Self-relatedness, psychopathology, and the context: The concept of disease
Gerrit Glas in Person-Centered Care in Psychiatry, 2019
The mechanisms for dealing with stress are known as coping mechanisms or coping strategies. In the late 70s and 80s, the cognitive mediation of these coping strategies gained scientific attention. Lazarus and Folkman (1984) referred to these mediating structures as “mechanisms of appraisal.” By using appraisal mechanisms, the subject was thought to be able to estimate the nature and possible impact of adverse events. Work in the field of stress and coping led subsequently to an interest in the subject of emotion regulation (Gross 1999). Emotion regulation refers to the ability to redirect the spontaneous flow of one’s emotions by changing the direction of one’s attention, by reinterpreting certain perceptions, or by actively influencing the action tendencies and physiological manifestations of emotions (Koole 2009). The introduction of the concept of self-regulation, which came in its wake, was the next conceptual improvement: It endowed organisms with the capacity to actively organize and shape their environments, including their own relations to it, in contrast to the concept of coping, which suggested an organism that—roughly speaking—merely defends itself against adversity.
Coping strategies in cancer patients
Carol L. Cox, Maya Zumstein-Shaha in A Theory of Cancer Care in Healthcare Settings, 2017
In 1978, Lazarus and Launier delineated the concept of coping. Bruchon-Schweitzer and Dantzer (2003: 2) indicated that based on Lazarus and Launier’s delineation, coping strategies are “all the processes that an individual interposes between himself and the event perceived as a threat in order to master, tolerate or diminish its impact on the individual’s physical and psychological well-being”. These reactions may be cognitive, emotional and/or behavioural; they are meant to maintain the highest level of functioning possible (Razavi et al., 2008). Coping has two primary functions: to make it possible to modify the stress-inducing problem and/or regulate the emotional responses to it. Various coping strategies are used to confront an illness, some are qualified as active – such as problem solving, managing one’s emotions, a quest for meaning – others are passive – such as denial, social isolation, avoidance or substance abuse (Bruchon-Schweitzer and Dantzer, 2003).
Person-centred care
Sheila Broderick, Ruth Cochrane in Trauma and Birth, 2020
Ask yourself: How do I feel/behave when I need help or support from an unfamiliar person?How do I feel/behave when I am in an unfamiliar setting?How do I feel/behave when I am under stress?How do I feel/behave when I have to depend on another person?How do I feel/behave when I need something to be done? The conclusions you arrive at if you answer these questions will give you a glimpse of some of the complexities patients experience during their interactions with medical personnel. By understanding our own vulnerabilities, we are better able to be empathic. Though we are often discouraged by societal norms to show our more vulnerable selves, being anxious, nervous or apprehensive is normal and nothing to be ashamed of. Having insight into how you cope in vulnerable situations can indicate to you the coping mechanisms you employ to manage challenging situations. Coping mechanisms serve a really important purpose. They enable us as individuals to walk out into the world every day, because they protect and enable us to manage daily encounters with other individuals, groups of people and the wider society.
Developing a health education comic book: the advantages of learning the behaviours of a target audience
Published in Journal of Visual Communication in Medicine, 2021
Benjamin Araya, Patricia Pena, Marie Leiner
In this study, we aimed to develop a health educational comic that can aid in improving the ‘coping mechanisms’ adopted by parents in general but especially when their child is hospitalised by collecting study data from parents with hospitalised children. Coping mechanisms are related to the response an individual faced with stress (Aaronson, Joshua, & Boss, 2018; Ueda et al., 2020). A parent’s response to a given situation plays a crucial role in the outcome of their present and future emotional and physical health as well as the function of their family (Balluffi et al., 2004; Ward-Begnoche, 2007). It has been reported that an improvement in coping mechanisms acts as a mediator for quality of life in addition to depression, suicide prevention, and anxiety (Jacobs et al., 2020; Kahn et al., 2020). Targeted interventions to reduce parental and child stress have been implemented in hospitals to aid in decreasing negative outcomes (Als, Nadel, Cooper, Vickers, & Garralda, 2015; Browne & Talmi, 2005; Chertok, McCrone, Parker, & Leslie, 2014; Colville, Cream, & Kerry, 2010; Cooper et al., 2007). Although these interventions are designed to address the stress faced by parents, some concerns have been expressed about their effectiveness, feasibility, and high cost (DeFrank et al., 2019; Feeley et al., 2008; Trinh et al., 2021). Certainly, there is room to introduce low-cost interventions that either exclusively use a health education comic aimed at improving parental coping mechanisms or can complement existing interventions.
Self-Compassion, Coping Strategies, and Caregiver Burden in Caregivers of People with Dementia
Published in Clinical Gerontologist, 2019
Joanna Lloyd, Jane Muers, Tom G Patterson, Magdalena Marczak
Coping strategies are the means by which people manage stress. There have been numerous attempts in the literature to define and organize different categories of coping strategies (for a review see Skinner, Edge, Altman, & Sherwood, 2003). The most consistently used were initially proposed by Lazarus and Folkman (1984) as part of the stress-process model. Two broad categories of strategies were suggested: emotion-focused and problem-focused. Emotion-focused strategies refer to processes that serve to reduce the emotional distress associated with the stressor, for example through acceptance, positive restructuring, and humor. Problem-focused strategies look to try to change the situation for the better. These include generating alternative solutions, planning and taking action to resolve or circumvent the stressor. Which strategy is beneficial depends on the nature and context of the stressor.
Social Support, Dysfunctional Coping, and Community Reintegration as Predictors of PTSD Among Human Trafficking Survivors
Published in Behavioral Medicine, 2018
David Okech, Nathan Hansen, Waylon Howard, John K. Anarfi, Abigail C. Burns
Interestingly, the indirect effect of difficulties in community reintegration increased as the use of more coping mechanisms was endorsed. This suggests that the more difficult the community reintegration, the less protection offered by social support, and this protection is further decreased among women reporting using more coping mechanisms compared to those using fewer coping mechanisms. While this seems counter-intuitive, this finding supports the notion that the relationship of coping with mental health outcomes is curvilinear. Those who do not use adequate coping mechanisms continue to experience stress. Once coping mechanisms have been successful in reducing stress, the use of more coping mechanisms becomes unnecessary. However, those who have not been successful in coping continue to employ more coping mechanisms, resulting in higher scores on coping scales to yield positive correlations with stress and mental health symptoms.46
Related Knowledge Centers
- Denial
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