STRESS AND COPING MECHANISMS
Stress
Stress is a subjective feeling in
response to environmental events
that are perceived as frustrating or
threatening.
 Individuals adapt to stressful
situations by using coping strategies
and defense mechanisms.

Emotions

“Fight” or “Flight”
A physical response to emotions related to a
change or threat
 Prepares
the body for aggression (fight)
 Prepares the body to escape a perceived danger
(flight)
Learning to control emotions is a major task
Types of Emotions

Anxiety
 A vague unpleasant feeling that
produces physical sensations
Causes tension and increased heart
rate
Often cannot identify the reasons for
emotional distress

Fear
 Result of a specific, identifiable cause
 Physiological reactions similar to
anxiety

Anger
Inborn, instinctive
An emotional reaction to loss

Aggression
A
combination of frustration, hate,
and/or rage
Perception of Control

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In control – the perception that one has
choices and is able to create a change in a
psychological state or current life
circumstances
Powerlessness – the perception that one’s
actions cannot effect changes in outcome
 Long
term feelings of powerlessness lead to
feelings of physical and mental fatigue which can
ultimately lead to depression

Hopelessness – the perception that one’s
needs have no potential to be met
 Long
term feelings of hopelessness often lead to
depression

Spiritual distress
 Leads
 The
one to question
meaning of life
 The meaning of suffering and pain
 The value of living
Stress and Coping


Stress – the subjective feeling of tension to
perceived events
Coping – refers to how the mind reacts to
stress
Coping mechanisms

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Vary from person to person
An event that stresses one person, might not
stress another
Conscious behavior is usually based on the
success of previous coping experiences
Direct Methods vs Indirect Methods
Direct Methods

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Hard work
Setting realistic goals
Cooperating with others
Evaluating effectively
Indirect Methods



Unhealthy when used too often, but
sometimes allows us to cope.
Unconscious acts that help a person deal with
an unpleasant situation or socially
unacceptable behavior.
Defense Mechanisms
Defense Mechanisms

Everyone uses defense mechanisms.

Some use is helpful and allows the
individual to cope with certain
situations.

Can be unhealthy if they are used all
the time and are substituted for more
effective ways of dealing with
situations.

Unconscious actions used to cope
with difficult situations.

