Coping With Stress - The Scientific View Of Psychologists

2024 Author: Harry Day | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 15:43

The concept of stress in the modern world is rather vague. This word can accompany us almost everywhere, whether it is hiring or going to the store, communicating with parents, acquaintances or with a spouse at home. Stress can await us during study and even during leisure. So what is it and how to deal with it?

Wikipedia tells us that stress is a state of increased tension in the body as a defense reaction to various adverse factors. The science of psychology dug deep enough into this concept and studied it from different angles, positions and views. Today, a lot of information has been written about the ways, so called, of struggle or, more precisely, overcoming, coping with stress, a lot of scientific research has been carried out. I propose to understand this concept a little. What is coping and what is it like?

The concept of coping with stress - coping appeared in 1962, when L. Murphy applied it, considering how children overcome developmental crises. Even then, this term was used in the context of the individual's desire to solve a certain problem.

There are three main approaches to understanding the concept of coping

First, it says that coping is the processes of the personality itself, Ego-processes aimed at adapting to a difficult situation. The key word here is process. For the functioning of these processes, various personality structures must be involved - cognitive, moral, social, motivational. In the case of the inability of the individual to adequately solve the problem, defense mechanisms, maladaptive ways of overcoming stress are activated.

The second approach to the interpretation of coping asserts that coping is the qualities of the person himself. These qualities make it possible to use relatively constant variants of responses to a stressful situation in a certain way. And the choice of such specific coping strategies throughout life is a fairly stable characteristic.

The third approach considers coping as a cognitive and behavioral effort of the person himself, aimed at reducing the impact of stress. This is how two forms of coping are considered: active and passive. An active form of coping behavior, active coping, is a purposeful elimination or weakening of the influence of a stressful situation. Passive coping behavior involves the use of a different arsenal of psychological defense mechanisms. All these defenses, alas, are aimed at reducing emotional stress, and not at changing the stressful situation. The third approach was founded by R. Lazarus and S. Volkman, they were the first to study coping, proposed its first classifications, and also created a coping behavior questionnaire.

Interest in coping strategies has arisen in psychology relatively recently. Due to the complexity of the phenomenon itself, researchers have not yet reached one single classification of coping behavior. The works on coping strategies are still rather scattered. Almost every new researcher in the study of coping behavior offers his own classification. The number of classifications and new views is growing, and it is becoming more difficult to systematize them.

The main provisions of the concept of coping processes were nevertheless developed by R. Lazarus. So coping is seen as a desire to solve problems, which is what an individual does if the requirements are of great importance to his well-being. This mechanism is triggered both in a situation of great danger and in a situation aimed at great success!

Thus, "coping with stress" is seen as the activity of an individual to maintain or maintain a balance between the requirements of the environment and resources that satisfy these requirements.

The structure of the coping process can be represented as follows:

At first, all the diversity of coping was divided into two categories: actions (efforts) directed at oneself, and actions (efforts) directed at the environment.

Strategies aimed at themselves include: seeking information, suppressing information, overestimating, mitigating, self-blaming, blaming others.

Environmental strategies include: active influence on the stressor, evasive behavior, passive behavior.

Coping strategies were later classified according to their two main functions:

1) coping, “focused on the problem”. Its main task is to eliminate the stressful connection between the personality and the environment (problem focused).

2) coping, "focused on emotions", aimed at managing emotional stress (emotion focused).

R. Lazarus and S. Volkman identified 8 types of situational-specific coping strategies

They propose to explore these strategies with the help of their questionnaire. Here is a summary:

Confrontation is rather a maladaptive strategy that involves solving a problem through aggressive efforts to change the situation. Purposeful actions are often impulsive, somewhat hostile. The person is ready to take risks. On the positive side - the ability to actively resist difficulties, energy and enterprise in solving problem situations, the ability to defend their own interests.

Distance. This coping strategy manifests itself in the desire to separate from the situation and reduce its significance. From positive - emotional reactions to difficulties decrease. A person who is characterized by this strategy can devalue their own experiences and opportunities. To lose heart.

Self-control - is a purposeful action to suppress and restrain your emotions. Such a person controls his behavior, strives for self-control, is overly demanding of himself. On the positive side - a rational approach to solving a difficult situation.

Search for social support. A strategy for solving the problem by attracting external assistance. Such people try to be in frequent contact with others, expect support, attention, advice, sympathy, concrete effective help from them.

Acceptance of responsibility. A person's recognition of his role in the emergence of a problem and responsibility for its solution. If the strategy is expressed strongly, then there may be unjustified self-criticism and self-flagellation, feelings of guilt and chronic dissatisfaction with oneself.

Escape-avoidance. Personal overcoming of negative experiences in connection with difficulties due to: denial of the problem, fantasizing, unjustified expectations, distraction, avoidance, etc.

Planning a solution to the problem. Sufficiently adaptive strategy - purposeful analysis of the situation and possible options for behavior, problem solving. Such people plan their actions taking into account objective conditions, past experience and available resources.

Positive revaluation. A way of coping with stress through its positive rethinking, considering it as a stimulus for personal growth. From the negative - the possibility of underestimating their capabilities and the transition to direct action.

To effectively overcome stress, a difficult life situation, a person needs to use a wide range of his resources

So what is this resource?

First of all, it is a physical resource: health, endurance. Psychological resources: self-esteem, the required level of development, morality, human beliefs. Social resource - an individual social network - environment, support. Material resource: money and equipment.

Coping is overcoming a stressful situation. An extremely important function of our body. Everyone's methods and strategies are different, as are the resources we rely on. The study of coping with stress and difficult situations does not stand still. At the moment, the main arsenal of each individual can be considered at least 8 specific coping strategies for coping with stress, which we got acquainted with.