response to a stressor
Types of Stress
• Negative stress, or distress, stems from
the acute anxiety or pressure and can
take a harsh toll on the mind and body.
• Positive stress, or eustress, results from
the strivings and challenges that are
the spice of life.
Stress is a normal, even essential, part of life that goes
hand in hand with working toward any goal or facing any
challenge.
• Richard Lazarus believes that how a person perceives
and evaluates an event makes a difference. This is called
the cognitive model of stress. People analyze and then
evaluate a situation before it is labeled as stressful.
Conflict Situations
Conflict situation: when a person must choose between two or
more options that tend to result from opposing motives.

Categories
• In an approach-approach conflict, the individual must choose
between two attractive alternatives.
• An avoidance-avoidance conflict occurs when an individual
confronts two unattractive alternatives.
• An individual who wants to do something but has
fears or doubts or is repulsed by it at the same time
is experiencing an approach-avoidance conflict.
• A double approach-avoidance conflict in which the
individual must choose between two or more
alternatives, each of which has attractive and
unattractive aspects.
Appraising a Situation
• The level of stress you feel depends on how you appraise the
situation.
• Primary appraisal refers to out immediate evaluation of a situation.
• A secondary appraisal involves deciding how to deal with a
potentially stressful situation. At this point an individual appraises
the situation and then decides on a coping strategy.
• There are three ways you can appraise a situation -as irrelevant,
positive, or negative.
nvironmental Stressors

Environmental conditions such as noise may cause


stress on the job, and these factors can have similar
effects on the public at large.
Noise is particularly aggravating when it is loud,
irregular, or uncontrollable. Constant exposure to
unpleasant noise levels can lead to hearing loss and can
interfere with learning.
Environmental
Stressors
People exposed to excessive noise at work have
reported more headaches, nausea, and moodiness than
others.
Studies on crowding have found a relationship between
high-rise apartments with many crowded people and
aggression.
Life Changes
and Stress
Major life changes-marriage, serious illness, a new job,
moving away, and a death in the family-are important
sources of stress.
Many stress researchers have concentrated on this life
changes to determine how much stress they are likely
to cause.
Hassles
In addition to the impact that major stressful events such
as a divorce or a death in the family can have ,
psychologists have studied the effects that relatively minor,
day-to-day stressors have on health. These more common
stressors are called hassles. Examples of hassles include
losing your car keys, being caught in a crowded elevator
with a smoker, or being late for work or school because
you were stuck in traffic.
Hassles
• It has been suggested that small, positive events,
called uplifts, can protect against stress. Uplifts are
things that make a person feel good.
• Some psychologists claim that uplifts can have the
opposite effect of hassles; they can reduce stress and
protect a person’s health.
The Social Readjustment Rating Scale
The SRRS lists 43 items that require
individuals to make the most changes
in their lives. Each number(mean
value) refers to the expected impact
that event would have on one’s life. To
obtain your score, add the numbers
associated with each event you
experienced in the past year. The total
number reflects how much life change
you have experienced.
Coping with Stress
Main Idea
People deal with stress by employing defensive and
active coping strategies.
Stress can smother your enjoyment of life and make
you miserable.
Coping with stress is an attempt to gain control over a
part of one’s life. It is an attempt to master, control,
reduce, and tolerate the stressors in one’s life.
People know what works best for them. They have
come to rely on what has worked in the past.
Coping strategies may not always be healthy ways to
adapt. Sometimes when we are under stress, we act in
ways that are not in our best interests.
These are methods that people use that hurt or harm
others. These are known as maladaptive ways of coping.
Psychological
Coping Strategies
• Our interpretation or evaluation of an event- a
process psychologists call cognitive appraisal-helps
determine its stress impact.
• The way you appraise-or evaluate-the situation will
determine the level of stress you feel.
Defensive
Coping Strategies
• Common defense mechanisms are denial, in which a
person decides that the event is not really a stressor,
and intellectualization, in which the person watches
and analyzes the situation from an emotionally
detached standpoint. Both denial and
intellectualization can prevent physical reactions to
stress.
Active Coping Strategies
By appraising a situation as a challenge and not a
threat. We can adopt an active coping strategy for
dealing with stress.
Active coping strategies involve changing our
environment or modifying a situation to remove
stressors or reduce the level of stress.
Hardiness
• Some people acquire personality traits that are, in effect, active
coping strategies. Hardiness refers to the personality traits of
control, commitment, and challenge that help us reduce the
stress we feel. Control involves feeling that we have the ability
to affect the outcome of the situation. Commitment refers to
establishing and pursuing our goals, while challenge means
that we actively confront and solve problems instead of feeling
threatened and powerless because of them.
Controlling Stressful Situations

• Escape or withdrawal, when possible, can be an


effective coping strategy. When avoiding an event is
not practical, controlling its timing may be helpful;
you can try to space out stress-producing events.
Problem Solving
Sometimes neither avoiding nor spacing events is possible.
Problem solving or confronting the matter head-on can be the
best way to cope, it involves a rational analysis of the
situation that will lead to an appropriate decision.
Problem solving is a very healthy strategy that tends to
sharpen insights and attention to detail and develop flexibility.
Explanatory Style
• Martin Seligman describes two very different styles o
thinking. The optimist typically puts the best face on
any set of events. The pessimist always sees the dark
side.
Relaxation
• Dr. Edmond Jacobson devised a method called
progressive relaxation to reduce muscle tension.
• Jacobson later added exercises for mental relaxation in
which a person conjures up images and then lets them
go. This is known as meditation and is relaxation
technique that has been shown to counteract both
physical and psychological responses to stress.
Biofeedback
• Is a technique for bringing specific body processes,
such as blood pressure and muscle tension, under a
person’s conscious control.
• Biofeedback has been used most succesfully to train
tense people to relax.
Humor
• Stress management experts often advise clients to try
to maintain a sense of humor during difficult
situations.
• Laughing actually releases the tension of pent-up
feelings and can help you keep a proper perspecctive
of the situation.
Exercise
• Physical exercise is another constructive way to
reduce stress.
• It stimulates and provides an outlet for physical
arousal, and it may burn off stress hormones.
Support Groups and Professional Help
• Crisis prevention centers, can help people with
specific stress related problems.
• Professionals such as psychologists, doctors, social
workers, and ministers can also be consulted.
Training
• Training to prepare for such a situation can ease the
stress.
• Exposure to moderate stressors in a relatively safe
but challenging environment allows a person to gain
experience and confidence in coping.
Improving Interpersonal Skills
• Developing skills in dealing with others-family,
friends, and coworkers-is thus one of the best ways
to manage stress.

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