Forensic Psychology

Forensic psychology is the intersection between psychology and the justice system. It involves understanding criminal law in the relevant jurisdictions in order to be able to interact appropriately with judges, attorneys and other legal professionals. An important aspect of forensic psychology is the ability to testify in court, reformulating psychological findings into the legal language of the courtroom, providing information to legal personnel in a way that can be understood. 

Further, in order to be a credible witness,for example in the United States, the forensic psychologist must understand the philosophy, rules and standards of the American judicial system. Primary is an understanding of the adversarial system. 

There are also rules about hearsay evidence and most importantly, the exclusionary rule. Lack of a firm grasp of these procedures will result in the forensic psychologist losing credibility in the courtroom. A forensic psychologist can be trained in clinical, social, organizational or any other branch of psychology. In the United States, the salient issue is the designation by the court as an expert witness by training, experience or both by the judge. 

Generally, a forensic psychologist is designated as an expert in a particular jurisdiction. The number of jurisdictions in which a forensic psychologist qualifies as an expert increases with experience and reputation. Forensic neuropsychologists are generally asked to appear as expert witnesses in court to discuss cases that involves issues with the brain or brain damage. They also deal with issues of whether a person is legally competent enough to stand trial.

Personality Psychology

Personality psychology is a branch of psychology that studies personality and individual differences. Its areas of focus include:

• ·         Constructing a coherent picture of the individual and his or her major psychological processes
• ·         Investigating individual differences—how people are unique
• ·         Investigating human nature—how people are alike

"Personality" can be defined as a dynamic and organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that uniquely influences his or her cognitions, emotions,interpersonal orientationsmotivations, and behaviors in various situations. The word "personality" originates from the Latinpersona, which means mask. Significantly, in the theatre  of the ancient Latin-speaking world, themask  was not used as a plot device to disguise the identity of a character, but rather was a convention employed to represent or typify that character. Personality may also refer to the patterns of thoughts, feelings, social adjustments, and behaviors consistently exhibited by an individual over time that strongly influence our expectations, self-perceptions, values and attitudes, and predicts our reactions to people, problems and stress. In a phrase, personality is not just who we are, Gordon Allport (1937) described two major ways to study personality: the nomothetic and the idiographic. Nomothetic psychology seeks general laws that can be applied to many different people, such as the principle of self-actualization, or the trait of extraversion. Idiographic psychology is an attempt to understand the unique aspects of a particular individual.

Self-care means choosing behaviors that balance the effects of emotional and physical stressors: exercising, eating healthy foods, getting enough sleep, practicing yoga or meditation or relaxation techniques, abstaining from substance abuse, pursuing creative outlets, engaging in psychotherap
y. Also essential to self-care is learning to self-soothe or calm our physical and emotional distress. Remember your mother teaching you to blow on the scrape on your knee? This was an early lesson in self-soothing but the majority of adults haven't the foggiest notion how to constructively soothe themselves.

A common mistake in romantic relationships is depending on a partner to soothe our pain. Most of us get married, in part, because we want someone other than mother to calm our fears and offer us band-aids. Of course, it is never a mistake to seek comfort in the sweet embrace or wise words of a spouse. The mistake is believing that a spouse is obligated to be an open tap of emotional support. It is also not a spouse's role to teach us how to self-soothe. We must learn this skill on our own...!!!

Stages by Erik Erikson

Erik Erikson's theory of psychosocial development is one of the best-known theories of personality in psychology. Much like Sigmund Freud, Erikson believed that personality develops in a series of stages. 

One of the main elements of Erikson's psychosocial stage theory is the development of ego identity.¹ Ego identity is the conscious sense of self that we develop through social interaction. According to Erikson, our ego identity is constantly changing due to new experiences and information we acquire in our daily interactions with others. In addition to ego identity, Erikson also believed that a sense of competence motivates behaviors and actions. Each stage in Erikson's theory is concerned with becoming competent in an area of life. If the stage is handled well, the person will feel a sense of mastery, which is sometimes referred to as ego strength or ego quality.² If the stage is managed poorly, the person will emerge with a sense of inadequacy.

In each stage, Erikson believed people experience a conflict that serves as a turning point in development. In Erikson's view, these conflicts are centered on either developing a psychological quality or failing to develop that quality. During these times, the potential for personal growth is high, but so is the potential for failure.

These Stages Are:

Psychosocial Stage 1 - Trust vs. Mistrust

Psychosocial Stage 2 - Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt

Psychosocial Stage 3 - Initiative vs. Guilt

Psychosocial Stage 4 - Industry vs. Inferiorit

Psychosocial Stage 5 - Identity vs. Confusion

Psychosocial Stage 6 - Intimacy vs. Isolation

Psychosocial Stage 7 - Generativity vs. Stagnation

Psychosocial Stage 8 - Integrity vs. Despair

Critically evaluate view point of Erik Erickson regarding psycopathology

Critically evaluate view point of Erik Erickson regarding psycopathology. 

