Stress can be defined as a demand placed on our psychological and physical functioning that threatens an individual’s adaptation to a given situation.<\/p>\n
The individual’s perception of losing control of his or her life.<\/p>\n
Stressors<\/strong> General adaptation syndrome (a) Shock phase. It is the initial and immediate reaction to the noxious\u00a0 stimulus. Various signs of injury such as rapid pulse, decreased\u00a0 temperature, lower blood pressure and loss of muscle tone are typical\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 symptoms.<\/p>\n (b) Counter phase. This is a rebound reaction marked by the mobilization\u00a0\u00a0 of defensive forces of the body, during which the adrenal cortex is enlarged.<\/p>\n (2) Stage of resistance is when the person’s ull adaptation to the stress\u00a0 and the consequent improvement or disappearance of symptoms occur. At this stage, there is a concurrent decrease in resistance to fresh \u00a0 noxious stimuli and stress.<\/p>\n (3) Stage of exhaustion sets in if the stress is sufficiently severe and prolonged because body’s adaptability to stress is limited and\u00a0 exhaustion inexorably follows. Various symptoms or diseases appear and\u00a0if stress is unabated, death follows.<\/p>\n \u00a0According to Lazarus and Cohen, Stressors can be classified into\u00a0\u00a0 following three types:<\/p>\n Background stressors<\/strong> are hassles of everyday life. They are the persistent nagging, irritations at home, school and work that affect us all.<\/p>\n Examples: (a) While you are sleep the phone bell constantly rings and it is\u00a0 repeatedly a wrong number.<\/p>\n \u00a0(b) At work your boss or a particular colleague is in a habit of irritating\u00a0you.<\/p>\n By themselves these background stressors are not harmful. However,the effect\u00a0 of stress accumulate. A brief exposure to any one of them would have little or no effect on any one. Prolonged exposure to them, however, can leave the individual to stress disorders.<\/p>\n The cumulative effect of background stressors is harmful. Background\u00a0stressors also include positive events like election to an office, promotion at work, vacations, marriage etc.<\/p>\n PERSONAL STRESSORS are inevitable in the lives of all of us .In some\u00a0individuals many personal stressors may occur one after the other and\u00a0cause considerable stresses whereas in others personal stressors may\u00a0 occur after long periods of time giving them an opportunity to overcome\u00a0\u00a0them gradually.<\/p>\n Some of the common personal stressors are:<\/strong><\/p>\n There are four major types of conflicts. (2) Avoidance-Avoidance conflict- it involves two negative goals.\u00a0 E.G. women must work at a job she intensely dislikes or takes the\u00a0 chance of loosing her income.<\/p>\n (3) Approach-Avoidance conflict- it is often the most difficult to\u00a0 resolve, because, in this type of conflict, a person is both, attracted\u00a0and repelled by the same goal object. because of the positive valences\u00a0of the goal, the person approaches it but as it is approached ,the\u00a0\u00a0negative valence becomes stronger. People in these conflicts approach the goal\u00a0 until the negative valence becomes too strong, and then they back away from it.<\/p>\n \u00a0(4) Double Approach-Avoidance or Multiple Approach-Avoidance Conflicts-In this type, several goals with positive and negative valences are involved.<\/p>\n CATACLYSMIC EVENT is a momentous, violent,sudden happening, affecting\u00a0\u00a0 many people such as natural disasters and combat. It is a powerful\u00a0stressor.<\/p>\n Two broad categories of cataclysmic events:<\/p>\n REACTION TO DISASTER-Disasters like floods, droughts etc strike in unpredictable pattern and often permit neither preparation nor escape. Persons living through such catastrophes indicate that they suffer from a disaster syndrome that is\u00a0\u00a0 reminiscent of the general adaptation syndrome.<\/p>\n It consists of three stages:<\/p>\n (1) First stage, SHOCK REACTION: In this stage 10-20 % of the people remain calm, and\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 another 20 % go into a state of panic but most individuals confused, stunned and paralysed by the magnitude of the disaster.<\/p>\n (2) Second stage, RECALL REACTION: People become aware of the disaster and begin to face reality. Depression and hostility are common part of the\u00a0 reaction.<\/p>\n (3) Third stage, THE STAGE OF RECALL: Depression and hostility give way to\u00a0\u00a0 tenseness and restlessness.<\/p>\n Reactions to combat or stress in combat<\/strong><\/p>\n The following disturbances are commonly seen with chronic stress reactions.<\/p>\n Post traumatic stress disorders:<\/strong><\/p>\n Post Traumatic stress disorders are acute psychological reactions to intensely traumatic events – events much more disturbing than most ordinary human troubles. These include assault, natural disaster such as floods and droughts, accidents and wartime traumas such as torture and bombing. Symptoms of\u00a0 post-traumatic stress disorder generally appear shortly after the trauma, and\u00a0 symptoms clear up by themselves within about six months.<\/p>\n Important features:<\/p>\n (1) Re experiencing the traumatic event either in pained reaction or in nightmares.<\/p>\n (2) Diminished responsiveness to their present surroundings (emotional anesthesia)<\/p>\n (3) Physical symptoms like insomnia, decreased sex drive and heightened sensitivity to sound.psycologically,they suffer from depression, anxiety\u00a0\u00a0 and intense irritability, exploding over the slightest frustration.<\/p>\n (4) Memory disturbances- Long and short-term memory is affected.<\/p>\n COPING Various techniques of coping with stress (a) Family-Families that are integrative and responsive to the needs of all their members can increase the likelihood that the child will\u00a0 grow up to become a competent adult.