Stress - Managing and coping with stress Flashcards
(15 cards)
Drug Therapy - Benzodiazepines
Increase GABA activity - quieting effect on many neurones in the brain
Unable to send chemical messages - reduces anxiety
Reduces serotonin activity - reducing anxiety
BZ Weaknesses
Addictive even in low doses
Results inside effects
Effective for short term relief
Effectiveness stops when drugs are stopped
Treat symptoms not cause
Drug Therapy - Beta Blockers
Reduce adrenaline & noradrenaline effects - lower HR + BP
Bind to receptors on heart mostly
Less stress on the heart - reduce anxiety
Real-world application of BB’s - Lockwood
2,000 musicians in major US
symphony orchestras - 27% reported taking BBs
Musicians who had taken BBs felt better about their performance.
Used where accuracy is more important than stamina
Drugs strengths
Easy to use
Require little effort compared to psychological methods
Effective
Biofeedback
Uses electronic devices to train individuals to control physiological responses to stress
Exert voluntary control over involuntary behaviours by being made aware of what’s happening in ANS
- earn relaxation techniques to reduce HR & symptoms of stress - operant conditioning
- Relaxation acts like a reward
Evaluation of biofeedback
Strengths:
Effective for range of health problems
Lack of side effects
Reduces pain
Effective in children - treat it as a game, less sceptical so greater change of working
Limitations: Requires specialist equipment + training
Expensive
Time-consuming
Stress Inoculation Therapy (SIT) - Meichenbaum
Can change the way we think about stressors instead of the cause
Negative thinking: leads to negative outcomes - anxiety & depression
Positive thinking: leads to more positive attitudes & feelings - reduce stress repsonce
3 Stages of SIT
- Conceptualisation: Client & therapist identify source of stress
- Skills acquisition: Learn coping strategies - relaxation techniques
- Application: Apply skills to the real world/situations
Sheehy and Horan - SIT study
examined effects of SIT on anxiety, stress and
academic performance of first-year law
students.
Ppt received 4 weekly sessions of SIT each lasting 90 minutes. All ppt displayed lower levels of anxiety and stress over time.
Many did better academically than expected.
SIT Evaluation
Strengths:
Long term solution to stress
Real life application
Weakness:
Requires time & effort
Expensive
Homework may be difficult/challenging for some clients
Drugs may need to be prescribed at first so individual can cope with Stress inoculation training
Gender differences - Lazarus & Folkman
Emotion-focused: women - reduce negative emotional response to stress by seeking social support - due to socialisation
Problem-focused: targets cause of stress in practical ways - fixing the issue
Gender differences - Hormones
Women: oestrogen increases effect of oxytocin - goodwill, affliction towards others - stress reduced
Men: testosterone reduces effects of oxytocin - stress isn’t reduced - aggressive
Types of social support - Schaefer et al
Instrumental: practical help - money, assistance
Emotional: Comfort & encouragement - express empathy & guidance
Esteem: Boosting self-confidence/esteem - info useful for self-evaluation
Cohen et al: People with strong social support had lower stress levels
Social support - Fawzy Fawzy et al
cancer patients randomly allocated to a support group for six weeks, provided emotional support, were more likely to have better NK cell functioning
More likely to be free of cancer six years later, than control group.
Supports social support helps to reduce effects of stress & illness.