Erik Erickson has extended the different concepts of Freud. He was a Danish-American psychoanalyst known for his theory on social development of human beings and he was most famous for his work on identity crises. Erikson’s model of psychosocial development is a very important and meaningful concept. Erikson believed that his psychosocial principle is genetically unavoidable in shaping human development. It occurs in all people. He also referred to his theory as 'epigenesis' and the 'epigenetic principle’, that development goes through series of stages (From Vital Involvement in Old Age, 1989). Like the other entire psychoanalysts, Erickson also had to face criticism on his theory on social development of human beings. There was some positive as well as some negative points that were criticized by the critiques of his time.

Some positives are as Erikson had extended some concepts of Freud, there was no doubt that he was influenced by Freud but in his theory of psychosocial development he had significantly included cultural and social aspects into Freud's biological and sexually oriented theory. Erikson was able to do this because of his strong interest and concern for people, especially young people, and his research was mostly done on human societies. (Erik and Joan Erikson 1950-97) For example, in the third stage of Freud he talks about the sexual attraction of a child towards the opposite sex parent and according to him if this conflict was not resolved by the parents then it will lead to future anxieties that might be a pathology in the later life of a child but on the other hand Erickson opposes this and said that in this particular time period basic task of a child is to achieve a sense of competence and initiative. Child wants freedom and if he/she doesn’t get that it will lead to dependency on others decision.

                                                                                                                           Secondly Erickson’s view is that the social environment and biological maturation provide each individual with a set of "crises" that must be resolved. The results of the resolution, whether successful or not, are carried forward to the next crisis and provide the foundation for its resolution. This is different from other theories such as Piaget's theory of cognitive development or Maslow's theory of human needs where the level must be satisfactorily addressed before one can move on to the next level. (Woolfolk & McCune-Nicolich. (1984)). For example, in the age limit from 6-12 child wants to explore world and needs to learn the basic skills required for school success and wants a sense of industry but if he fails to do so then it results in a sense of inadequacy in the child and if not resolved then it will turn to a pathology.                                                                  

 His most work ws done on adolescence and their attempts to establish identity. His theoretical approach was studied and supported, particularly regarding adolescence, by James E. Marcia.Marcia's work has distinguished different forms of identity, and there was  some empirical proof that those people who form the most rationale self-concept in adolescence are those who are most able to make intimate attachments in early adulthood. This supports Eriksonian theory, in that it suggests that those best prepared to resolve the crisis of early adulthood are those who have most successfully resolved the crisis of adolescence .( Marcia, J. E., (1966)).

Other psychologist in many ways also negatively criticized Erickson. Erickson was highly criticized on his theory of adolescence identity crises. A number of studies have been undertaken. Some people had supported his theory of identity crises as done by Marcia but on the other hand it was criticized by other people .For example, Meilman (1979), carry out a cross-sectional study on 12-24 years old males. It was discovered that just over half of the subjects had reached identity realization at 24 years. Therefore this shows that identity achievement must go on into adulthood. O’Connell (1976) found similar patterns when he carried out interviews with married women who had school age children. These women described how their identity became more apparent to themselves as they progressed though their life, from getting married, to finding a job, to having children. These findings suggest that identity development is not so strongly focused in adolescence, as Erickson believes.                                                                                                             

Eriksson’s psychosocial model is much generalized and he himself recognized that no effort was made to trace the differences in ego development between the sexes. (Stevens 1983), For example he had not defined the clear line of pathology between male and female, for him the developmental stages of males and females are same.                                                 

Thirdly Erikson's theory were questioned as to whether his stages must be considered as sequential, and only occurring within the age ranges he suggests. There is debate as only during the adolescence people only search for identity or if one stage needs to happen before other stages can be completed.( Sheehy, Gail. E. P. Dutton, 1976)   

Birth Order by Adler

Birth Order and Sibling Relationship:

         The Adlerian approach is giving special attention to the relationships between siblings and the position in one’s family .Adler identified five psychological positions: oldest, second of only two, middle, youngest, and only. It should be noted that actual birth order itself is less important than individual, s interpretation of his or her place in the family .since Adlerian view human problems as social in nature, they emphasize interfamily relationships.

        Adler (1958) observes that many people wonder why children of the same family often differ so widely. It is a fallacy to assume that children of the same family are formed in the same environment. Although they share aspects in common in the family constellation, the psychological situation of each child is different from that of the others because of the order of their birth. The following description of the influence of birth order is based on Ansbacher and Ansbacher (1964), Dreikurs, (1953), and Adler (1958).

