COPING WITH STRESS

UNIT 3
 UNIT 3
Coping with Stress

• Meaning and Definition;

• Styles of Coping;

• Individual differences in Coping;

• Stress Management
• Medical and Behavioural Approaches;
• Breathing Exercise;
• Systematic Desensitization;
• Progressive Muscle Relaxation Techniques;
• Meditation;

• Mindfulness and Cognitive Restructuring .

MEANING AND DEFINITION:
Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5kqf40mTz4
MEANING AND DEFINITION

• Coping with stress is the process by which a person consciously

attempts to master, minimize, or tolerate stressors and problems
in life.

• Coping usually involves adjusting to or tolerating negative

events or realities while attempting to maintain your positive self-
image and emotional equilibrium.
MEANING AND DEFINITION
 The psychological coping mechanisms are commonly termed coping
strategies or coping skills.
 The term coping generally refers to adaptive (constructive) coping strategies,
that is, strategies which reduce stress.
 In contrast, other coping strategies may be coined as maladaptive, if they
increase stress.
 Maladaptive coping is therefore also described, based on its outcome, as non-
coping.
 Furthermore, the term coping generally refers to reactive coping, i.e. the coping
response which follows the stressor.
MEANING AND DEFINITION
 This differs from proactive coping, in which a coping response aims to neutralize
a future stressor.
 Subconscious or unconscious strategies (e.g. defense mechanisms) are generally
excluded from the area of coping.
 The effectiveness of the coping effort depends on the type of stress, the individual,
and the circumstances.
 Coping responses are partly controlled by personality (habitual traits), but also
partly by the social environment, particularly the nature of the stressful
environment
COPING STRATEGIES

 Appraisal-focused coping strategies

 Adaptive behavioral coping strategies

 Emotion-focused coping strategies

 APPRAISAL-FOCUSED COPING STRATEGIES

Appraisal-focused (adaptive cognitive) strategies occur when the

person modifies the way they think, for example:
employing denial, or distancing oneself from the problem.
People may alter the way they think about a problem by altering
their goals and values, such as by seeing the humor in a situation:
"humor may play a greater role as a stress moderator among
women than men".
 ADAPTIVE BEHAVIORAL COPING STRATEGIES

 People using problem-focused strategies try to deal with the cause of their
problem.
 They do this by finding out information on the problem and learning new
skills to manage the problem.
 Problem-focused coping is aimed at changing or eliminating the source of the
stress.
 The three problem-focused coping strategies identified by Folkman and Lazarus
are: taking control, information seeking, and evaluating the pros and cons.
 However, problem-focused coping may not be necessarily adaptive, especially in
the uncontrollable case that one cannot make the problem go away.
 EMOTION-FOCUSED COPING STRATEGIES

Emotion-focused strategies involve:

 Releasing unexpressed emotions

 Distracting oneself

 Managing hostile feelings

 Meditating

 Mindfulness practices

 Using systematic relaxation procedures.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ww1Wi2e7NQ
“STRESSED”
 EMOTION-FOCUSED COPING STRATEGIES

Emotion-focused coping "is oriented toward managing the emotions that

accompany the perception of stress".

Some of the emotion-focused coping strategies identified by Lazarus and

Folkman are:
• Planful Problem Solving

• Escape-avoidance

• Accepting responsibility or blame

• Exercising self-control

• And positive reappraisal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8FEMHCRowM
THANK YOU
 STRESS MANAGEMENT

Medical and Behavioral Approaches;

Breathing Exercise;

Systematic Desensitization;

Progressive Muscle Relaxation Techniques;

 Mindfulness Meditation;

Cognitive Restructuring.
Medical and Behavioral Approaches
“It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it.” ~ Hans Selye

 Behavioral Medicine deals with what people do that affects their health and
how different illnesses affect a person’s behavior.

 Treatment typically involves changing habits. These may involve thought

patterns, how one deals with stress, time management or anger.

