Biological and Psychological Methods of Stress Management - Coursework Example

Critically consider research in to biological and psychological methods of stress management Stress, also referred to as Ocxania is a feeling of pressure and strain whose symptoms include: being overwhelmed, irritation, panic attacks, feeling of nervousness, loss of appetite, anxiety, depression, insomnia, and sexual dysfunction. Stress management refers to the process of trying to cope with the negative effects of stress. Stress can be minimized in many ways. There are various studies that try to explain the various biological and psychological methods of managing stress. Psychological stress management involves the attempt to reduce psychological effects of stress while biological stress management involves the attempt to reduce biological effects of stress management. Psychological researchers have found out that the psychological stress reduction methods include: relaxation, physical activity and exercise, cognitive techniques, increasing hardiness, and stress inoculation therapy. On the other hand, biological methods of stress management include the use of drug therapies. Critical consideration of research into biological methods of stress management Biological research shows that stress can be managed mainly by using drug therapy methods. Research indicates that drugs control biological effects of stress; hence they can help in stress management. There are two main categories of research which can be used to manage stress: Beta Blockers (BBs) and Benzodiazepines (BZs). Beta blockers reduce the effects of Adrenaline while Benzodiazepines causes a natural anti anxiety substance to reduce stress. One group of the researchers who contributed to biological methods of stress management is Kahn et al (1986). The researchers conducted a research involving 250 patients over eight weeks. They tested the effectiveness of anxiety related to stress. The researchers grouped the people into two groups. One group of people with anxiety was given a drug while the other group was given a placebo. Placebo is a substance with no effects on the body. In the experiment, both groups of patients were given medications without knowing whether it is because of the pharmacological properties or due to psychological factors. The research found out that Benzodiazepine is more effective in managing stress than placebo. BZ reduces the disabling effects of anxiety quickly. BZs catalyze the action of GABA, a form of natural anxiety relief. As a result, a person becomes calmer. Research also indicates that BZs reduce the activity of Serotonin which causes anxiety in the body. Hildago et al (2001) used Meta analysis approach to study the effectiveness of BZs in the reduction of anxiety, and they found out that BZs reduced stress more than any other anti-depressant. In order to determine level of significance of this research, it is important to consider the benefits of drugs in stress management over psychological methods. Using drugs in stress management requires little effort from the user, while psychological methods require a lot of time and effort from the patient. However, Benzodiazepine has been found out to be addictive. Hildado (2001) suggested that patients who used BZ in low quantities showed some withdrawal symptoms. He therefore recommended that the use of BZ should be used for only a maximum of 4 weeks. This may not be effective for chronic stress. Drug effects on the levels of stress of a person only last for as long as the person takes the drug. If a patient stops taking the drug, its effectiveness stops and the stress go back to its normal level. This method is therefore not considered necessary for managing chronic levels of stress. BZ also has quite a number of side effects, including: aggressiveness and impairment of memory. Lockwood carried out research on the effectiveness of Beta Blockers in the reduction of stress. The study used a sample of 2000 musicians in symphony orchestras (Lader 1988). 27% of the musicians were given Beta Blockers while the others were not given. Those who used Beta blockers made them to feel better about their performance. Music critics also suggested that the musicians who took beta blockers performed better. Research also indicates that beta blockers are important in reducing anxiety in sports that require accuracy more than physical abilities such as golf and Tennis. BBs reduce adrenaline’s activities; hence leading to reduced blood pressure and slow heart rate. The disadvantage of using BBs is that once patients stop using them, they may feel stressed again because the drugs are only effective for as long as they are used. However, BBs have no side effects. Therefore, beta blockers are very useful in sports but they may not be important for people seeking full reduction for chronic stress. Critical consideration of research into psychological methods of stress management Psychology researchers consider relaxation as one of the main psychological methods of managing stress. One of the researchers who came up with this method is Jacobson who noted stressed people added to their discomfort by causing tension on their muscles. Lader (1988) suggests that a researcher called Jacobson developed the progressive relaxation method as a way of reducing stress. The patient in this case is required to tighten and relax the muscles in his/her body, starting with the feet and gradually working through other parts of the body. Each set of muscles should be relaxed in order to reduce the level of stress and discomfort caused by muscle tension. One of the factors that make this method effective is its ability to control stress-induced effects. A person should first know muscle tension and make a difference between tension and relaxation. If that is done, stress can be reduced significantly through the progressive relaxation method. Another advantage of this method of stress management is that it minimizes the arousals that are caused by alarm reactions. It