HEALTH, STRESS AND

COPING
HEALTH, STRESS AND COPING
 At the end of the 20th century, the leading
cause of death shifted from infectious diseases
to those related to unhealthy lifestyle, such as
heart disease, cancer and diabetes

 Healthis no longer is no longer simply seen as

the absence of physical illness but as the
presence of positive wellbeing as well.

 Health - as declared by the World Health

Organization, is “a state of complete physical,
mental and social well being.
THE BIOPSYCHOLOGICAL MODEL OF
HEALTH

Illness and health are

no longer seen as due
to purely to
physiological factors,
but to the interplay of
biological,
psychological, and
social variable.
WHAT IS STRESS?

 Stress is believed to lower our immune system,

thereby making us more prone to physical
illness.

 Stresshas been implicated in heart disease,

hyperacidity and ulcer, diabetes, asthma and
cancer; not to mention psychological health
problems like depression, and anxiety
disorders.
 WHAT IS STRESS?
 There are three dominant views of stress exist, namely:
stress as stimulus, stress as a response, and stress as a
process.

 Stress as a stimulus. Some experts see stress as a stimulus

(stressor) that produces feeling of tension. Stressors are the
situations in our lies that impose demands, sometimes
excessive demands, upon us.

 Stress as a response. Can be an internal feeling (mental)

or physical reaction to a perceived stressful situation.

 Stress as a process. An interaction between the person and

his environment.
STRESS
 Fact:Not all stressors are negative, some are
experienced positively (hustress).
 STRESS
Q&A

 Q:Why some people

can thrive in
stressful situation,
while others don’t?

 A: Stress is largely
a matter of
perception.
 Stress then is in the
eyes of the
beholder!
 THE ROLE OF COGNITIVE
APPRAISAL (RICHARD LAZARUS)
 An individual…..

 (a)
appraises whether an event is
stressful, or conducts what is called
primary appraisal, and

 (b)
whether he/she can cope with the
stressful situation, in effect conducting
secondary appraisal.
 SOURCES OF STRESS:

1. Catastrophes (Natural and/or man-made)

 Post traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) – one
possible effect of catastrophe, w/c includes
nightmares, flashbacks, depression, anxiety and
intrusive thoughts about the traumatic event.
- Intrusion, arousal and avoidance
SOURCES OF STRESS:

2. Significant Life Changes

3. Daily Hassles
 REACTIONS TO STRESS:
1. Biological Response.
 General Adaptation Syndrome by Hans Selye. A person
goes through three stages of bodily responses – alarm,
resistance and exhaustion.

1. 1 Alarm stage. The body mobilizes to respond to stress by

activating the sympathetic nervous system

1.2 Resistance stage. As stress continuous, the body

continues to cope such as the using reserve energy (i.e. sugar)
to combat stress and continuous flooding of stress hormones.

1.3 Exhaustion stage. The body’s resources might be

depleted. At this stage, the body is vulnerable to illness or
diseases, even death.
REACTIONS TO STRESS:

2. Emotional Response. Anxiety,

anger, aggression, sadness,
depression and learned helplessness
MEDIATORS TO STRESS:
1. Personality

2. External Support (material and social

support)
 COPING WITH STRESS
 Coping according to Lazarus and Folkman (1984)
is the process of managing external and/or
internal demands that are appraised as taxing or
exceeding the resources of the person.

 Coping is divided into two basic types:

1. Problem-Focused Coping – when you face a

problem directly and try to solve it.

2. Emotion-Focused Coping – when you are

concentrating on alleviating the emotions
associated with stressful situation.
OTHER WAYS OF COPING…..
3. Cognitive strategies – include temporarily
setting the problem aside when we say “just
forget about it” or “don’t think of it.”

4. Behavioral strategies – can be adaptive like

keeping yourself busy, exercise, and seeking
emotional support, or maladaptive like use of
drugs, alcohol etc.
OTHER WAYS OF COPING…..
5. Defense mechanisms – unconscious strategies
involving certain degree of self-deception.
Examples are……

a. Rationalization – involves giving excuses for

unlikely circumstances.
b. Projection – recognizing our undesirable qualities
in others but not in ourselves.
c. Denial – no recognizing that there is a problem.
d. Displacement – transferring undesirable
emotions to other objects, animals and even person.
e. Sublimation – channeling your urges into more
socially acceptable acts.
 OTHER WAYS OF COPING…..
6. Positive Thinking. Thinking
positively and avoiding negative
thoughts are generally good ways of
handling stress. One way to
counter negative thinking is through
cognitive restructuring…..
 OTHER WAYS OF COPING…..

7. Religion – People with strong religious faith

report to being happier, more satisfied, and less
affected by traumatic events.
 OTHER WAYS OF COPING…..

8. Stress Management Program (Meditation,

relaxation techniques and yoga)