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TEXT 4. COPING WITH STRESSNegative and Defensive Coping.Coping refers to active efforts to master, reduce or tolerate the demands created by the stress. When we cope, we consciously think and make a decision to deal with the problems we face. However, we may cope in negative ways. We may drink too much, eat too much, and worry too much. In order to protect our feelings of selfesteem and self-respect, we may unconsciously resort to various distortions of reality, frequently referred to as defense mechanisms. Defense mechanisms do not eliminate the problems that are the cause of anxiety, but they help us hide or disguise our feelings and temporarily deal with anxiety or stress. Defense mechanisms have two primary characteristics. First, they distort and deny reality. Second, they operate unconsciously, so that we are unaware that we are using them. Rationalizationis perhaps the most widely used defense mechanism, because we all feel a need sometimes to explain our behaviour. When the explanations offered are reasonable, rational, and convincing - but not real reasons - we say a person is rationalizing. Repressionis the exclusion of painful, unwanted, or dangerous thoughts and impulses from the conscious mind. They may be the cause of our "forgetting" an appointment with the doctor. Projectionis when we attribute our own feelings, shortcomings, or unacceptable impulses to others. Reaction formationis a defense in which impulses are not only repressed, they are also controlled by emphasizing the opposite behaviour. Sublimationis when we redirect our basic desires toward a socially valued activity. An example is the hostile individual who was beaten by a parent and later finds a reproductive outlet in establishing an organization for victims of child abuse. Displacementis when the person redirects strong feelings from one person or object to another that seems more acceptable and less threatening. Your boss gets mad at you, but you cannot release your feelings on your boss, so you go home and yell at your spouse. Defense mechanisms are designed to help us escape the pain of anxiety in stressful situations. The more aware you are of the defense mechanisms you use and why you use them, the more likely will be your attempts to face your stressful situations in an open and honest manner. It seems that some individuals are stress resistant and others are more susceptible to the harmful effects of stress. People are quite different from one another in their susceptibility to stress. Some are like horses. And some are like butterflies. The horses tolerate great amounts of stress without faltering or breaking stride; the butterflies fall apart under the slightest demand or pressure. Whether you are a horse or a butterfly depends on several ingredients; your physical constitution, how well you take care of yourself , and your resources for coping with stress. The tougher you are, the more you can take. If you have a stress-prone constitution, are lazy about exercise, eat poorly, abuse stimulants, don't get enough sleep, or don't use your coping resources, you don't stand much chance against stress. One characteristic that seems to distinguish stress-resistant people from those who are more susceptible to its harmful effects is known as hardiness.Hardy persons seem to differ from others in three respects: (1) commitment - they have deeper involvement in their jobs and other life activities; (2) control - they believe that they can, in fact, influence important events in their lives; and (3) challenge - they perceive change as a challenge and an opportunity to grow rather than as a threat to their security. We have three different options when we are confronted with stressful events and situations. We can: 1. Change environments, i.e. we might choose to move to another city, change jobs, separate from our spouse, and so on. 2. Change the environment. We can often work to improve the situation that is causing us so much stress. 3. Change ourselves. It is not really the event that causes stress, it is our reaction to it - our attitude. Our reaction to any event, stressful or not, depends on our thoughts and feelings about what happened or what should have happened. Date: 2016-01-03; view: 1557
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