           

(A). the oldest child generally receives a good deal of attention, and during the time she is the only child, she is typically somewhat spoiled as the center of attention. He/She tends to be dependable and hard working and strives to keep ahead. When a new brother or sister arrives on the scene, however, he/she finds herself ousted from her favored position. She is no longer unique or special. She may readily believe that the newcomer will rob her of the live to which she is accustomed.

           

(B). the second child is in a different position. From the time he/she is born, he shares the attention with another child. The typical second child behaves as if he was in a race and is generally under full steam at all times. It is through this second child were in training to surpass the older brother or sister. This competitive struggle between the two first children influences the later course of their lives. The younger child develops a knack for finding out the elder, child weak spots and proceeds to win praise from both parents and teachers by achieving success where the older sibling has failed. If one is talented in a given area, the other strives for recognition other abilities. The second born is often opposite to the firstborn.

           

(C). the middle child often feels squeezed out. She may become convinced of the unfairness of life and feel cheated. This person can assume a “poor me” attitude and can become a problem child. On the other hand, especially in families characterized by conflict, the middle child will become the switchboard and the peacemaker, the person who hold things together.

           

(D). the youngest child is always is the baby of the family and tends to be the most pampered one. He has a special role to play, for all other children are ahead of him. Youngest children end to go their own way. They often develop in ways no others in the family have thought about.

          

(E). the only child has a problem of his/her own. Although he/she shares some of the characteristics of the oldest child (namely, high achievement drive), he/she may not learn to share or cooperate with other children. He/she will learn to deal with adults well, as they make up their original familial world. Often, the only child is pampered by his/her parents and may become dependently tied to one or both of them. He/she may want to have centre stage all of the time, and if his/her position is challenged, he/she will fell it unfair. 

       

  Birth order and the interpretation of ones position in the family have a great deal to do with how adults interact in the world. Individuals acquire a certain style of relating to others in childhood and from, a definite picture of themselves that they carry into their adult interactions. In Adlerian therapy, working with family dynamics, especially relationships among siblings, assumes a key role. Although it is important to avoid stereotyping individuals, it does help to see how certain personality trends that began in childhood as a result of sibling rivalry influence individuals throughout life.

Central concept of adler

Central Concept: Feeling of Community

Adler based his psychology on the central concept of (in German) Gemeinschaftsgefühl. It is a difficult concept to translate adequately and has been translated by the phrases social interest, social feeling, community feeling, and social sense (Ansbacher and Ansbacher 1956, 134). Adler and many of his followers came to prefer the term feeling of community (Bruck 1978). It is a multi-level concept. Individuals may understand and put into practice some levels and neglect the development of others. If people have developed social interest at the affective level, they are likely to feel a deep belonging to the human race and, as a result, are able to empathize with their fellow humans. They can then feel very much at home on the earth -- accepting both the comforts as well as the discomforts of life. At the cognitive level, they can acknowledge the necessary interdependence with others, recognizing that the welfare of any one individual ultimately depends on the welfare of everyone. At the behavioral level, these thoughts and feelings can then be translated into actions aimed at self development as well as cooperative and helpful movements directed toward others. Thus, at its heart, the concept of feeling of community encompasses individuals' full development of their capacities, a process that is both personally fulfilling and results in people who have something worthwhile to contribute to one another. At the same time, the concept denotes a recognition and acceptance of the interconnectedness of all people.

These ideas of Adler's also speak to the current discussion of the relationship between self and society. Unlike others, he saw no fundamental conflict between self and society, individuality, and relatedness, self interest and social interest. These are false dichotomies. The development of self and connectedness are recursive processes that influence one another in positive ways. The greater one's personal development, the more able one can connect positively with others; the greater one's ability to connect with others, the more one is able to learn from them and develop oneself. This idea has been rediscovered by recent authors (Guisinger and Blatt 1994). 

Adler's Type Of Personality

       Adler (1956) developed a scheme of the so called personality types. These types emerge from combining degrees of activity with social interest.

• The Getting or Leaning type is those who selfishly take without giving                   back. These people also tend to be anti-social and have low activity levels.
• The Avoiding types are those that hate being defeated. They may be successful, but have not taken any risks getting there. They are likely to have low social contact in fear of rejection or defeat in any way.
• The Ruling or Dominant type strives for power and is willing to manipulate situations and people, anything to get their way. People of this type are also prone to anti-social behavior.

• The Socially Useful types are those who are very outgoing and very active. They have a lot of social contact and strive to make changes for the good. 

Acrophobia

Acrophobis is an extreme or irrational fear of heights. Most people experience a degree of natural fear when exposed to heights, especially if there is little or no protection. Those who are confident in such situations may be said to have a head for heights. Acrophobia sufferers can experience a panic attack in a high place and become too agitated to get themselves down safely. Between 2 and 5 percent of the general population suffer from acrophobia, with twice as many women affected as men.

Causes:

Traditionally, acrophobia has been attributed, like other phobias, to conditioning or a traumatic experience involving heights. Recent studies have cast doubt on this explanation; fear of falling, along with fear of loud noises, is one of the most commonly suggested inborn or non-associative fears.

