Full Title: An assessment of physiological and psychological stress management techniques

Many different methods of stress management have been proposed and research conducted into their effectiveness. However, each technique has its own strengths and weaknesses along with supporting or disproving studies.

A physiological approach to managing stress is that of drug therapy. The person experiencing stress would be given drugs which they could take to reduce the symptoms of the stress, by reducing nervous system activity or ANS activity. This treatment is appealing because of its proven effectiveness. A placebo was used in one study by Kahn et al. (1986) which was conducted on 250 patients over 8 weeks. The study found that the drugs had much more effect on reducing stress symptoms than the placebo, proving that drugs are an effective method of treating stress reactions. Drugs are also easy to use and not as time consuming as many of the other methods available.

However, drug therapy also has some serious weaknesses. One main problem is that patients may become addicted to the drugs, showing withdrawal symptoms when they stop taking the drugs. Because of this problem Ashton (1997) recommended that the use of drugs should be limited to 4 weeks. Another issue with the use of drugs is the side effects they can have, which in some cases can be very serious. Examples of side effects are drowsiness, dizziness, blurred vision, or more worryingly, seizures, severe skin rash and irregular heartbeat. Possibly the biggest drawback of using drugs as a therapy is the fact that rather fighting the causes of stress, they fight the symptoms. So in the cases of chronic stressors, taking drugs acts as a temporary solution despite the situation not being resolved. It would be more beneficial to the subject to address the cause of the stress directly. To conclude, whilst this treatment is effective in dampening symptoms of stress, its weaknesses as a therapy (side effects etc.) may outweigh the strengths.

Another physiological method of stress management is biofeedback. In this treatment a patient is taught to control their own bodily functions and nervous system, and can then apply this to everyday stressful situations. This treatment has been found to be very effective, as was proved by Bradley’s (1950) study. Another strength of biofeedback is that there are no side effects to it, unlike drug therapies. However, this technique does require expensive specialist equipment to perform, which means it is not open to everyone. Also, this therapy, once again, treats the symptoms rather than the problem.

Another form of stress management is simple relaxation. This reduces the activity of the nervous system and causes heat rate and blood pressure to drop. Jacobson (1938) discovered that this was a very simple and effective way of helping deal with stresses, a strength to the technique. Another positive aspect is that its simplicity and ease of practise negates expensive training. However, the techniques Jacobson suggested could be impossible in some everyday situations due to a lack of time and space. Also, chronic stressors would need a longer lasting stress release technique in order to be effective.

Exercise has also been proved to have a positive effect on reducing stress symptoms. Morris (1953) conducted a study into bus drivers and conductors, finding that the conductors who moved around the bus, as opposed to the sedentary driver, were much less likely to suffer from cardiovascular disorders. Again, however, this merely deals with the symptoms of the stressor rather than the course. But exercise is a simple therapy which most people can fit into their everyday lives and routine.

In conclusion, whilst all of these therapies aid in coping with stress, none of them address the cause of stress directly. Psychological techniques such as relaxation or meditation may be the best coping strategy as they are inexpensive and can be applied to most real-life situations. When dealing with chronic stressors however, a far better relief would be to deal with the source of the stress rather than the symptoms.

_{Mark achieved: 15/18}

_{References: The web, “Psychology AS – The complete companion” by M. Cardwell & C. Flanagan.}