Coping How are stressful situations?

We could define the Coping Like those personal provisions that mediate between stressful agents and agency's responses. They refer to the cognitive and behavioral efforts that the individual does to deal with stress.

Both to directly manage the internal or external stress demands (Program -based confrontation), as the emotional and emotional responses of discomfort generated (Emotion -based confrontation).

Classic psychodynamic defense mechanisms (denial, sublimation, repression, projection, etc.), can also be considered confrontation mechanisms to handle stress or anxiety caused by this.

Content

• Coping dimensions
  • Some coping examples in specific cases
• How do different types of people face stress?
  • Meichenbaum distinguishes three types of confrontation
    • The self -referent
    • Self -efforts
    • The denaders (not confusing with negatives)
  • Coping understood as continuous or dimension
    • Repressors-sens
    • The incrementors-souders
  • Conclusions
  • References

Dimensions of Coping

At a very basic level, two dimensions can be distinguished in the confrontation:

• Focused on the problem
• Focused on emotion

And also:

• Active confrontation: make efforts to control and solve the problem. It usually gives rise to increases in the secretion of catecholamines and cardiovascular reactivity
• Passive confrontation: Do nothing to overcome the problem, which gives rise to increases in diastolic blood pressure and cortisol secretion. In addition, it is associated with immunosuppression

If the mechanisms of Coping They are successful can significantly reduce stress responses. Likewise, they have been indicated as important reducers of the risk of psychic and physical disorders. An effective coping style could play an important role in promoting health and disease prevention.

Some examples of Coping In specific cases

Adaptation to chronic disease (P. eg., Rheumatoid arthritis) and the rehabilitation and recovery of patients after interventions or serious diseases, may depend more on the mechanisms of confrontation of the subject to their illness than of medical variables.

• It is known that Stoic acceptance and passivity worsen the evolution of cancer, while the fighting spirit lengthens survival.
• In cardiovascular disorders, anger and hostile aggression aggravate the problem
• There is personality characteristics that in themselves can be considered as coping styles (P. eg., Type A personality, with its need for control, motivation for achievement, etc.)

There are no coping styles that can be considered a priori Good or bad, it depends on the situation (especially on the controllability of the situation). You can only make some general statements:

• Problem solution and positive reevaluation are adaptive mechanisms
• Confrontation and avoidance, obviously, are negative

How do different types of people face stress?

Some authors have established coping typologies or Coping, while other authors speak rather continuous or dimensions. As an example of the first approach, we have Meichenbaum.

Meichenbaum distinguishes three types of confrontation

The self -referent

One would be that of the subjects that, given a stress situation, rather than focusing on the demands of the situation, they focus on themselves. They are worried about how the situation affects them or how they feel.

They worry about the realization itself, they are compared to others, they have an excessive rumination of negative and self -critical thoughts. They are the so -called self -referent.

These people, not paying enough attention to the characteristics of the problem, will not have adequate keys to guide their behavior. Therefore, it is most likely that your answers are incorrect and that the consequences of the environment are negative, which will increase the discomfort.

Self -efforts

A second typology of people would be the so -called self -efficient. These focus on analyzing the demands of the situation to be able to give an adequate response, so they will have more chances of success.

Have learned to develop skills competently, They do not focus on themselves, but on the problematic situation seeking adequate information to start success responses. We can distinguish three characteristics in the self -efficient type:

• Natural self -confidence: Belief without reservations in which destiny is in your hands (internal attribution style for successes)
• They focus attention on the outside world: attention is not absorbed by their desires and interests, they do not occupy it on themselves. If attention focuses far from personality, the frustrations of their own desires have less opportunities to disorganize consciousness. This produces more adaptability to the environment, more mobility
• Discovery of new solutions: First, they try to Solve obstacles that prevent them from achieving their objectives, without this is not possible, they find alternative goals (flexibility in the choice of objectives)

The denaders (not confusing with negatives)

A third type is to those who deny the existence of problems ignoring the situation. Especially in those situations in which they cannot do anything.

Their behaviors will not be adequate to solve the problem, but they do not get distressed or emotionally activated. It seems that the problem did not matter, or denied the situation. This subtype is not that it launches limited or defective strategies; is that they do not face the situation.

He Coping understood as continuous or dimension

To explain the reaction of these people in the stressful situations we will put them, instead of in a category, in a dimension with two poles:

Repressors-sens

• The repressor tends to denial and avoidance, They internalize the problem, they do not externalize it (they keep it). They deny or minimize subjective anxiety. However, they present greater physiological responses, especially higher levels of cortisol.
• The sensitizer is more vigilant and expansive, with a tendency to externalize problems. Maximize or exaggerate the expression of their anxiety (they are more dramatic). They present less physiological responses and cortisol levels.

The incrementors-souders

• The increase has preference for information. Value as threatening ambiguous situations and attend to negative situations. Increases subjective anxiety and frustration. It is better when the threat is controllable.
• The attenuator has preference for distraction, Cognitively avoid and transform the threat information to reduce its psychological impact. Therefore, it reduces anxiety and frustration. This tendency to evasion interferes with the execution of instrumental behaviors. It is more appropriate when threats have no control, when we can't do anything.

Conclusions

In conclusion, there are many ways that people face stress for themselves. However, if stress overflows you, it is because your coping is probably failing.

Luckily, today there are a multitude of short psychotherapies that can help you improve your coping with stress. And maybe you can turn what today is a limitation into a resource.

References

• Rocha, a., You love, m., & Lopez-Lopez, W. (2017). The Forgiveness As Coping. A View From The Coping Complexity Model.
• Meichenbaum, d., Fibla, j., & Toro, J. (1987). Stress inoculation manual. Spain: Martínez Roca.
• Meichenbaum, d. (1988). Cognitive-behavioral therapies. Comtemporal psychotherapies. Bilbao: Bruwer's Def.
• Ramos, v., & Jordão, F. (2015). The relationship between work stress, the sources that give rise to it and coping strategies in the public and private sector. Journal of Labor Psychology and Organizations, 31(1), 11-20.