Stress and Coping Theory

Stress as a Response Complex

The concept of stress as a factor in human experience has been viewed in several ways. In 1956, Hans Selye described stress as a physiological response pattern. In his General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) model, stress is a response variable. Stress functions as a defense and the response patterns has three stages: alarm, resistance, and exhaustion. When the stress response is severe, it may cause diseases of adaptation (e.g., sleep deprivation, mental illness, heart disease) and death.

In 1983, Selye included a role for cognition—the way people think about stress can lead to positive or negative outcomes. The idea of coping with stress is a part of the model as reflected in the idea of adapting and the role of cognition.

Stress and Transactional Theory

Richard Lazarus (1966; Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) developed the Transactional Theory of Stress and Coping (TTSC). In this theory, stress results from the transaction between people and their environments. There are multiple intrapersonal systems such as cognitive, physiological, affective, psychological, and neurological.

Susan Kobassa (1979) employed the concept hardiness to encompass person characteristics that enable some people to function well when confronted with the same life events that negatively impacted others.

In 1966, Lazarus identified cognitive appraisal of stress as the key to understanding how people cope with stressors.

Coping responses are quite diverse. Cognitive approaches include therapies and meditation. Physical strategies include deep breathing and exercise. Environmental aids include pets and music. Religious and spiritual methods include prayer and faith-based meaning of life events. Forgiveness has also been viewed from the perspective of stress and coping theory (e.g., Worthington, 2020).

Related Posts

Religious and Spiritual Coping- Positive and Negative

References

Kobasa, S. C. (1979). Stressful life events, personality, and health – Inquiry into hardiness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(1), 1–11.

Lazarus, R. S. (1966). Psychological stress and the coping process. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.

Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. New York: Springer.

Selye, H. (1956). The stress of life. New York: McGraw Hill.

Worthington, E. L. Jr. (Ed.). (2020). Handbook of forgiveness: Second edition. New York: Routledge.

Geoffrey W. Sutton, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Psychology. He retired from a clinical practice and was credentialed in clinical neuropsychology and psychopharmacology. His website is  www.suttong.com

 

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Psychache Psychology of psychological pain and anguish

"Psychache refers to the hurt, anguish, soreness, aching, psychological pain in the psyche, the mind." This definition appeared in the first paragraph of a 1993 article by Edwin S. Shneidman. The term continues to appear in the psychological literature.

Shneidman used the term in relation to suicide in the same paragraph as the definition: "Suicide is caused by psychache." (italics in the original)

Clinicians and scientists can "miss the mark" if they ignore this internal distress when trying to explain suicide by such variables as age, sex, and socioeconomic level.

Schneidman, E. S. (1993). Commentary: Suicide as psychache. The Journal of Mental Disease, 181, (3), 145-147. 

Link: https://journals.lww.com/jonmd/Citation/1993/03000/Commentary__Suicide_as_Psychache.1.aspx

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

1-800-273-8255

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Self-Forgiveness

In psychology, self-forgiveness is an intrapersonal process of reducing internal distress associated with a person’s perceived violation of a moral standard. Unlike interpersonal forgiveness, which focuses on forgiving an external offender, self-forgiveness is an intrapersonal process in cases where people offend themselves. The moral violations may be actions harming oneself or another person or the failure to engage in an act, which resulted in harm to oneself or someone else.

In his dissertation, Brandon Griffin studied a dual-process model of self-forgiveness, which was supported by two factors measuring relevant aspects of cognition and emotion. Specifically, the model and the associated Two-factor Self-Forgiveness Scale, measured 1. Decisional Affirmation of Values(DAV) and 2. Emotional Restoration of Esteem (ERE).

Impact of Self-Offenses

The impact of the perceived moral violation may be felt across the usual spectrum of human functioning (for a six-dimension model, see SCOPES).

Self-Identity- A person’s sense of self can suffer as a result of a significant harmful act. Self-identity includes many components such as one’s social roles as well as linked beliefs, emotions, personality traits, and health. When a person’s self-identity includes a moral standard associated with religion or spirituality, a person may feel they have offended God and committed a sin. Identities can also be associated with social roles like a profession or family role. These roles can be impacted by certain personal acts—including loss of job and family relationships.

Cognition- Thoughts of self-condemnation can worsen a person’s mental state via rumination. Mental images of the offensive action can also cause ongoing distress.

Observable behavior patterns/personality- The impact of an interpersonal offense can result in avoiding the offender. Although it is a stretch of the avoidance concept to think of avoiding oneself, people can avoid places, people (e.g., victims, others present during the offense), and objects (e.g., movies, items) that remind them of the offense.

Physiology-We may expect biological effects in cases where an offense is experienced as significantly stressful. Psychosocial stressors are known to negatively affect general health and mental health (For a meta-analysis, see Davis et al., 2015).

Emotions-Common negative feelings linked to unforgiveness of oneself include anger, guilt, anxiety, sadness, and shame.

Social context-People may experience distress over their actions in different ways based on time and space contexts. What was acceptable behavior 40 years ago in the context of war or employment may no longer be acceptable. In addition, people may change their moral standards and view past behavior differently.

Self-Forgiveness and Recovery

Researchers who have studied interpersonal forgiveness have also applied treatment models to self-forgiveness with some modifications. For example, Ev Worthington has adapted the evidence-based REACH model of interpersonal forgiveness to self-forgiveness (Aten, 2019).

For a recent review of The Psychology of Self-Forgiveness see Woodyatt and Wenzel, 2020.

Learn More About Forgiveness

Books and Reviews on Forgiveness and Reconciliation

Psychology of Forgiveness

Two-factor Self-Forgiveness Scale

References

Davis, D. E., Ho, M. Y., Griffin, B. J., Bell, C., Hook, J. N., Van Tongeren, D. R., DeBlaere, C., Worthington, E. L., Jr., & Westbrook, C. J. (2015). Forgiving the self and physical and mental health correlates: A meta-analytic review. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(2), 329–335. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000063

Griffin, B. J. (2016). Development of a two-factor self-forgiveness scale.  [Doctoral Dissertation, Virginia Commonwealth University]. https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/etd/4670/?utm_source=scholarscompass.vcu.edu%2Fetd%2F4670&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages 

Woodyatt, L., & Wenzel, M. (2020). The psychology of self-forgiveness. In E.L. Worthington Jr. (Ed.). Handbook of forgiveness: Second edition. New York: Routledge.

General audience publication on Self Forgiveness

Moving Forward by Ev Worthington Available on AMAZON

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