Managing and Coping with Stress Flashcards
Drug treatments for stress
BBs and BZs
Benzodiazepines (BZs)
Most common group of anti-anxiety drugs
Includes valium and Xanax
Beta Blockers (BBs)
Decreased heart rate
Dilate arteries by blocking beta receptors
Act directly on the SAM pathway reducing arousal
Reduces the activity of adrenaline and noradrenaline
What do BZs do in the body?
Slows down the CNS activity
Enhance GABA (NT that reduces anxiety) and reduce serotonin activity
=reduces stress
Kahn et al (1986)
Followed nearly 250 patients over
eight weeks and found that BZ’s were significantly
superior to a placebo.
Lockwood (1989)
Studied over 2,000 musicians in major US
symphony orchestras and found that 27% reported taking BBs. It was found that those
musicians who had taken BBs felt better about their performance.
Evaluation of BBs
+Quick and effective
+No harmful side effects
-Don’t deal with the actual source of stress
-Not a long term solution
Evaluation of BZs
+Easy to prescribe and reduce symptoms of stress
-Minor dside effects eg; tiredness, dizziness
-Addictive
Biofeedback
A system of electronically recording, amplifying and feeding back information regarding subtle psychological state
EG; blood pressure or muscle tension
Heart rate and blood pressure are not under our
voluntary control as controlled by ANS. Biofeedback is a
method whereby an individual learns to exert voluntary
control over involuntary (automatic) behaviours by being
made aware of what is happening in the ANS.
Budzynski et al
Conducted research into the
effectiveness of biofeedback as a way of treating tension
headaches.
He assigned 18 participants into 3 groups of six. Group A had biofeedback sessions,
Group B was taught relaxation techniques
Group C was a control who received no intervention.
Group A reported a significant decrease in headaches; this shows biofeedback can be effective.
Stress Inoculation Therapy
-Type of CBT
-Helps lead to more positive feelings
Stages of SIT
- Conceptualisation- Realise what your becoming stressed over
- Skill acquisition- Start to think rationally and that you are in control
- Application phase- Try using the new techniques in real life
Meichenbaum
21 students ages 17-25 responded to an AD
Put into 3 groups
SIT, Standard desensitisation and controls
Ps tested using anxiety questionnaire
=performance in tests in the SIT group
improved the most although both therapy groups showed improvement over the control groups
Evaluation of SIT
+Flexible treatment
+Implications for the economy
-Takes commitment and persistence
-Costly
Social support
Both friends and family may be important sources of stress, through this is clearly related to the quality of those relationships
3 types of support;
1. Instrumental support
2. Emotional support
3. Esteem support
Instrumental support
Tangible assistance like providing money or taking someone to the doctors
Problem-solving approach- the focus is on doing something
Emotional support
More emotional side of coping
Address their needs
Less likely to be offered by strangers
Esteem support
Someone else makes you feel better about yourself
Aims to improve your feelings of self worth
Gives you more confident and greater self efficacy
Explaining the effects of social support
- The buffering hypothesis
- Direct physiological effects
The buffering hypothesis
Social support is especially important at times of stress
Friends protect an individual from the negative effects of stress
Problem focused
Direct physiological effects
Social support affects the activity of the ANS
Possily increased
Kamarck et al (1990)
39 female psychology student volunteers
Asked to perform a mental task
Physiological reactions were monitored