When researching the origin of phobias, the fist thing you’ll discover is they usually develop between early childhood and adolescence. Examples of phobias that children can be prone to include: Nyctophobia (fear of the dark), Teratophobia (fear of monsters), Arachnophobia (fear of spiders), Ophidiophobia (fear of snakes), Dentophobia (fear of dentists) and Aichmophobia (fear of needles). In fact, most young children go through phases of being afraid of these things, but they usually grow out of it. Phobias can develop later, but after the age of 40 it’s rare.

Fear of heights and the complex phobias like agoraphobia and social phobia are unusual in children because their formation is typically more gradual, and normally develops during adolescence.

Phobias are defined as an unrelenting, irrational fear response triggered by exposure to a feared object or situation. The different kinds of phobias all have similar signs and symptoms involving an intense state of anxiety leading to the sufferer avoiding the feared situations.

A quick flick around the internet will demonstrate the understandable obsession with finding out what causes phobias (or any distressing mental disorder for that matter).

The cause of phobias is usually attributed to some external learning experience outside of the control of the phobia sufferer. The logic is easy to understand and goes something like this.

Before “X” Happened I Was Fine…
After “X” Happened I Had A Phobia…
Therefore “X” Must Have Caused The Phobia.

The Traumatic Event –

The favourite of psychology and psychotherapy professionals everywhere. A bad experience at the dentist leading to a fear of dentists, being bitten leading to a fear of dogs, a bumpy flight with turbulence and suddenly flying isn’t as fun anymore, an embarrassing 5 minutes in front of the class at school and the thought of public speaking leaves you shaking.

In fact, all the common wisdom tells us any traumatic experience can lead to a phobia. This forms the basis of all the classical conditioning theories. However, our brains are a bit more complex than this. Very few of the phobics I’ve worked with actually got their phobia in this way.

Third party Traumatic events. 

This is where someone observes someone else experiencing a traumatic event, and learns to be frightened from this “witness” position. It doesn’t even have to be real. The number of people seeking treatment for fear of water more than doubled after the release of the film Jaws.

But real events also lead to phobias. It is estimated that the national fear of flying that led to the reduction in air travel and tourism after the terrible events of 9/11 reduced the output of the US economy by 0.75%. 0.75% might not sound like much but it’s the difference between a recovery and a recession.

Cultural Causes (learning from others) –

A few years ago there was a lot of debate about phobias being genetic. But it was all founded on the discovery that phobias are more common in women than men and was blown out of all proportion.

The reason that phobias crop up more in some families is because the individuals within that family have learnt to be frightened from other members. Observing the emotional reactions of others is strong evidence of a threat as far as your brain is concerned.

All these experiences may well have been the cause of the fear or anxiety you experienced at the time but, contrary to psychoanalytic theory, they are not the real cause of your phobia developing. After all, not everyone develops a phobia as a result of these experiences. .

If we’re going to find the real cause we need to take a look at how your brain works.

Symptoms:

Fear of heights symptoms

·         A rapid heart rate

·         Shortness of breath

·         Muscle tension

·         A hot flushed feeling

·         Trembling

·         An immanent feeling of apprehension and fear

When symptoms are extreme, you cannot even function normally. You feel as if your whole existence is at stake.

Treatment :

Systematic desensitization This is one of the ways to treat acrophobia without letting you to be directly exposed to the condition. This treatment takes place in levels and once you miss one, the whole system is disrupted.

Cognitive behavioral therapy This is a kind of treatment that transforms the way you think. In this way the fear as a form of unwanted thought is easily eliminated thus making you feel somewhat relaxed and comfortable. However, this sort of a therapeutic treatment may not be successful in all cases.

Hypnotherapy and relaxation techniques are other wonderful ways of treating acrophobia though their success in the matter is quite a controversial factor.

Treatment Of Phobia's

Simple or specific phobias have been quite effectively treated with behavior therapy (Marks, 1987). The behaviorists involved in classical conditioning techniques believe that the response of phobic fear is a reaction acquired to non-dangerous stimuli. The normal fear to a dangerous stimulus, such as a poisonous snake, has unfortunately been generalized over to non-poisonous ones as well. If the person were to be exposed to the non-dangerous stimulus time after time without any harm being experienced, the phobic response would gradually extinguish itself. Also, this assumes that the person does not also experience the dangerous stimulus during that same extended period of time. In other words, one would have to come across ONLY non-poisonous snakes for a prolonged period of time for such extinction to occur. This is not likely to occur naturally, so behavior therapy sets up phobic treatment involving exposure to the phobic stimulus in a safe and controlled setting. Foa and Kozak (1986) call this exposure treatment, so called because the patient is exposed to the phobic stimulus as part of the therapeutic process.