<\/p>\n (b) Agencies of community and government: These can be informal, such as friends and neighbors who come to the aid of the people in distress or they may be formal(eg.women’s welfare organisation,Handicapped\u00a0\u00a0 children’s society etc).<\/p>\n 2.Transcendetal meditation programme- Developed by Maharshi Mahesh yogi and his\u00a0\u00a0 followers. The person learning TM technique is given a special sound to repeat\u00a0\u00a0 while sitting in a relaxed position. An instructor helps the student to learn to repeat the sound mentally without concentration or effort, so the thinking process can become more and more deeply settled and quiet.<\/p>\n During this meditation, the heart rate and breathing rate slows down,<\/p>\n Consumption of oxygen decreases, muscle tension is reduced, blood levels\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 of lactate and cortisol, which respectively, are associated with anxiety<\/p>\n As stress decreases, the resistance of the skin to the passage of a\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 weak electric current,ie,the galvanic skin response oe GSR rises(this is\u00a0\u00a0 also a sign of relaxation)and several changes in the EEG indicative of relaxation occurs.<\/p>\n 3.Using imagery: this can be a very refreshing and pleasant way of\u00a0 meditating. Here, you create a mental image of a pleasant and relaxing place in your\u00a0mind.<\/p>\n 4.Deep breathing: deep breathing is a simple but effective method of relaxation. It\u00a0\u00a0 is a core component of everything from the “take ten deep breath” approach to\u00a0\u00a0 calming someone down, right through to yoga relaxation and meditation. it works\u00a0\u00a0 well in conjunction with other relaxation methods such as progressive muscular\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 relaxation, relaxation imagery and meditation to reduce stress.<\/p>\n To use the technique take a number of deep breathes and relax your body further with each breath.<\/p>\n 5.Progressive muscular relaxation (PMR):It is useful for relaxing your body when your muscles are tense. The idea behind PMR is that you tense up a group of\u00a0 muscles so that they are as tightly contracted as possible. Hold them in a state of\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 extreme tension for a few seconds. Then,relax the muscles to their previous\u00a0 state. Finally consciously relax the muscles even further so that you are as\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 relaxed as possible. Experiment with PMR by forming a fist, and clenching your hand\u00a0 as tight as you can for a few seconds. Then relax your hand to its previous\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 tension, and then consciously relax it again so that it as loose as possible. You\u00a0 should feel deep relaxation in your hand muscles. For maximum relaxation you\u00a0 can use PMR in conjunction with breathing techniques and imagery<\/p>\n 6.Crisis intervention-The primary objective of crisis intervention is to help the person\u00a0 to cope with the crisis situation through counselling.it is based on the\u00a0 assumption that if the individual facing crisis situation is provided with a supportive, encouraging and motivating environment, then the individual learns the\u00a0 ways of dealing with stress.<\/p>\n 7.Stress inoculation training-It is a therapeutic technique developed by Donald Meichenbaum.According to him, in stress inoculation training individuals are\u00a0 taught to engage in cognitions(Thoughts),which enhance their ability to deal with\u00a0 stress. In this approach the individuals are trained to think positively about\u00a0 stress.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\nAny event or situation that give rise to stress is called as a stressor.
\nDifferent stressors differ in a number of ways. For example, some stressors like illness, robbery has short-term effect, whereas, others like death of\u00a0\u00a0 loved one, poverty etc, have-long term effects. Some\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 stressors, like death \u00a0of loved one, criminal victimization etc effect only a few individuals, whereas \u00a0other stressors like hurricane, earthquake etc. effect large number of people.obviously, these differences offer several bases for classifying stressors.<\/p>\n
\n<\/strong>(I) Alarm reaction<\/strong>. it is the body’s response when it is suddenly exposed to\u00a0 stimuli to which it is not adapted. This reaction has two phases:<\/p>\n\n
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\n<\/strong>(1) Approach-Approach- In this type of conflict a person is faced two\u00a0 attractive alternatives, only one of which can be selected. They are\u00a0\u00a0 usually easy to resolve. Approach-Approach conflicts become serious only if the choice of one alternative means the loss of an extremely\u00a0 attractive alternative.<\/p>\n\n
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\n<\/strong>Coping is facing and finding effective means of overcoming problems and difficulties. There are individual differences with respect to how effectively \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0individuals cope with stress. Some individuals can cope with stress very\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 effectively whereas, others breakdown during stress situations. At times, we can cope with one stressful situation very effectively but breakdown while coping with another different stressful situation. Individual\u2019s personality factors also\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 contributes to how effectively we cope with stress. The behaviors of people who cope effectively with stress have five primary characteristics<\/p>\n\n
\n<\/strong>1.Social Supports: coping is more successful if certain types of social support are available. The important types of social supports are<\/p>\n