Stress Management

Question 1

Benzodiazepines (BZ)

Answer 1

Enhance GABA activity and ‘calm’ the nervous system, therefore reducing stress response.
GABA is boosted by binding to special sites to allow chlorine ions to enter, reducing stress reactions

Question 2

Benefits of Benzodiazapines

Answer 2

:) Reduce symptoms of stress
:) Less risk involved as they are difficult to overdose
:) Useful if patient is too stressed to use psychological treatments
:) Davidson

Question 3

Drawbacks of Benzodiazapines

Answer 3

:( Side effects, inc memory loss and drowsiness
:( Addictive
:( Tolerance can be developed
:( High relapse rate

Question 4

Davidson

Answer 4

Investigated the effects of BZ on treatment of social anxiety. 75 patients with social anxiety were allocated BZs or a placebo for 10 weeks and then assessed at the beginning and end of treatment. They were then followed up 2 years later. 78% of those treated with BZ reported improvement in comparison to 20% with the placebo. In the follow up the BZ group had significantly improved

Question 5

Beta Blockers (BB)

Answer 5

Reduce sympathetic nervous system by dampening adrenaline levels so they have less effect on the heat. They reduce the body’s reaction to stress, rather than stress levels itself.

Question 6

Benefits of Beta-Blockers

Answer 6

:) fewer side effects on mental functioning

:) reduce risk of coronary heart disease

Question 7

Drawbacks of Beta-Blockers

Answer 7

:( Side effects, including sleep problems and upset stomach
:( Blocks the symptoms of stress rather than the cause
:( Gates

Question 8

Gates

Answer 8

Investigated the effects of BBs on stage fright in 35 singers. Participants were given different dosages of BB or a placebo during exam season.
The small dosage produced small performance improvement, however the high dosage impaired the performances

Question 9

Stress Inoculation Training (SIT) Outline

Answer 9

Psychological treatment to stress, contains 3 phases: Conceptulisation, Skills Training and Application
Typically contains 8-15 hour long sessions once a week and then booster sessions over the next year.
Sit is individually tailored to the problems of the patient.

Question 10

Conceptulisation

Answer 10

Eg. Keeping a diary of stressful situations, analysing recent stressful events, Discussing stressors that can change and those that can’t, giving information about the body’s reaction to stress

Question 11

Skills Training

Answer 11

Identifying maladaptive thoughts and replacing them with adaptive thoughts, relaxation training (progressive muscular relaxation)

Question 12

Application

Answer 12

Gradually putting learned skills into practice in real life, 1st by role play, next in a mildly stressful situation, then a moderately stressful situation,finally the most stressful

Question 13

Michabaum

Answer 13

Treated people with phobias of snakes and rats for ONE phobia using either SIT or systematic desensitisation.
SIT was more effective and reduced the fear in non-treated phobia.

Question 14

Antoni

Answer 14

Used SIT to reduce stress levels in gay men with HIV and found a reduction of cortisol and distress measures compared to those on the wait list

Question 15

Benefits of SIT

Answer 15

:) No side effects
:) Lower chance of relapse
:) Can be run in groups so there are low costs

Question 16

Drawbacks of SIT

Answer 16

:( Requires commitment and is time consuming
:( Improvement is not instant
:( Long wait list as there are not many trained psychologists