 Change is always hard. Psychologists help people make these changes with
psychotherapy, behavior modification, physiological feedback and problem
solving.
 Medical and Behavioral Approaches
Action Orientated Approaches: used to take action to
change a stressful situation.

Emotion-oriented approaches: used to change the way

we perceive a stressful situation.

Acceptance-oriented approaches: used for dealing with

stressful situations you can’t control.
 Medical and Behavioral Approaches

Action Orientated Approaches:

Be assertive
Assertiveness is the ability to formulate and communicate one's own
thoughts, opinions and wishes in a clear, direct and non-aggressive
 Medical and Behavioral Approaches
Emotion-oriented approaches:
Visualization techniques:

 The power of positive visualization and affirmations is now scientifically proven to

increase positive emotion.
 How? When you think of a positive experience, your brain perceives it to be a
reality.
 So, replace those negative thoughts with positive statements and challenge and
change the way you see and experience the world.
https://www.netcredit.com/blog/visualization-techniques-calm-anxious-mind/
Emotion-oriented approaches:

Positive Affirmations
•Choose one negative thought you have about yourself and write down the
positive opposite that counteracts that belief. For example, you may often
think, “I make so many mistakes.” In this case, you would write an affirmation like,
“I am capable (of doing tasks perfectly well) and experienced.”

•Make your affirmations short so they’re easier for you to remember. Even
statements as short as four or five words can be powerful.

•Start your affirmations with “I” or “My.” Because you’re making a statement
about yourself, it’s most effective if it starts with you. “I choose to be positive” is
much better than “Positive thoughts are coming into my mind.”
Emotion-oriented approaches:

Positive Affirmations

•Write your affirmations in the present tense. Write as though you’re

experiencing what you desire right now, not in the future.

For example, “I easily see my own worth and value” is better than “I will easily
see my own worth and value.” It’s also better not to put a time frame on your
affirmation, such as a certain date or “within three months,” because doing so
limits your time to make it happen.

•Don’t begin your affirmations with “I want” or “I need.” You don’t want to
affirm that you’re wanting and needing. Rather, write your affirmations as an
expression of being grateful for already having and being what you want.
•Make sure all of your affirmations are positive statements. If you tell

yourself you are discarding negative behavior and thoughts, your focus will

be on those rather than on what you want to do and be.

•Don’t include words like “don’t,” “won’t,” “am not,” “can’t,” “not,” “doesn’t,” or

“am stopping.” Instead of “I’m eliminating my miserable thoughts,” create

an affirmation such as, “I’m happy being who I am.”

 Emotion-oriented approaches:

Positive Affirmations and Visualization techniques:

•Add emotion to your affirmations by inserting, “I am [emotion] about . . .”

or “I feel [emotion].” For example, you could say, “I am excited about being able
to express what I think.”

•Create affirmations that will work. If you don’t believe your statement, you’ll
take timid actions and be hesitant, certain that you won’t be able to succeed. If
you write an affirmation that is truly difficult for you to believe, write another
one that starts with, “I am open to . . .” or “I am willing to believe I could . . . .”
Emotion-oriented approaches:
Cognitive Restructuring
In the mid-1950’s psychologist Dr. Albert Ellis developed what cognitive
restructuring, a technique for understanding negative emotions and challenging
the sometimes incorrect beliefs that cause them.
Cognitive restructuring is a key component of Cognitive behavioral therapy
(CBT).
ABC Technique
The ABC technique was also originally created by psychologist Dr. Albert Ellis
and was later adapted by Martin Seligman.
The letters ABC stand for; A – adversity, or the stressful event. B – beliefs, or the
way that you respond to the event. Then C – consequences, the result of your
beliefs lead to the actions and outcome of that event.
Cognitive Restructuring

Example 1:
A – Your close friend is developing new friendships with others

B – He/she should be devoted to you alone

C – You withdraw your closeness with him / her and others; you loose interest in life
and start feeling sad, angry, jealous……leading to depression

Example 2:
A – Anand’s close relationship of 3 years with Asha is broken

B – No one can replace Asha; Its her or no one else

C – He decides not to enter into any relationships in future and leads a secluded life
full of remorse
COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING

• Cognitive restructuring is at the heart of cognitive behavioral therapy, a well-studied talk

therapy approach that can be effective at treating many mental health conditions,

including depression and anxiety disorders.