Not always negative, unless their use
begins to interfere with an individuals
sense of reality.
Compensation
Covering up weaknesses by
emphasizing a more
desirable trait or by
overachievement in a more
comfortable area.
Substituting one goal for
another goal in order to
achieve success.
Purpose - allows a person to
overcome weakness and
achieve success
Examples:
High school student too small
to play football becomes a
star tennis player.
A student wants to become a
doctor, but doesn’t have
enough money for med
school and becomes a
physician’s assistant instead
Intellectualization
When an emotional response that would
normally accompany a painful or uncomfortable
incident is avoided by use of academic or
intellectual explanations that remove personal
feeling from the incident.
Use of academic type explanation to separate
personal feelings from painful events.
Purpose - protects a person from the emotional
reality of loss. Allows a person to escape
from dealing with an unpleasant situation.
Example:
Pain over sudden death of friend is reduced
by saying “he wouldn’t have wanted to lived
disabled.”
Daydreaming
Dreamlike thought process that
occurs when a person is awake.
Purpose – provides a means of
escape if a person is not satisfied
with reality.
Example:
A student staring at the wall and
thinking about going to the beach
when they are supposed to be
working on an assignment.
Projection
Projects shortcomings or feelings onto others.
The person attributes one’s own perceived negative attributes onto
someone else.
Placing the blame for one’s own actions and inadequacies on someone
else or on circumstances rather than accepting responsibility for the
actions.
Purpose – allows a person to deny the existence of shortcomings.
Examples:
A college freshman when called to meet with her advisor believes that
she’s called in because the advisor doesn’t like her.
A student believes the teacher failed him because she doesn’t like him.
Minimization
Not acknowledging the
significance of one’s
behavior.
Trivializing significance of
one’s behavior.
Purpose – allows a person to
decrease and trivialize his or her
responsibility for a behavior.
Helps one to feel better about
themselves.
Example:
A teenager says “Don’t believe
everything my kid brother tells
you. I wasn’t so drunk I couldn’t
drive.”
A student may miss a lot of
school, but says “ I still get more
work done than other students.”
Rationalization
Justification of certain behaviors with faulty logic and attribution
of socially acceptable motives that did not, in fact, inspire the
behavior.
Occurs when we tell an element of the truth, but deny the larger
truth of the matter.
Purpose – helps a person cope with an inability to acknowledge
inappropriate behavior.
Examples:
A patient who fears having a lab test performed may say, “I can’t
take time off work from my job.”
“I could have won the race but the track was wet.” The larger
truth was that someone was faster.
“I got fired, but the boss was a jerk.” Failures are a threat to the
ego rationalization doesn’t hurt as bad.
Reaction Formation
An individual acts
exactly opposite to the
way he or she feels.
Purpose – a form of repression
that allows feelings to be acted out
in a more acceptable way. Escape
from one’s inability to face conflict.
Example:
A teenager feels bitterness toward
a girl who beat her out of a
cheerleader position, but acts very
sweetly and friendly when they see
each other.
A woman is very angry with her
boss and would like to quit her job.
Instead she is overly kind and
generous toward her boss.
Displacement
Transferring emotional reactions
from one object or person to
another.
Usually occurs because
individuals can’t direct the
feelings toward the persons
responsible, such as a boss or
teacher.
Purpose: allows feelings to
be expressed at or through
less meaningful objects or
people.
Example:
A boyfriend and girlfriend are
arguing, and he gets so angry
that he slams his fist into the
wall.
A man is mad at his boss and
goes home and yells at his
family.
Regression
Resorting to an earlier stage of life
that is generally less demanding and
responsible.
Purpose – allows a person to return
to a point in development when
nurturing and dependency were
acceptable.
Examples:
After the birth of a sibling, the older
child suddenly starts wetting the bed
after years of being potty trained.
When an adult doesn’t take
responsibility, he says, “It’s not my
fault, it’s her fault.”
Repression
An unconscious mechanism by which threatening thoughts,
feeling, and desires are kept from becoming conscious.
The person forces the unacceptable or threatening feeling
out of awareness to a point where he/she becomes unaware
of it.
Purpose – protects a person from a traumatic experience
until he or she has the resources to cope. Allows the person
to continue functioning and to “forget” the fear or feeling.
Examples:
A child who was verbally abused by her alcoholic mother
cannot remember certain events from her childhood.
A person is asked, “how do you get along with your mother”
and he responds, “just fine” as he turns pale. Negative
feelings about the mother are so unacceptable that they
block his awareness.
Denial
An attempt to ignore unacceptable realities by refusing to
acknowledge them.
Disbelief of an event or idea that is too frightening or shocking for
a person to cope with.
Purpose - temporarily isolates a person from the full impact of a
traumatic situation.
Examples:
A mother, even though she’s told her daughter has terminal
cancer, continues to plan for her daughter’s college entrance.
The alcoholic expresses, “I may like to drink, but I’m not an
alcoholic.”
Or a smoker concludes that the evidence linking cigarette use to
health problems is bogus.
Withdrawal
Ceasing to communicate or physically
removing yourself from a conflict or
painful situation.
Purpose – escape from an unpleasant
situation.
Example:
Person wants to just wants to sleep
instead of trying to work through a
problem.
Person is uncomfortable with
someone at work and avoids going to
work.
Suppression
Similar to repression, but the individual is aware
of the unacceptable feelings or thoughts and
refuses to deal with them.
The person is aware of the unacceptable desire
and validates it but intentionally tries to keep it
from expressing itself.
Purpose – the individual avoids dealing with the
stress by focusing on other activity.
Example:
A woman refuses to see her doctor, and avoids
thinking about it by working overtime.
Laughing in a situation that is not normally
humorous.
Conversion
Emotional
conflicts or
tensions are
converted into
physical
symptoms that
have no
physical cause.
Purpose – escape from
unpleasant situation.
Example:
Before giving a speech to her
class, a student becomes
nauseous.
Lying
One doesn’t tell the truth for
either self-gain or to spare
feeling of ridicule, rejection, or
punishment.
Examples:
Phrases like “I swear I didn’t do
it,” or “It doesn’t mean anything”
are often used when we know
we haven’t lived up to our higher
selves.
In what circumstances do you
think people lie the most?
Effective Coping Mechanisms
A slight to moderate level of worry that engages adaptive activity
to relieve mental distress.
Everybody copes with stress in their own way.
The key is to develop a healthy skill set when people are coping
with stress.
Having destructive coping skills will end up causing more stress
in the long run.
Having good coping skills will enhance communication and
learning.
When defense mechanisms are
inadequate, stress reactions develop:
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Chronic complaining and demanding behavior
Agitation with manipulative behavior
Restlessness
Sleeplessness
Depression – be alert for potential suicide
Withdrawal
Maladaptive behavior
Psychotic behavior – most severe


A state caused by lack of contact with reality
The mind unconsciously uses many defense mechanisms
to deny, destroy, and avoid reality when it can’t consciously
cope and solve problems.
Which Defense Mechanisms Do
You Use the Most?
Ways to decrease stress???
There are various ways to decrease your stress
physically, mentally, and emotionally.
Can you think of some?
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Relaxation techniques
Guided imagery
Mantra - Coping statements for reassuring,
self-enhancing statements
Meditation
Mental exercises