One simple form of exposure treatment is that of flooding, where the person is immersed in the fear reflex until the fear itself fades away. Some phobic reactions are so strong that flooding must be done through one's imagining the phobic stimulus, rather than engaging the phobic stimulus itself.

Some patients cannot handle flooding in any form, so an alternative classical conditioning technique is used called counter-conditioning (Watson, 1924). In this form, one is trained to substitute a relaxation response for the fear response in the presence of the phobic stimulus. Relaxation is incompatible with feeling fearful or having anxiety, so it is said that the relaxation response counters the fear response. This counter-conditioning is most often used in a systematic way to very gradually introduce the feared stimulus in a step-by-step fashion known as systematic desensitization, first used by Joseph Wolpe (1958). 

This desensitization involves three steps:

 (1) training the patient to physically relax, 

(2) establishing an anxiety hierarchy of the stimuli involved, and 

(3) counter-conditioning relaxation as a response to each feared stimulus beginning first with the least anxiety-provoking stimulus and moving then to the next least anxiety-provoking stimulus until all of the items listed in the anxiety hierarchy have been dealt with successfully.

Biofeedback instrumentation has often been used to ensure that the patient is truly well-relaxed before going the next higher item in the anxiety hierarchy. Several indexes have been used in this adjunctive approach, including pulse rate, respiration rate, and electrodermal responses.

Also, systematic desensitization can be paired with modeling, an application suggested by social learning theorists. In modeling, the patient observes others (the "models") in the presence of the phobic stimulus who are responding with relaxation rather than fear. In this way, the patient is encouraged to imitate the model(s) and thereby relieve their phobia. Combining live modeling with personal imitation is sometimes called participant modeling (Bernstein, 1997).

Stress Management

STRESS MANAGEMENT

The word stress is derived from the Latin word "stringi", which means, "to be drawn tight". Stress can be defined as follows:

Definition of Stress:

In medical terms stress is described as, "a physical or psychological stimulus that can produce mental tension or physiological reactions that may lead to illness." When you are under stress, your adrenal gland releases corticosteroids, which are converted to cortisol in the blood stream. Cortisol have an immune suppressive effect in your body.

Another Definition of Stress:

According to Richard S Lazarus, stress is a feeling experienced when a person thinks that "the demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize."

Your body tries to adjust to different circumstances or continually changing environment around you. In this process, the body is put to extra work resulting in "wear and tear". In other words, your body is stressed. Stress disturbs the body's normal way of functioning.

Most of us experience stress at one time or another. Without stress, there would be no life. However, excessive or prolonged stress can be harmful. Stress is unique and personal. A situation may be stressful for someone but the same situation may be challenging for others. For example, arranging a world level symposium may be challenging for one person but stressful to another. Some persons have habit of worrying unnecessarily.

Stress is not always necessarily harmful. Hans Selye said in 1956, "stress is not necessarily something bad – it all depends on how you take it. The stress of exhilarating, creative successful work is beneficial, while that of failure, humiliation or infection is detrimental." Stress can be therefore negative, positive or neutral. Passing in an examination can be just stressful as failing.

Sometime we know in advance that doing a certain thing will be stressful, but we are willing to doing that. For example, while planning a vacation to a hill station you know that it would be stressful at certain times. But you are willing to face those challenges.

People often work well under certain stress leading to increased productivity. Many times you do not know in advance and the stress periods may be sudden. The situation may not be under your control. Too much stress is harmful. You should know your level of stress that allows you to perform optimally in your life.

Types of Stress:

Eustress

Eustress is one of the helpful types of stress. It is the type of stress you experience right before you have the need to exert physical force. Eustress prepares the muscles, heart, and mind for the strength needed for whatever is about to occur.

Eustress can also apply to creative endeavors. When a person needs to have some extra energy or creativity, eustress kicks in to bring them the inspiration they need. An athlete will experience the strength that comes form eustress right before they play a big game or enter a big competition. Because of the eustress, they immediately receive the strength that they need to perform.

When the body enters the fight or flight response, it will experience eustress. The eustress prepares the body to fight with or flee from an imposing danger. This type of stress will cause the blood to pump to the major muscle groups, and will increase the heart rate and blood pressure to increase. If the event or danger passes, the body will eventually return to its normal state.

Neustress

 It is a sensory stimuli that have no consequential effect; it is consider neither good nor bad. For example news of an earthquake in remote corner of the world.

Distress

Distress is one of the negative types of stress. This is one of the types of stress that the mind and body undergoes when the normal routine is constantly adjusted and altered. The mind is not comfortable with this routine, and craves the familiarity of a common routine. There are actually two types of distress: acute stress and chronic stress.

Types of distress:

Acute Stress

 Acute stress is the type of stress that comes immediately with a change of routine. It is an intense type of stress, but it passes quickly. Acute stress is common in people who take too many responsibilities and are overloaded or overworked, disorganized, always in a hurry and never in time. These people are generally in positions of importance at their workplace and stressful lifestyle is inherent in them.