• In cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT),

the client and therapist work together to identify faulty thought

patterns

that are contributing to a problem and practice techniques to help

reshape negative thought patterns.
 It can be tricky to recognize inaccuracies in your own thought patterns.
For that reason, most professionals recommend that you work with a therapist
when you begin cognitive restructuring.

 As the name suggests, cognitive restructuring techniques

deconstruct unhelpful thoughts and rebuild them in a more balanced and
accurate way.
COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING
• People sometimes experience cognitive distortions — thought patterns that create a
distorted, unhealthy view of reality. Cognitive distortions often lead to depression, anxiety,
relationship problems, and self-defeating behaviors.

• Some examples of cognitive distortions include:

Black-and-white thinking
Is the failure in a person's thinking to bring together the dichotomy of
both perceived positive and negative qualities of something into a
cohesive, realistic whole.
Catastrophizing
“If I fail this test, I will never pass school, and I will be a total failure
in life.”
COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING

Some examples of cognitive distortions include:

 Overgeneralizing
After going on a job interview and finding out we didn't get the job, we conclude
we'll never get a job (overgeneralizing) and feel hopeless about our career, leading to
sadness and depression.

 Personalizing
Personalization and blame is a cognitive distortion whereby you entirely blame
yourself, for a situation that, in reality, involved many factors that were out of your
control.
Cognitive restructuring offers an opportunity to notice these maladaptive thoughts as
they’re occurring. You can then practice reframing these thoughts in more accurate and
helpful ways.

The theory is that if you can change how you look at certain events or circumstances,
you may be able to change the feelings you have and the actions you take.
Cognitive Restructuring Techniques

https://youtu.be/EQRnJZN_lLA

https://youtu.be/YxJCM-hXp-M
 Medical and Behavioral Approaches

Acceptance-oriented approaches:
• Diet and Exercise

• Meditation and physical relaxation

• Build resilience

• Talk it out

• Sleep
 Diet and stress
•Stress creates greater physiologic demands.

•More energy, oxygen, circulation, and therefore more metabolic cofactors are

needed (eg, vitamins and minerals).

•people suffering in stress need a more nutritionally dense diet but often opt for

comfort foods lacking in the necessary nutrients

•inducing a situation of nutrient depletion that further compromises the metabolic

systems

•further complicated by the use of medications - contribute to nutrient depletion

•Stress can cause unhealthy eating habits

•People who often endure stress have no time to fit a

balanced nutrition around their busy schedule.

•Moreover, stress makes the body crave foods that are

high in fats and sugars.

 Main nutrients that the body will use up

1. B vitamins: Help the body cope with stress (build metabolism) and control

the whole nervous system

2. Proteins- Assist in growth and tissue repair

3. Vitamin A - Essential for normal vision

4. Vitamin C - Protection of the immune system (eg, antioxidants and

diabetes protection), lowers the amount of cortisol in the body

5. Magnesium. - Needed for a variety of tasks such as muscle relaxation, fatty

acid formation, making new cells, and heartbeat regulation

DIETARY TIPS TO IMPROVE DIET TO HELP COPE WITH STRESS

1. Eat a Variety of Different Color Foods

2. Eat Antioxidant-Containing Foods - fruits and vegetables
3. Choose Organic Foods (Whenever Possible)
4. Drink Filtered Water
5. Eat Herbs and Spices
6. Consume Free Range Meats and Poultry and Wild Caught Fish
7. Eat Fiber (grains, peas, beans,)
8. Consume Omega 3s -fish (eg, salmon, cod, and tuna), flax seed
oil, and walnuts. Omega 3 fats act as anti-inflammatory agents
9. Take a Multivitamin and Mineral Formula with a High Content
of B-Complex - act as a stress fighter vitamin- assist metabolic
processes for energy production (fight or flight)
“Don’t be foolish enough to dig your
own grave with a fork and spoon.”
Breathing Exercise:
• Have you ever noticed how you breathe when you feel relaxed? The next time you
are relaxed, take a moment to notice how your body feels.

