Managing and coping with stress: drug therapy, stress inoculation therapy…

The idea

Stress management uses biological and psychological methods. Drug therapies like benzodiazepines reduce brain arousal, while beta-blockers lower heart rate. Stress Inoculation Therapy (SIT) is a cognitive approach where patients conceptualise stressors, learn coping skills, and apply them. Biofeedback uses operant conditioning, allowing individuals to monitor and control physiological states like muscle tension using technological signals. Coping shows gender differences: males typically use 'fight or flight', whereas females often use oxytocin-driven 'tend and befriend' strategies. Social support mitigates stress via instrumental (practical help), emotional (empathy), and esteem support (boosting confidence).

What earns the marks

• Explain how drug therapies manage stress, distinguishing between central effects of benzodiazepines and peripheral effects of beta-blockers.
• Outline the three phases of Stress Inoculation Therapy (SIT): conceptualisation, skills acquisition, and application.
• Describe the process of biofeedback, including relaxation training, feedback from monitoring equipment, and operant conditioning.
• Discuss gender differences in coping, contrasting the male 'fight or flight' response with the female 'tend and befriend' response.
• Differentiate between instrumental, emotional, and esteem support, providing a clear example for each type.

Common mistakes and how to put them right

• Confusing emotional and esteem support.

  Put it right: Emotional support involves empathy and listening, whereas esteem support specifically aims to increase a person's sense of self-worth and competence.

• Describing biofeedback merely as relaxation.

  Put it right by emphasising the use of monitoring technology and operant conditioning to gain voluntary control over involuntary physiological processes.

• Assuming gender differences in coping are purely social.

  Put it right: Ensure you mention the biological basis, such as the role of oxytocin in the female 'tend and befriend' response.

Exam tips

• When evaluating stress management techniques, compare drug therapy with SIT or biofeedback in terms of side effects, cost, and long-term effectiveness.
• Use concrete examples when defining types of social support, such as giving someone a lift to the hospital for instrumental support.
• Be prepared to apply your knowledge of coping strategies to a novel scenario by identifying which type of social support or therapy is being used in the stem.