Symptoms of this type of stress are prolonged tension headaches, hypertension, migraines, chest pain and heart disease.

Chronic Stress

This type of stress is the most serious of all the  stress types. Chronic stress is a prolonged stress that exists for weeks, months, or even years. This stress is due to poverty, broken or stressed families and marriages, chronic illness and successive failures in life. People suffering from this type of stress get used to it and may even not realize that they are under chronic stress. It is very harmful to their health.

General causes of stress:

Threat

A perceived threat will lead a person to feel stressed. This can include physical threats, social threats, financial threat, and so on. In particular it will be worse when the person feels they have no response that can reduce the threat, as this affects the need for a sense of control.

Generally speaking, any threat to needs is likely to lead to stress being experienced.

Fear

Threat can lead to fear, which again leads to stress. Fear leads to imagined outcomes, which are the real source of stress.

Uncertainty

When we are not certain, we are unable to predict, and hence feel we are not in control, and hence may feel fear or feel threatened by that which is causing the uncertainty.

Cognitive dissonance

When there is a gap between what we do and what we think, then we experience cognitive dissonance, which is felt as stress. Thus, if I think I am a nice person then do something that hurts someone else, I will experience dissonance and stress.

Dissonance also occurs when we cannot meet our commitments. We believe we are honest and committed, but when circumstances prevent us from meeting our promises we are faced with the possibility of being perceived as dishonest or incapable (i.e. a social threat).

Life causes:

There are many causes of stress in life including:

Death: of spouse, family, and friend

Health: injury, illness, pregnancy

Crime: Sexual molestation, mugging, burglary, pick-pocketed

Self-abuse: drug abuse, alcoholism, self-harm

Family change: separation, divorce, new baby, marriage

Sexual problems: getting partner, with partner

Argument: with spouse, family, friends, co-workers, boss

Physical changes: lack of sleep, new work hours

New location: vacation, moving house

Money: lack of it, owing it, investing it

Environment change: in school, job, house, town, jail

Responsibility increase: new dependent, new job  

Stress signs and symptoms:

Cognitive Symptoms

• Memory problems
• Inability to concentrate
• Poor judgment
• Seeing only the negative
• Anxious or racing thoughts
• Constant worrying

Emotional Symptoms

• Moodiness

• Irritability or short temper
• Agitation, inability to relax
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Sense of loneliness and isolation
• Depression or general unhappiness

Physical Symptoms

• Aches and pains
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Nausea, dizziness
• Chest pain, rapid heartbeat
• Loss of sex drive
• Frequent colds

Behavioral Symptoms

• Eating more or less
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Isolating yourself from others
• Procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities
• Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
• Nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)

The stress Response

The fight-or-flight response, also called the fright, fight or flight response, hyper arousal or the acute stress response, was first described by Walter Cannon in 1915. His theory states that animals react to threats with a general discharge of the sympathetic nervous system, priming the animal for fighting or fleeing. This response was later recognized as the first stage of a general adaptation syndrome that regulates stress responses among vertebrates and other organisms.

The "fight or flight response" is our body's primitive, automatic, inborn response that prepares the body to "fight" or "flee" from perceived attack, harm or threat to our survival.

There are four stages of fight or flight response:

Stage 1. Stimuli from one or more of the five senses are sent to brain.

Stage 2. The brain deciphers the stimulus as either a threat or a non threat; this is the end of response. If response is decoded as a real threat, the brain then activates the nervous and endocrine systems to quickly prepare for defense and or escape.

Stage 3. The body stays activated, aroused, until the threat is over.

Stage 4. The body returns to homeostasis, a state of physiologically calmness, once the threat is gone.

Following table explains the bodily changes that take place during stress.

Target	Sympathetic Stress, Fight/Flight	Parasympathetic Normal function (opposite of stress response)
Heart Rate	Increased	Decreased
Coronary Arteries	Dilate	Constrict
Blood Pressure	Increase	Decrease
Bronchioles	Dilate	Constrict
Respiratory Secretions	Decrease	Increase
Pupil	Dilate	Constrict
Skin Blood Flow	Decrease	Increase
Digestive Blood Flow, Secretions and Muscular Activity	Decrease	Increase
Sweating	Increase	Decrease
Blood Glucose	Increase	Decrease

General Adaptation Syndrome:

Hans Selye researched the effects of stress on rats and other animals by exposing them to unpleasant or harmful stimuli. He found that all animals presented a very similar series of reactions, broken into three stages. In 1936, he described this universal response to the stressors as the general adaptation syndrome, or GAS.

Alarm is the first stage. As you begin to experience a stressful event or perceive something to be stressful psychological changes occur in your body.  This experience or perception disrupts your body’s normal balance and immediately your body begins to respond to the stressor as effectively as possible. It describes the cannon’s fight or flight response.

