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Stress coping mechanisms

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Please describe two coping mechanisms (Problem-focused, emotion-focused, or biology-focused) to reduce stress. How are these coping mechanisms effective in reducing the level of stress? Also, what two other coping mechanisms might be employed that also may be effective in reducing stress levels.

Please see the attached article for more details:
- "The Focus of Coping."

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The solution discusses stress coping mechanisms.

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What I will do is offer a brief description of 4 coping mechanisms. Then, I offer academic articles that deal with assessing the effectiveness of the model. The books I cite are all on google books.

Problem Focused Coping
This is a "rationalist" approach that identifies stress with a specific event or situation. This is cognitive based, since it seeks rational solutions to the problem at hand. Distorted thoughts are a good example here. Things like "catastrophic thinking": one thing goes wrong, and you conclude in despair "life is not worth living." This is a cognitive distortion. The focus then is to reason that your life is not so bad, this is one setback. It is not logical to conclude from one setback that your life is terrible.

Look on page 514 of Handbook of Coping: Theory, Research, Applications, by Moshe Zeidner, Norman S. Endler.

This book argues that the bulk of the literature puts problem-focused coping ahead of emotion-based in terms of effectiveness. This is because the problem focus deals with the reality in front of you, not its effects. This kind of active, problem-focused solution "masters" the situation. It places you in control. In terms of stress, it is probably the best option.

Emotion-Based Coping
This approach deals with the effects of a crisis, not its cause. It is normally less effective than the problem focus. In a sense, it is a means of rationalizing away a bad situation rather than confronting it head on. The literature in general does not look kindly on this approach, though it does promote emotional balance in some cases. We reappraise a situation, isolate the good or beneficial parts, and focus on that. Really, it distorts the ...

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