also reduces the incidences of heart attacks. Despite having these benefits, progressive relaxation method has its own weaknesses. Its major weakness is that it takes a very long time before its effects are felt. Its benefits are usually long term. Progressive relaxation should be incorporated into the lifestyle of a person as a regular process in order to make it more effective. If that is done, progressive relaxation may have a permanent reduction impact on the stress level of the patient. The second psychological method of stress management as suggested by psychology researchers is physical activity/exercise. Morris was the main contributor of physical activity as a psychological method of stress reduction (Tyrer 1991). He carried out a study involving London bus drivers and conductors. The study established that the conductors who moved from one point of the bus to other collecting fares suffered less from cardiovascular disorders than drivers who were considered sedentary. Other studies show that physical activity and exercise are significantly effective in managing stress. One of the arguments that support this method is that exercise reduces the negative effects of chronic stress. Exercise enables a person to burn energy in his/her body; hence reducing blood sugar levels, improving blood circulation, and strengthening heart muscles. Physical activity is also considered as a form of therapy that reduces depression and improves one’s feeling of self-esteem. The research of Morris has also been criticized. One of the main criticisms is that the drivers involved in the study could have been more stressed than conductors due to other factors different from lack of physical activity. Research has also identified cognitive stress reduction technique as an important psychological method of reducing stress. This method mainly involves the perception that people have regarding to stress, how they think about it, and how they cope with it. This method suggests that patients suffering from stress should be encouraged to recognize their perceptions and negative thoughts, and replace them with realistic and positive ideas. Cognitive methods of stress reduction involve two approaches: increasing hardiness and stress inoculation therapy. Increasing hardiness as a method of reducing stress is based on the idea that people have different abilities to resist the effects of stressors. Kobasa (1982) identified hardiness as an important characteristic that helps to resist stress. Kobasa argued that there are three main ways in which hardy individuals differ: commitment, challenge, and control. People with high commitment have more direction to their lives. Hardy individuals also interpret any stress as an opportunity for them to make their lives more interesting (challenge). In terms of control, hardy individuals highly regulate the amount of stress they experience. Kobasa (1982) argues that individuals who are higher in hardiness are always healthier even if their stress levels are similar to those of other individuals who are lower in hardiness. Kobasa also suggested three ways of increasing hardiness: focusing, reliving stressful encounters and self-improvement. Focusing entails identification of symptoms of stress such as muscle tension and blood pressure. Reliving stressful encounters involves asking patients to think about situations that have been stressful to them in the past but they overcame, and consider ways of dealing with the same situations more effectively. Lastly, self-improvement emphasizes that individuals can cope with challenges as they come. People should avoid circumstances that we feel are beyond our abilities, and take on the challenges that we can handle so that we can appreciate the positive impact of handling stress. Increasing hardiness is considered an effective way of reducing stress, but it is extremely slow because an individual should first be able to deal with long term habits and change his/her personality. Stress inoculation therapy was developed by Donald Meichenbaum. In this approach, an individual should first be prepared to cope with stressors. Stress inoculation training is considered by Meichenbaum as psychological antibodies or coping skills which enable an individual to go offensive and resist stressors. In this method of stress management, a therapist engages his/her client in three stages of stress management. The first stage is referred to as conceptualization. In this stage, the therapist and the client identify ways in which the stressful situation is perceived. Negative perceptions such as “I am defeated” often make the situation worse. The second stage of stress inoculation therapy is skill acquisition and rehearsal. It involves the attempt of the therapist and the client to replace the negative statements with positive statements through which the client can cope (Albanesi et al, 2007)The client is then required to learn and practice the new positive coping statements. The last stage is called application and follows through phase. In this stage, the therapist guides the client through a progressive string of threatening situations that have been rehearsed effectively. This method is effective but takes a long time for its effectiveness to count. From this critical consideration, it is clear that biological methods have short term effects on stress management while psychological methods have long term effects. However, psychological methods take a lot of time and effort to achieve results but biological methods take a very short time. Therefore, patients with stress should be patient and seek long term solutions to their stress through psychological approach. Individuals who wish to have immediate reduction in stress such as golf and tennis players should use biological methods consistently. In short, long term benefits of stress management should be sought through psychological methods while short-term benefits should be sought through biological methods. 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