Stress and Management

Definition of Stress

• A situation where capability is low and challenges are high.

• Stress refers to all those physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral changes that occur as a result of difficult and challenging situations which influences all aspects of individual behavior.

• Key point: Stress is like electricity - beneficial in moderation, but damaging in excess.

• Low Stress: Can lead to listlessness, low motivation, and reduced performance.

• Stress Definition: A pattern of responses to events that disrupt equilibrium and exceed coping abilities.

Types of Stress

1. Hans Selye's Types of Stress

• Eustress: Positive stress, short-term, motivates and energizes. Increases performance.

  • Example: A player's stress during a game.

• Distress: Negative stress, can be short-term or long-term, demotivates and creates anxiety. Decreases performance.

  • Example: Divorce of parents, losing a loved one.

  • Distress subtypes:

    • Acute Distress: Episodic, Short-term. High Intensity.
      • Example: Urgent task with the tyre punched
    • Chronic Distress: Toxic, Long-term, Less intense.
      • Example: Divorce, Financial problem.

2. Other Types of Stress

• Hyperstress: Occurs when an individual is pushed beyond what they can handle.

  • Trigger strong emotiinal response
  • Example: Work overload.

• Hypostress: Opposite of hyperstress; occurs when an individual is bored and unchallenged.

  • Example: Repetitive tasks.

3. Types of Stress (Based on Causes - According to NCERT)

• Physical Stress: Demands that change the state of our body.

  • Example: Poor nutrition, Injury, Lack of sleep.

• Environmental Stress: Caused by environmental factors (often unavoidable).

  • Example: Noise pollution, Crowds, Natural disasters.

• Social Stress: Induced externally and results from interactions with other people.

  • Example: Relationship problems, Disputes with neighbours.

• Psychological Stress: Generated internally in the mind (internal source of stress).

  • Example: Frustration, Conflict, Internal and Social pressure.

Sources of Stress

• Factors that cause stress are called stressors.
• Three Basic Types:
  • Life Events:
    • Major events that disrupt routine and cause turmoil.
    • Example: Moving to a new house(planned), Breakup(non-planned).
  • Hassles:
    • Annoying everyday events.
    • Example: Traffic problems, Water Shortage.
  • Traumatic Events:
    • Extreme events that have a lasting impact.
    • Needs professional help
    • Example: Train accident, Robbery, Stuck In Tunnel.

Signs and Symptoms of Stress

• Divided into four categories:
  • Cognitive Symptoms: Memory problems, Inability to concentrate, Poor judgment, Negative thinking.
  • Emotional Symptoms: Extreme mood swings, Inability to relax, Fear, Depression, Sense of loneliness.
  • Physical Symptoms: Headache, Dizziness, Chest pain, Rapid heartbeat.
  • Behavioral Symptoms: Low self-esteem, Poor long-term planning, Inconsistency, Drug consumption.

Effects of Stress

• Divided into four categories:
  • Emotional Effects: Mood swings, Irritability, Alienation from friends and family, Low confidence, Anxiety, Depression.
  • Physiological Effects: Increased secretion of hormones (e.g., Adrenaline, Cortisol).
  • Cognitive Effects: Mental overload, Loss of ability to make sound decisions, Lack of concentration, Reduced memory.
  • Behavioral Effects: Excessive junk food consumption, Increased drinking/drug consumption, Affected sleep patterns, Reduced work performance.

Nature of Stress

• Three perspectives:
  • Stress as a Reaction: Non-specific response of the body to any demand.
    • General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) Theory (Hans Selye).
      • Regardless of cause of threat, individual will respond with the same psychological pattern of reactions.
      • Based on prolonged stress and similar response of individuals.
      • Three Stages:
        • Alarm Reaction Stage: Body releases hormones, (fear, fight, flight).
        • Resistance Stage: Nervous system signals to use resources cautiously to cope with threat.
        • Exhaustion Stage: Body's resources are drained, leading to high blood pressure and other diseases.
  • Stress as a Transaction Process:
    • Stress is not an inherent factor in an individual or environment but involves individuals interacting with the environment.
    • Appraisals of Stress (Lazarus- Faulkman): Response to stressful situation depends on the perceived events and their appraisals.
      • Primary Appraisal:
        • Appraisal of causes of stress.
        • Assessing the situation as positive, negative, or neutral.
        • Negative events are appraised for their possible harm, threat or challenges.
      • Secondary Appraisal:
        • Appraisal of available resources.
        • Assessing one's ability and resources to cope with the situation.
  • Stress as a Stimulus: (Holmes and Rahe): Stress is an independent variable and a cause of experience rather than the experience itself.

