Emotion Focused Coping Strategies

Kelly McGonigal discusses the importance of viewing stress as positive, as opposed to negative, by detailing three specific studies and findings about stress. In the first study, it was discovered that people with a significant amount of stress had a higher mortality rate; however, this was only statistically significant if the subject viewed stress as harmful. If the overly-stressed subject didn’t view stress as harmful, they were actually at the lowest risk of dying, even compared to those with a minimal amount. Therefore, it is important to change a person’s perspective of stress. In particular, McGonigal emphasizes that stress is important for a person’s body: it energizes and prepares them to meet whatever challenge they are facing. Furthermore, it helps the blood vessels remain relaxed, thereby allowing the heart to remain healthy.

Process Experiential Emotion-Focused Therapy (PEEFT) is an approach used to improve the regulation, expression, acceptance, integration and transformation of emotional experiences. Emotions govern the way we interact with the world around us and serve as the primary driver of decision making, allowing us to identify potential risk and understanding personal needs and desires. The process of Emotion Focused therapy (EFT) is essentially to improve overall emotional intelligence by working with the clients current emotional experiences, understanding maladaptive emotional scheme that may be preventing the clients personal growth and impeding on their everyday life and experiencing. The EFT therapist guides the client through a process of awareness and expression of emotions that can then be understood, reflected upon, integrated and transformed to add meaning to their personal experiences.

Everyone experiences stress in a different way: some shut down while others cry or become frustrated. Moreover, although a instinctual necessity, too much stress can definitely cause problems for one’s physical or psychological well-being. When I get too stressed, for example, my immune system drops which causes me to get sick sometimes even three times in a month. Other times, I just have to take breaks from my responsibilities to prevent myself from breaking down or becoming so exhausted that I cannot finish the task at

Animals and Humans have a biological stress response intended to facilitate survival in the case of a life threatening attack or severe illness. This is commonly referred to the “fight or flight” response. Some primates, including humans have developed the unhealthy propensity to trigger this response for psychological or social reasons. Humans in particular experience the stress response exponentially more often for psychological reasons than for the purpose of survival (Stress, 2008). For example, we are may feel “stressed out” about work or school and if we think about it too much and get upset, we may experience a stress response Just by thinking about something that is bothering us, we can trigger the biological “fight or flight”

Stress is induced by life events .Lazarus and Flokman in (Cavanaugh and Blanchard –Field (2005) point out stress is defined by the person and that no two people experiences stress the same event in exactly the same way. Each individual has a specific tolerance for stress depending on general level of adjustment, the internal and external resources available to that person, flexibility of learned coping mechanisms and the degree and type of stress being experienced .The rise in stress that results from emotional

Stress is a common health issue for the body and mind, but it can be managed if not avoid.

Coping is something that everyone has experienced in their lifetime, whether it be over something significant or insignificant we have all experienced it. In an academic journal published in 2003, authors Gerhard Anderson, and Mimmie Willebrand stated, “Coping has been defined as the process of managing demands (external or internal) that are appraised as taxing or exceeding the resources of the person” (S97). There have often been thought to be two main types of coping strategies, these strategies are problem-focused and emotional-focused coping (Heyman et al. 154). These two strategies differ from each other because, “problem-focused coping is often described as managing the problem, while emotion-focused coping is directed at regulating emotional responses to the problem” (Heyman et al. 154). Anderson and Willebrand have stated that coping is to serve two distinct purposes: to do away with the problem...and to regulate emotional reactions (S97). There are many different reasons that people cope and many different ways that people do it, but if not done right can cause a person emotional turmoil and make them inherit mental illnesses like depression and anxiety. Three ingredients in the conceptualization of coping are as follows, (1) coping need not be successful, but an effort must be made; (2) this effort need not be expressed in actual behavior, but can affect cognition as well; and (3) a cognitive appraisal of the taxing situation is a prerequisite for initiating coping attempts (Anderson and

If we feel stressed about a problem at home, at work, within ourselves, or within the world, this can affect our overall health and mood. The Mayo Clinic cites many common symptoms that are the result of stress, including headaches, muscle tension, chest pain, nausea, issues with sleeping, and fatigue. These symptoms are often so commonplace that we don’t realize they are caused by stress. Aside from physical pain, the Mayo Clinic also says that stress can affect your feelings by causing anxiety, the inability to focus, crankiness, and even depression. This moodiness can affect eating habits and social life, lead to abuse of drugs and alcohol, and contribute to a decrease in exercise. I believe that stress has become a talking point today

Chronic stress has become an epidemic; it affects almost everyone in the western societies. We are taught that stress is given and we just need to manage it and try to change those circumstances or “stressors” we can somehow influence. Everyone has their own coping mechanisms, for some it is exercise, for some alcohol, shopping, meditation, etc. We want to escape stressful thinking and everybody finds their own way. Unfortunately, although we might experience a temporary relief, something usually triggers the stress again. Relief can only be temporary because stress is not caused by the circumstances and thus fixing those or getting relief outside is not going to help. Overwhelm and stress is coming from our thinking. As long as we don’t see it, we are trying to fix the wrong target.

Carver, Scheier & Weintraub (1989) describe the two types of coping as problem focused and emotion focused. Problem focused (Carver, Scheier & Weintraub,1989). Problem focus also involve organizing implementing and taking action when deemed appropriate (Carver, Scheier & Weintraub,1989). Emotion focused examines reducing the distress that relates to the situation (Carver, Scheier & Weintraub,1989). Emotion focused involve refuting and look for general support (Carver, Scheier &

2.1. What is effective about these strategies for coping with stress, and why did they work?

There are three techniques are helpful in reducing the impact of intense emotions; controlled breathing, muscle relaxation, mindfulness and self-soothing. All three can be used interchangeable usually beginning with controlled breathing exercises for clients with difficulties with over breathing. Muscle relaxation if Jakki reports feeling muscle tension, mindfulness for any judgmental attitudes toward her thoughts-emotions-behavior, and self-soothing to increase feelings of kindness and compassion toward herself (Wenzel, 2013).

Problem focused coping: In this strategy we try to tackle the stress directly by removing or reducing the cause of the stressor.

Psychological stress is a result of many factors and should be dealt with very carefully. Stress can be defined as “An excess of demand made upon the adaptive capabilities of the mind and body”.(Joseph 1). Another way of putting it, is that there are some things that put certain demands on us. The effects of stress should not be limited to unpleasant emotional states. Many studies have concluded that the effects on our physical health from stress can be extremely detrimental. These adverse physical effects include heart disease and formations of cancer. There are also some societal issues that psychological stress can hamper.

“Stress is a silent disease” (Doctor Hobel). Over the years, stress has played a major rule in a large majority of people’s lives throughout the United States. When thought about, it is said to be extremely surprising as to how many people really have stress in each individual’s life. People do not consider what the reasons are for the feelings and emotions they experience. There are all different types of stress, and stress can do a lot to a person. Each person also handles stress in a different way. Some can handle more than others, because every single person’s body works in a different way. Stress has also been told to cause people to act out of character (Dr. David Posen). They often do not act the way they usually would while under