Regulating Stress

REGULATING STRESS

There are two types of coping strategies. One of these is problem-focused coping, which attempts to handle the problem itself in order to cope. It basically involves problemsolving. Emotion-focused coping involves trying to change the negative emotions associated with stress. Strategies involve minimizing and distancing oneself from the problem. Emotion-focused coping involves reappraisal of the situation. Problemfocused coping is more likely to occur if the stressor is felt to be controllable, while emotion-focused coping involves stressors that feel out of one s hands to control.

Most people desire to have predicable events and to be able to affect the outcome of things. Perceived control is the belief one has about having influence over the outcome of issues that come up in a person s life. Having perceived control is associated with decreased reaction to stressors and with better emotional and physical health. Failure of perceived control is called learned helplessness.

Social support is one way of coping with stressors. Social support can involve a wide variety of things, including emotional, social, financial, and comfort-related support. Social support is linked to better survival rates and decreased mortality from health problems. People who are isolated have up to three times increased risk of death. Poor social support is linked to an increased risk of death from heart disease. Social support will increase the effectiveness of the immune system and will reduce a person s blood pressure.

A person can learn to handle stress through using stress reduction techniques. One of the best techniques for stress is exercise, which benefits physical and psychological health. People who are fit recover from stress more quickly and easily compared to less fit individuals. Exercise diminishes the responsiveness of the HPA axis to stress. It also decreases signs of aging.

Other stress reduction techniques include biofeedback and meditation. Relaxation through meditation involves finding a quiet environment, saying some sort of mantra, closing the eyes, and focusing on pleasant thoughts. This reduces sympathetic arousal.