• Or think about how you breathe when you first wake up in the morning or just
before you fall asleep.

• Breathing exercises can help you relax, because they make your body feel like it
does when you are already relaxed.
Breathing Exercise:

• Deep breathing is one of the best ways to lower stress in the body.
• This is because when you breathe deeply, it sends a message to your brain to
calm down and relax.
• The brain then sends this message to your body.
• Those things that happen when you are stressed, such as increased heart rate, fast
breathing, and high blood pressure, all decrease as you breathe deeply to relax.
Breathing Exercise:
• The way you breathe affects your whole body. Breathing exercises are a good
way to relax, reduce tension, and relieve stress.

• Breathing exercises are easy to learn. You can do them whenever you want,
and you don't need any special tools or equipment to do them.

• You can do different exercises to see which work best for you.
Breathing Exercise – Techniques:

 Diaphragmic Breathing

 Counted Breathing

 Visualization Breathing – inflate the balloon

 Visualization Breathing – Releasing Stress

 Alternate Nostril Breathing

Diaphragmatic Breathing Part 1 of 3 - Intro
to Diaphragmatic Breathing

https://youtu.be/gAkjx25o4eI
PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION TECHNIQUES

• Have you ever had an aching back or pain in your neck when you
were anxious or stressed?
• When you have anxiety or stress in your life, one of the ways your
body responds is with muscle tension.
• Progressive muscle relaxation is a method that helps relieve that
tension.
• In progressive muscle relaxation, you tense a group of muscles as
you breathe in, and you relax them as you breathe out.
• You work on your muscle groups in a certain order
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GURt2pvdAg
• When your body is physically relaxed, you cannot
feel anxious.
• Practicing progressive muscle relaxation for a few
weeks will help you get better at this skill, and in
time you will be able to use this method to relieve
stress.
• When you first start, it may help to use an audio
recording until you learn all the muscle groups in
order.
• If you have trouble falling asleep, this method may
also help with your sleep problems.
How do you do progressive muscle relaxation?
You can use an audio recording to help you focus on each muscle group, or you can
learn the order of muscle groups and do the exercises from memory. Choose a place
where you won't be interrupted and where you can lie down on your back and
stretch out comfortably, such as a carpeted floor.
 Breathe in, and tense the first muscle group (hard but not to the point of pain or cramping) for 4 to
10 seconds.
 Breathe out, and suddenly and completely relax the muscle group (do not relax it gradually).
 Relax for 10 to 20 seconds before you work on the next muscle group. Notice the difference
between how the muscles feel when they are tense and how they feel when they are relaxed.
 When you are finished with all of the muscle groups, count backward from 5 to 1 to bring your
focus back to the present.

After you have learned how to tense and relax each muscle group, here's something
else to try. When you have a very tense muscle, you can practice tensing and
relaxing that muscle area without going through the whole routine.
Muscle group What to do
Hands Clench them.
Wrists and forearms Extend them, and bend your hands back at the wrist.
Biceps and upper arms Clench your hands into fists, bend your arms at the elbows, and flex your
biceps.
Shoulders Shrug them (raise toward your ears).
Forehead Wrinkle it into a deep frown.
Around the eyes and bridge Close your eyes as tightly as you can. (Remove contact lenses before you
of the nose start the exercise.)
Cheeks and jaws Smile as widely as you can.
Around the mouth Press your lips together tightly. (Check your face for tension. You just want
to use your lips.)
Back of the neck Press the back of your head against the floor or chair.
Front of the neck Touch your chin to your chest. (Try not to create tension in your neck and
head.)
Chest Take a deep breath, and hold it for 4 to 10 seconds.
Back Arch your back up and away from the floor or chair.
Stomach Suck it into a tight knot. (Check your chest and stomach for tension.)