Resistance is the second stage. If the stressor persists, it becomes necessary to attempt some means of coping with the stress. Although the body begins to try to adapt to the strains or demands of the environment, the body cannot keep this up indefinitely, so its resources are gradually useless.

Exhaustion is the third and final stage in the GAS model. At this point, all of the body's resources are eventually useless and the body is unable to maintain normal function. At this point the initial autonomic nervous system symptoms may reappear (sweating, raised heart rate etc.). If stage three is extended, long term damage may result as the capacity of glands, especially the adrenal gland, and the immune system is exhausted and function is impaired resulting in decompensation. The result can manifest itself in obvious illnesses such as ulcers, depression, and diabetes, trouble with the digestive system or even cardiovascular problems, along with other mental illnesses.

COPING STRATEGIES FOR STRESS:

1) Healthy diet:

• Promotes connection of mind and body.
• Recognizes control over one’s own health.

2) Spiritual Practice

The relationship between stress and human spirituality is gaining more and more attention in the aalied health fields. Prayer is perhaps one of the most common coping techniques for those stressors that seem beyond the grasp of human resources.

3) Physical activity:

• Improves self-esteem.
•  Decreases risk of diseases and disability.

4) Sleep hygiene:

• Sleep deprivation exacerbates stress.
• Unrealistic expectations about sleep can cause stress.

5) Social support

• Social support greatly reduces stress.
•  When people bond together in times of trouble, they are better able to cope with the problems at hand.

6) Setting realistic goals:

• Take small steps.
• Work on what is most important first.

7) Rest:

Get a minimum of six hours of continuous rest

8) Anger management

• Learn to manage your anger
• Anger affects your health
• Anger causes you to over react to many situations

9) Forgiveness

• We get angry often because someone did not do what we thought they should
• Rethink the situation and learn to be more flexible

10) Cognitive restructuring:

The term cognitive restructuring was coined by Meichenbaum in1975 to describe a coping technique for patients diagnosed with stress related disorders. This coping style aimed to modify internal self-dialogue by tuning into the conversation within the mind. The practice of cognitive restructuring was an important step in what Meichanbaum referred to as stress inoculation, a process to build up positive thoughts when negatively perceived events encountered. Bandura in 1977 and Beck in 1976 also supported the concepts of cognitive change perceptions as a mean to effectively deal with stress.

The purpose of cognitive restructuring is to widen ones conscious perspective and thus allow room for a change in perception. Cognitive restructuring involves assuming responsibility, facing the reality of a situation, and taking the offensive to resolve the issues causing stress.

To restructure your perceptions to experience more good luck, something we can all do. Wiseman suggests adopting four attitudinal behaviors.

1.      Maximize your chances opportunities by taking a proactive stance rather than playing the role of a victim.

2.      Listen to your intuition. Go with your gut feelings and learn to listen to the voice of intuition rather than the voice of fear that tends to hold you back.

3.      Focus on the positive and take calculated risks. Meeting new people and trying new activities increase the chance of expanding your thoughts and possibly making and succeeding with new goals.

4.      Find the good in bad situation. Every situation has a good side and a bad side; at each moment you decide which is which.

Steps to initiate cognitive restructuring:

A simple four –stage process introduced by the field of behavioral medicine by Roger Allen (1983) is a model for implementing changes in lifestyles behaviors through cognition to promote health. The following model explains how cognitive restructuring can be implemented as a coping technique to reduce stress. The steps are as follows:

1.     Awareness: the awareness process has three steps. In first, stressors are identified and acknowledged. This may include writing down what is on your own mind, including all frustrations and worries. The second step of the awareness process is to identify why these situations and events are stressors and, more specifically, what emotional attitudes are associated with each. In the last step, a primary appraisal given to the main stressors and acknowledgment of the feelings associated with it. If the original perception appears to be defensive or negative, and inhibits you from resolving this issue, then the next stage is a reappraisal.

2.     Reappraisal of the situation. A secondary appraisal, or reappraisal, is a “second opinion” you generate in your mind to offer a different objective. A reappraisal is a new assembly or restructuring of the factors involved, and the openness to accept a new frame of mind.

3.     Adaptation and substitution. The most difficult part of any attitudinal change is its implementation. Once a new frame of mind is created, it must then be adopted and implemented. Humans to be creatures of habit, finding comfort in known entities even if the “known” is less than desirable. With cognitive restructuring, the new mind frame must often be substituted when the stress is encountered and repeated again and again.

4.        Evaluation. The test of any new venture is to measure its effectiveness. Did this attitude work? Initially, it may not. The first attempt to shoot a basket through the hoop may result in an embarrassing miss. Evaluate the new attitude and decide how beneficial it was. If it turns out that the new mind frame was a complete.