Stress Management (Coping with Stress)

• Coping is a situation-specific reaction to stress.

• It is a set of concrete responses to stressful situations that one intended to resolve problem, to cope with the stress.

• Endler & Parker Theory: Three strategies: * Task-Oriented Strategy: Seeking to obtain information, analyse the stressful situation and finding alternate course of actions to cope up. Eg. Scheduling time table. * Emotion-Oriented Strategy: Managing stress by focusing on and reacting to emotions rather than addressing the situation directly. Eg. expressing feelings, seeking emotional support. * Avoidance-Oriented Strategy: Seeking to avoid the situation by denying the seriousness of situation, suppression of stressful thoughts and their replacement by self protected thoughts . Eg. Watching TV

• Lazarus-Faulkman Theory Two Strategies:

  • Problem-Focused Strategy:
    • Attacking the problem itself.
    • Increase awareness, level of knowledge along with a range of behavioural and cognitive stress coping options. Eg. make a plan of action and follow.
  • Emotion-Focused Strategy:
    • Mainly for psychological changes
    • Designed to limit the emotional disruption caused by an event.

Stress Management Techniques

• Techniques to reduce stress or deal with conditions that cause it (mental immunity).
• Examples:
  • Relaxation Techniques: Reduces stress, calms mind and relaxes Body. Eg. Deep breathing, Pranayama, Muscle relaxation.
  • Meditation: Altering the state of consciousness.
  • Biofeedback: Developing awareness of physiological responses to stress and learning ways to control them.
    • Three stages-
      • Step 1: Developing and Awareness of Particular Physiological Response
      • Step 2: Learning Ways of Controlling Physio-Logical Responses
      • Step 3: Transferring These Controls Into Conditions of Everyday Life
  • Creative Visualization: Using imaginary thoughts and ideas to achieve a specific goal. Process of subjective experience
  • Cognitive-Behavioral Techniques: Inoculating people against stress through changes in behavior and thought patterns. Negative and irrational thoughts are replaces with positive and rational thoughts.
  • Exercise: Improves heart and lung function, blood circulation, immunity.

Promotion of Mental Health

• Mental health is a complete physical, mental, social, spiritual well-being, and not merely the absence of disease.
• People with a constructive attitude manage stress.
• Kubasa's findings on the characteristics of "Hardiness":
  • People with high level of stress and low level of illness share 3 characteristics called personality trait of "Hardliness"
    • Commitment: Commitment to work, family, hobbies, social life.
    • Control: Sense of purpose and direction in life.
    • Challenge: Seeing challenges as positive and normal rather than threat.
• Life Skills: Skills that promote adaptive and positive behavior to effectively deal with demands.

  • Assertiveness: Ability to communicate feelings, needs, desires. Such people have self confidence , high self esteem and solid sense of own identity.

  • Time Management: Efficiently allocate time and resources to the prioritized Goals.

  • Rational Thinking: Positive, realistic thinking removes anxiety.

  • Improving Relationships:

    • Listening to what other person is saying ,
    • Expressing what you feel and think.
    • Accepting other's opinion even if they are different from ours.

  • Overcoming Unhelpful Habits: Beating Perfectionism and Workaholic, Avoiding procrastination.

  • Social Support: Existence and availability of people on whom one can rely.

    • Tangible Support: Provision of material help like Money or Resources.
    • Informational Support: Provision of helpful knowledge and information related to the stress and relevant resources.
    • Emotional Support: Provision of love and care, so you do not feel alone and dejected.

  • Other Factors:

    • Balance Diet
    • Exercise
    • Positive Attitude
    • Positive Thinking