Week 2 Discussion 1

Types of Stress and Coping: Not all stress is bad stress. In fact, a little bit of short-term stress keeps you motivated. Acute stressors such as public speaking, taking an exam, or parachuting from a perfectly good airplane usually cause an immediate and intense stress response. Occasional acute stress actually has a positive effect on immune function. A single episode of acute stress doesn’t usually cause a problem for the healthy adult.

Consider the chronic stress of being a family caregiver to an Alzheimer’s patient. Betty has been caring for Fred since he was diagnosed. She is not sleeping well because more than once she has awakened during the night to find that Fred has turned on the stove. Also, finances are tight because of the cost of care and resources Fred needs. Fred is increasingly more angry and confused. This chronic, relentless stress has cumulative effects on Betty’s immune function. Her ability to cope is stretched, and her own health issues, seemingly minor compared to Fred’s, are ignored. There are few opportunities for Betty to rest and return to a calm baseline. As a result, she becomes ill.

Distant stress, another type of stress that stems from previous trauma, can be unrelenting and influence immune function for years. For example, the long years of posttraumatic stress disorder’s (PTSD) wearing effects on the immune system does cumulative damage to health.

Types of Stress and Coping

For this Discussion, review this week’s Learning Resources. Review the concepts of acute, chronic, and distant stress. Also, re-examine the “Pathways of Stress” graphic from Week 1. Then consider the characteristic and physiological differences of these three types of stress, how each impacts the immune system, and the populations most at risk or least susceptible to these types of stress and why. Finally, reflect on how stress management approaches might be different for specific examples of acute, chronic, and distant stress.

DQ2 Discussion 2: How Do You Cope?

While on vacation at the beach, you might see the swelling waves as an excellent opportunity to test out your new surfing skills. However, your traveling mate might take those same aggressive waves as a cue to head for shore. Not everyone interprets a given stressor in the same way; nor will their responses always mirror each other when encountering the same stressor. There is plenty to learn about stress and coping from analyzing the way individuals manage stress. In fact, there are a number of assessments psychologists use to determine individuals’ coping styles, how they cope, and the frequency of their coping behaviors.

While theorists place a great deal of emphasis on the types of coping, coping traits should not be viewed as exclusively adaptive or maladaptive. Not all coping traits fit into problem-solving or emotion-focused coping as Lazarus and Folkman discuss. Generally, positive/functional coping mechanisms (e.g., planning) are linked to good self-esteem, higher functioning, and lower perceived stress. While less positive strategies (e.g., denial, self-blame) are associated with more distress and lower esteem.

How you manage stress in your life can modify the stress response and subsequent health consequences. Recall the Primary Appraisal and Coping chart from last week. Imagine your disruptive and argumentative mother-in-law has announced that she is coming for a two-week visit. Once you appraise the stress potential of this situation, how would you respond to the scenario:

You could solve the problem by calling her and asking her not to come.

You can change how you feel about her coming by deciding to focus on the positive aspects of her visit.

You could manage this stress by changing the physical response to it with the use of relaxation techniques.

You plan a business trip for the same two-week time frame your mother-in-law plans to visit.

These approaches to managing a stressor are termed problem-focused, emotion-focused, biology-focused, and avoidance approaches. While the mother-in-law example tends to fit the concept of stress globally, it in no way implies that a visit from your mother-in-law would be stressful.

For the Discussion, review this week’s Learning Resources including “The Focus of Coping” handout and “The Assessment of Coping”handout. Take the COPE assessment. After completing the COPE assessment, consider the different ways in which you cope with stress.