11) Journal writing:

Journal writing is perhaps the most effective coping skill available to provide profound internal vision and enhance the self-awareness process. Journal writing initiates the communication of self-reflection between the mind and soul, the necessary first step in the resolution and closure of perceived stress. Journaling, in its own way, is a vehicle for meditation. As a technique to clear the mind of thoughts a claming effect takes place as thoughts and feelings are transferred from the mind. Although few studies have investigated the effectiveness of expressive writing, there is consensus that when encouraged, this technique can prove meaningful on many fronts, from expressing guilt and worry, to planting and harvesting the seeds of creative problem solving. Current research suggests that journal writing is not only good for the soul, as a mode of catharsis to express the full range of emotions, but has proven to be good for the soul. The healing process of self –expression through poetry described Morris Morrison in his book, Poetry as Therapy, incorporates imagination, intuition, and the development of personal insight- three characteristics essential in the healing process. Poetry therapy is currently used as a therapeutic tool in the treatment of emotional disorders. Thus, this method of writing is encouraged as a complementary journal writing style.

Steps to initiate Journal Writing:

Only three essential elements re needed for effective journal writing: (1) a notebook dedicated solely to the journal, (2) a pen or pencil, and, perhaps most important, (3) a quiet, uninterrupted environment to collect your thoughts and then put them down on paper.    

Although there is no specific formula for successful journal writing, some criteria aid the writer to use this coping strategy to deal more effectively with perceived stress. These include the following:

1.      Try to identify those concerns and problems that cause the most frustration, grief and tensions.

2.      Ask yourself what emotions are elicited when these stressors are encountered.

3.      Allow the writing process to augment your creative process to further resolution.

 12)Humor&Laughter:

besides respite care, humor may reduce caregiver stress.  Humor therapy is defined as the use of humor for the relief of physical or emotional pain and stress.  Humor is a coping mechanism that a caregiver may use repeatedly or in the ‘heat of the moment’.  When a situation with the care receiver has gone awry, laughter may be the best medicine.

Humor:

• Is a complementary method to promote health and cope with illness?
• Is generally used to improve quality of life, provide some pain relief, encourage relaxation and reduce stress. 
• May allow people to feel in control of their situations and make the situation seem more manageable. 
• Allows people to release fears, anger and stress, all which harm the body over time.

Laughter:

• Appears to change brain chemistry and may boost the immune system. 
• Appears to increase breathing, increase heart rate and increase oxygen use within the body.
• Allows more oxygen to be used by your body which stimulates the circulatory system.
• Exercises the same muscles and organs used for breathing.
• May release endorphins (neurotransmitters in the brain) which help to control pain.

13) Communication skills:

Good communication skills can relieve a stressful situation. A communication skill lesson plan can help build effective communication. You can communicate your feelings by a putting a frown on your face. Or you could wave across the street to someone. This is known as body language or "non-verbal" communication. Or you could communicate by speaking. Sometimes our verbal communication does not match our non-verbal gestures.

"Interpersonal communication is the process where meaning is exchanged."

"A meaning is exchanged through the sending and receiving of messages."

Meanings are your ideas and feelings. When you communicate your ideas and feelings to someone else you are using both verbal and nonverbal elements. When you are listening you are processing both the words and nonverbal cues and add meaning to them. Effective communication skills: Effective communicators use skills such as paraphrasing and questioning skills what the other person was saying to clarify if they understood the message as the person intended.

Effective Communication Helps to Relieve Stress and Remove Tension: Effective communication is an important technique for stress management and build to a health work and personal life. People who cope with stress well use their communication skills to calmly reach a solution. They are able to talk about their feelings and listen to the other person until the problem is solved. Both parties consider each others position and viewpoint until a happy medium can be found, or until they agree on something.

14) Creative Problem Solving:

Going beyond the traditional process for creating and implementing solutions to problems, this course will: Equip participants with skills to evaluate underlying purposes for solving problems Teach the process of formulating solutions that compel participants to probe “solutions after next” to understand the dynamics of future solutions or system requirements Create powerful in-class exercises and problem-solving activities tailored to specific needs of individuals or groups.

Participants will discover:

• A process for identifying challenges and potential solutions
• How to look beyond problems to the potential challenges ahead
• How to utilize problem solving to reach organizational goals and vision
• A visual model for problem solving (return to top)

15) Time Management: Optimizing Performance:

In an effort to be more productive and efficient, organizations must realize the value of using time wisely. Misspent time is lost opportunity and profit. This interactive course will teach: Critical skills for monitoring and scheduling time Tools for monitoring the quality of how time is spent Processes for determining and setting priorities Innovative in-class exercises and examples to emphasize concepts.

• Participants will discover:
• How to prioritize
• Time management tools and techniques in the work environment
• How to be proactive rather than reactive (“putting out fires”) at work.