Stress Management
Question
Question 1. Outline the transactional model of stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1987) in your own words focusing on both psychological and physiological outcomes.
•Question 3. What is the link between the physiological stress response (HPA axis) and the immune system?


Solution
Stress
Management
Question
One
Stress is characterized by emotional,
psychological, and sometimes physical pressure. The model displays stress due
to interacting with humans and their complex environments. The concept
describes coping as an occurrence comprised of psychological and developmental
reactions that individuals apply to cope with intrinsic and extrinsic pressures
that are believed to exceed their resources. The transactional paradigm of
stress and management states that stress constitutes a process of recognizing,
responding to, and adjusting to a situation over time.
Undeniably, the Transactional Theory
of Stress is a paradigm that emphasizes evaluations by analyzing damages,
risks, and problems faced by individuals suffering from trauma. The outcome or
output of the examination comprises an explanation of the procedure utilized to
manage stressful circumstances. As per the classical theory, the source of
stress for most individuals is often an evaluation of the conditions they most
value themselves (Biggs, Brough, & Drummond, 2017). In particular, the
paradigm posits that individuals undergo two evaluation stages before emotional
processing and trauma response. In the primary evaluation, we examine the
context to determine its significance for us.
Precisely, individuals assess the
chance of gain or loss. They do not stress over it and assume it is unnecessary
if it does not. If it is essential, they decide if it is hopeful or dangerous.
When people believe it to be hazardous, they do an additional inspection. These
assessments adjust to the circumstances by examining the balance between
situational demands, such as danger, vulnerability, difficulty, and other
obvious aspects, such as social support and aptitude.
Similarly, subsequent evaluations may
result in problem-focused or emotion-focused coping approaches. The objective
of problem-focused methods is to handle the actual situation and make it more
pleasant. When successful, coping might be difficult, but it typically results
in a fundamental shift in the circumstances (Schäfer, Pels, & Kleinert,
2020). However, the emotion-focused coping approach involves altering our
connection with the stressful situation to lessen its impact. This approach may
include cursing, deflection, or cognitively restating the event’s significance.
While this does not alter the difficulty itself, it does limit its effects on
individuals. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) note that such approaches comprise
denial, escape-evasion, accountability or guilt, restraint, and involvement in
specific reevaluations that include putting a positive spin on the situation
(Stanojević et al., 2018). However, this technique may be useful for not
expressively predisposed occurrences. Versatile coping strategies aid us in
managing our stress responses throughout time, such as focusing on the positive
aspects of a situation (Gieselmann, Elberich, Mathes, & Pietrowsky, 2020).
Conversely, maladaptive stress management strategies alter one’s feelings of
tension in the short run but accomplish little or possibly exacerbate the
problem in the long run.
Question
Two
There exist a positive link between
psychological stress and immune system dysfunction. Psychological stress is
managed with the support of the immune system, which generates specialized
hormone responses. Stress may have long-term effects on a person’s health and
well-being (Ludwig, Roy, & Dwivedi, 2019). To combat hormones, the
sensitive nervous system and the pituitary-adrenal axis work together
physiologically to raise the blood levels of particular hormones. Prolactin and
other hormones play an important part in the body’s response to stressful
circumstances.
The body’s basic homeostasis and
response need to stress that the HPA axis works. The HPA axis is primarily
responsible for the body’s reaction to fear and stress. Homeostasis has
returned to its original state at this point. Although stressors are always present,
a person becomes used to the stressor via repeated and supportive HPA axis
enactment (Pietromonaco & Powers, 2015). Like the HPA axis, the adrenal
medulla produces stress synthetics like epinephrine and norepinephrine, which
keeps the synthesis of CRF, ACTH, and cortisol successful.
Lastly, when the HPA axis is
activated, corticosteroids are pushed out of the thymus and spleen and into the
body’s periphery, where they suppress a variety of immune responses. The
central nervous system may also be alerted to new antigens in the peripheral
organs using the opposite framework. The HPA axis modulates the immunological
response, suppressing the immune and provocative responses when cortisol levels
are high enough (Akinola, Kapadia, Lu, & Mason, 2019). An immune system’s
over-activation might be fatal if it activates the immune system, but this
adaptation can prevent it by limiting tissue damage from swelling. Anxiety
symptoms include a lack of sleep, a poor diet, and an increased urge to use
alcohol and other substances to deal with stress (Reed & Raison, 2016).
These habits have a significant influence on your immune system. Thus, the body
makes hormones to fix the problem and bring the body back into balance.
References
Akinola,
M., Kapadia, C., Lu, J. G., & Mason, M. F. (2019). Incorporating physiology
into creativity research and practice: The effects of bodily stress responses
on creativity in organizations. Academy of Management Perspectives, 33(2),
163-184. Retrieved on April 10, 2022, from https://doi.org/10.5465/amp.2017.0094
Biggs,
A., Brough, P., & Drummond, S. (2017). Lazarus and Folkman’s psychological
stress and coping theory. The handbook of stress and health: A guide to
research and practice, 351-364. Retrieved on April 10, 2022, from https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=LZ7zDQAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA351&dq
Folkman,
S., & Lazarus, R. S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping (p. 460). New
York: Springer Publishing Company.
Gieselmann,
A., Elberich, N., Mathes, J., & Pietrowsky, R. (2020). Nightmare distress
revisited: Cognitive appraisal of nightmares according to Lazarus’
transactional model of stress. Journal of behavior therapy and
experimental psychiatry, 68, 101517. Retrieved on April 10,
2022, from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2019.101517
Ludwig, B.,
Roy, B., & Dwivedi, Y. (2019). Role of HPA and the HPG axis interaction in
testosterone-mediated learned helpless behavior. Molecular neurobiology, 56(1),
394-405.
Retrieved on April 10, 2022, from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12035-018-1085-x
Pietromonaco,
P. R., & Powers, S. I. (2015). Attachment and health-related physiological
stress processes. Current opinion in psychology, 1,
34-39. Retrieved on April 10, 2022, from https://doi.org/10.1016/j.copsyc.2014.12.001
Reed,
R. G., & Raison, C. L. (2016). Stress and the immune system. In Environmental
influences on the immune system (pp. 97-126). Springer, Vienna.
Retrieved on April 10, 2022, from https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-1890-0_5
Schäfer,
A., Pels, F., & Kleinert, J. (2020). Effects of Different Coping Strategies
on the Psychological and Physiological Stress Reaction. European
Journal of Health Psychology. Retrieved on April 10, 2022, from https://doi.org/10.1027/2512-8442/a000056
Stanojević,
A., Marković, V. M., Čupić, Ž. Kolar-Anić, L., & Vukojević, V. (2018).
Advances in mathematical modeling of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA)
axis dynamics and the neuroendocrine stress response. Current Opinion in
Chemical Engineering, 21, 84-95. Retrieved on April 10, 2022, from
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coche.2018.04.003



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