Hips and buttocks Press your buttocks together tightly.

Thighs Clench them hard.
Lower legs Point your toes toward your face. Then point your toes away, and curl them
downward at the same time. (Check the area from your waist down for
tension.)
 SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION
• Systematic desensitization, also known as graduated exposure therapy, is a type
of behavior therapy developed by South African psychiatrist, Joseph Wolpe.

• Systematic desensitization is an evidence-based therapy approach that combines

relaxation techniques with gradual exposure to help you slowly overcome a
phobia / anxiety.

• It incorporates counter conditioning principles, such as meditation (a private

behavior/covert conditioning) and breathing (which is a public behavior/overt
conditioning).
SYSTEMATIC DESENSITIZATION

• The process of systematic desensitization occurs in four steps.

• The first step of systematic desensitization is relaxation or coping techniques.
• The second step is to construct the hierarchy of fears.
• The third step is to use Relaxation techniques and react towards and overcome
situations in the established hierarchy of fears.
• The fourth step is to practice the skills learned in milder forms in real life.
• The goal of this process is for the individual to learn how to cope with, and
overcome fear in each step of the hierarchy.
Example
• Talking about spiders

• Looking at a picture of a spider

• Looking at an actual spider not moving, in a cage, from a distance

• Looking at an actual spider, not moving, in a cage, getting closer

• Looking at a moving spider in a cage

• Looking at a moving spider outside of a cage

• Reaching for the spider

• Petting the spider

• Holding the spider in your hands

MEDITATION

Meditation is a practice where an individual uses a technique – such

as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity
– to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and
emotionally calm and stable state.
Different Types of Meditation:
• Mindfulness meditation
• Spiritual meditation
• Focused meditation
• Movement meditation
• Mantra meditation
• Transcendental meditation
MINDFULNESS MEDITATION

• Mindfulness meditation originates from Buddhist teachings and is the most

popular meditation technique in the West.
• In mindfulness meditation, you pay attention to your thoughts as they pass
through your mind.
• You don’t judge the thoughts or become involved with them.
• You simply observe and take note of any patterns.
• This practice combines concentration with awareness.
• You may find it helpful to focus on your breath while you observe any bodily
sensations, thoughts, or feelings.
• This type of meditation is good for people who don’t have a teacher to guide
them, as it can be easily practiced alone.
What are the benefits of meditation?
• Meditation has been studied in many clinical trials. The overall
evidence supports the effectiveness of meditation for various
conditions, including:
• Stress
• Anxiety
• Pain
• Depression
• Insomnia
• High blood pressure (hypertension)

• Preliminary research indicates that meditation can also help people

with asthma and many other psychophysiological disorders.
 Brain waves, States and Frequencies
Frequency band Frequency Brain states

Gamma (γ) 35 Hz Concentration

Beta (β) 12–35 Hz Anxiety dominant, active,

external attention, Relaxed

Alpha (α) 8–12 Hz Very relaxed, passive

attention

Theta (θ) 4–8 Hz Deeply relaxed, inward

focused
Delta (δ) 0.5–4 Hz Sleep
What are the benefits of meditation?
Meditation can help you experience thoughts and emotions with greater balance
and acceptance. Meditation also has been shown to:

 Improve attention

 Decrease job burnout and stress

 Improve sleep

 Improve diabetes control, Blood pressure

What are some tips that help mindfulness exercises?
There are many simple ways to practice mindfulness. Some examples include:
• Pay attention.
• Live in the moment.
• Accept yourself.
• Focus on your breathing.
You can also try more structured mindfulness exercises, such as:
• Body scan meditation..
• Sitting meditation.
• Walking meditation.
Thank you