Psychologists have studied the cognitive and emotional strategies we use to cope with stress for decades. This program explores the benefits and costs of two widely recognized strategies: Avoidance and Approach. Additional strategies of social support, exercise, drug therapy and biofeedback are also discussed.

We all feel stress: a response to demands that exceed our ability to cope. It’s not only psychological – biology plays a major role in the stress response. This program details the immediate physiological processes of fight or flight responses, as well as the stages of General Adaptive Syndrome (GAS). The negative effects of prolonged stress on the body are also explored.

This program begins by defining stress and its causes. Types of stressors like daily life hassles and major life events, and the psychological responses of eustress and distress are explored. The second half of the program looks closely at the Transactional Model of Stress and Coping (Lazarus and Folkman) and how cognitive appraisal of experiences – how we perceive a situation – impacts stress.