Stress

Question 1

stress

Answer 1

The psychological and physical response you experience when you perceive a discrepancy between the demands of a situation and your capacity to cope.

Question 2

primary appraisal

Answer 2

whether or not the situation is perceived to be threatening.

Question 3

secondary appraisal

Answer 3

assessment of resources available to cope with a perceived threat to wellbeing.

Question 4

How stress affects communication

Answer 4

• Short tempered
  
  • Poor listening skills
  • Self-absorbed
  • Distracted
  • Impatient
  • Judgemental
  • Impaired empathy
  • Poor memory
  • Withdrawn
  • Agitated

Question 5

How to communicate with stressed people

Answer 5

Employ: 
	- Empathy 
	- Active listening (especially reflection of emotion) 
	- Self-disclosure 
	- Questioning for understanding 
	- Reframing 
Do not; 
	- Jump in to trying to solve the problem 
	- Give advice unless asked

Question 6

psychological trauma

Answer 6

A traumatic event is perceived and experienced as a threat to one’s safety or to the stability of one’s world.

- Involves death, or the threat of death or serious injury, that causes physical, emotional, psychological distress of harm. 
- Involves responses to fear, horror, guilt, or anger.

Question 7

trauma response

Answer 7

Initial response
- Intense, anxiety, disbelief
- Disorganised, out of control emotions
- Feelings of being out of control can lead to denial, emotional shutdown, shock
- Feeling detached from the world.
Trauma is personal and subjective
- What may be one person’s response to an event may not be another’s response
- Need for self-awareness and good supervision
- Give permission to others to say what they see.

Question 8

pathogenic trauma response

Answer 8

• This traditional model is victim-based.
  
  • Focus on negative outcomes and how to alleviate these outcomes.
  • Outcomes include: depression, withdrawal, PTSD, anxiety/distress, poor communication.

Question 9

salutogenic trauma response

Answer 9

• This model is survivor-based
  
  • Focus on the strengths a person has to survive extraordinary challenges.
  • Still feelings of distress, but also positive outcomes.

Question 10

social cognitive theory

Answer 10

• Pre existing beliefs about self, world and others
  
  • Traumatic event shatters assumptions
  • Individual plunged into confusion of intrusion, avoidance and hyper-arousal to make sense of event.

Question 11

trauma effective communication

Answer 11

• Do not underestimate their experience
  
  • We all grieve differently
  • Be aware of non-verbal messages (watch from incongruence).
  • Listen carefully and avoid judgement (active listening skills).
  • Note what images and feelings you experience (without making them your own – self awareness).
  • Determine what the message means to the speak (acknowledge that the speaker’s experience is valid).
    Create a message that conveys empathy and support.

Question 12

stages of grief and loss

Answer 12

1. Denial and isolation
   
   2. Anger
   3. Bargaining
   4. Depression
   5. Acceptance

Question 13

maladaptive coping

Answer 13

• Ways of coping that are immature and defensive
  ○ Avoid dealing with a problem
  
  • An emotional response that doesn’t help reduce stress in the long-term.
    ○ Can lead to you taking frustrations out on someone who is likely not the cause of the stress.

Question 14

adaptive coping

Answer 14

• Thoughts, feelings and actions that help deal with the cause of the stress.
  
  • Need to consider if this is a problem that can be changed or not
  • Problem-focussed coping
    ○ Attempts to alter the situation that is causing the stress.
    ○ Find solutions to a tangible problem
  • Emotion-focussed coping
    ○ Typically used if a stressful situation cannot be changed
    ○ Focus instead on our reaction to it

Question 15

communiating support

Answer 15

Responses that provide emotional support
▪ Other-focussed
▪ Validate feelings
▪ Acknowledge challenges
▪ Hear them out
▪ Be aware of fear, guilt, shock
▪ Be aware of your own nonverbal communication
▪ Phrase your response in a way that reflects helpfulness and empowerment 
▪ Question with open, non-threatening questions 
▪ Attend to feelings without judgement 
▪ Show understanding - Empathy not sympathy

Question 16

recovery and communication

Answer 16

• Need to ‘talk’ and process the event 
  
  • Understand/accept the trauma and the loss
    ▪ Gain sense of control
    ▪ Recognise the loss
    • Understand the role of psychological pain
    • Deal with issues of guilt
    • Manage ‘unfinished business’ to gain a balanced image of the event, loss and the relationship
  • Allow yourself (or the other person) to go through the necessary grief stages – you can’t “cure” grief or bereavement