Unit 6: Stress & Anger

Management

I. Concepts of Stress

II. Situational Factors Affecting Stress

III. Personal Factors Affecting Stress

IV. Mediational Model of Stress

V. Implications for Stress Interventions

VI. Relaxation as a Multidimensional Response

VII. Somatic Relaxation

VIII. Cognitive Relaxation

Unit 6: Stress & Anger

Management

IX. Thought and Emotion

X. Cognitive Distortions

XI. A-B-C Theory of Emotion

XII. Cognitive Restructuring

XIII. Self-Instructional Training

XIV. Integrated Coping Response

XV. Rehearsal of Coping Responses

XVI. Understanding Burnout

XVII. Coping with Burnout

Definitions of Stress

• Stress as a Stimulus (stressors)

• Stress as a Response (feeling stressed)

• Stress as a Person-Situation Transaction

A Transactional Definition of Stress

Stress is a particular relationship or

transaction between a person and the

environment that is appraised by the

person as taxing or exceeding his/her

resources and/or endangering his/her

well being, (Lazarus and Folkman)

Three Types of Appraisals

• Primary

– What is the nature of the stressor?

• Secondary

– What kinds of resources do I posses to cope with this stressor?

• Reappraisal

– Reassessment of situational given additional information and/or secondary appraisal

Situational Factors Affecting Stress

• Predictability

– Event Uncertainty

• Ambiguity

• Novelty

• Imminence

• Controllability

Personal Factors Affecting

Stress • Motives, Goals, & Values

• Beliefs

– Personal Control Beliefs

– Existential Beliefs

• Personality Factors: Hardiness

• Coping Skills

The Three Cs of Hardiness

• Challenge

• Commitment

• Control

Coping Defined

Coping is a process of constantly

changing cognitive and behavioral efforts

to manage specific internal or external

demands that are appraised as taxing or

exceeding a person’s resources.

Stages of Coping

• Anticipatory

• Impact

• Post Impact

Types of Coping

• Problem-Focused Coping

• Emotion-Focused Coping

• Seeking Social Support

Possible Coping Resources

• Physical Resources

• Beliefs

• Problem -Solving Skills

• Social Support

• Social Skills

• Material Resources

Characteristics of Effective Coping

• People with effective coping skills have

– complex repertoires (good variety) that are

– flexibly applied and

– readily generalizable to different situations.

The Yerkes-Dodson Law

(a.k.a. the Inverted-U Hypothesis)

The Yerkes-Dodson Law

(a.k.a. the Inverted-U Hypothesis)

The Yerkes-Dodson Law

(a.k.a. the Inverted-U Hypothesis)

Benson’s Relaxation Response

• Repetition of a word, phrase, mantra,

prayer, or muscular activity

• Passive disregard towards thoughts that

will arise

• Helpful to do in a quiet place and in a

comfortable position

Conditions Impacted by

Invoking the Relaxation

Response • Angina pectoris

• Cardiac arrhythmias

• Anxiety

• Depression

• Bronchial asthma

• Herpes simplex

• Diabetes

• Hypertension

• Infertility

• Postoperative

swelling

• PMS

• Rheumatoid arthritis

• Cancer side effects

• AIDS side effects

• Insomnia

• Duodenal ulcer

• Pain (numerous

types)

• Skin allergies

Other Useful Relaxation

Techniques

• Smile when you feel tense

• Have fun and enjoy pressure-filled and

adverse situations

• Intentionally set up stressful situations

• Slow down and take your time

• Stay focused on the present

• Create and stick to a plan

Cognitive Distortions

• All-or-Nothing Thinking

• Overgeneralization

• Mental Filter

• Disqualifying the Positive

• Jumping to Conclusions

– Mind Reading

– Fortune Teller Error

Cognitive Distortions (Continued)

• Magnification & Minimization

• Emotional Reasoning

• Should Statements

• Labeling & Mislabeling

• Personalization

• Depressogenic Attribution Pattern

• Negative Cognitive Triad

The A-B-Cs (or A-C-Bs) of Emotion

• A – Activating Event

• C – Emotional Consequences • Emotional reaction, presumably caused by

irrational thinking

• B – Beliefs • Usually irrational if dealing with negative emotions

Ellis’ Core Irrational Belief

• It is awful, terrible, and catastrophic when

things are not the way that I demand that

they be.

Other Common Irrational Thoughts

• It’s a dire necessity for an adult to be loved by everyone for everything he or she does.

• One should be thoroughly competent, successful, and achieving in all possible respects.

• Certain people are wicked and villainous when they do not behave as I demand they should, and for this, they should be punished.

• If something is threatening, I should be terribly upset about it.

• Musts and Shoulds

Possible Stress Reducing

Thoughts

• I may not like this situation, but I can certainly stand it.

• Unfortunately, people don’t always behave the way I want them to. That’s the way it goes - no use getting upset.

• I don’t have to be perfect. I can make mistakes too. I don’t have to please everybody.

• Life is too short to let things like this make me miserable.

Analyzing Thoughts and

Feelings (see Smith pages 68-69)

• Activating Event – What happened? Describe the event.

• Emotional Consequences – How did you feel when the event occurred?

– What was your emotional response?

• Beliefs – What were you thinking? What were you telling

yourself? Was any of this irrational?

• Dispute – Counter what you told yourself. What is a more

productive thing to think?

Self-Instructional Training:

Anticipatory Stage

• This will be frustrating. Just plan on how

you can keep your cool and deal with it

without blowing up.

• No negative self-statements. Just think

and plan rationally

Self-Instructional Training: Impact

Stage

• One step at a time. You can handle this.

Just relax and think clearly.

• Keep your cool. No need to loose your

tempter. Relax.

Self-Instructional Training:

Post-Impact Stage

• Those damn ideas. They’re the problem. When you control them, you control your anger.

• Go back over what you did. What worked and what can be done better next time?

• Way to go! It’s getting better every time. You’re controlling the anger instead of it controlling you.

Burnout Defined

• The psychological, emotional, and

sometimes physical withdrawal from an

activity in response to excessive stress or

dissatisfaction.

Symptoms of Burnout

• Low motivation or

energy

• Concentration

problems

• Lack of caring

• Disturbed sleep

• Physical and/or

mental exhaustion

• Lowered self-

esteem

• Negative affect

• Mood

changes/swings

• Substance abuse

• Changes in values

• Emotional isolation

• Increased Anxiety

• Impaired

performance

Situational Factors Contributing to

Burnout

• High or conflicting demands

• Low social support

• Low autonomy

• Low rewards

• Low demands

Personal Factors Contributing to

Burnout

• Extreme dedication to work or profession

• High trait anxiety

• Perfectionistic or unrealistic goals

• Type A personality

• Too flexible or rigid in coping skills

• Non-discriminating locus of control

• Feeling isolated and lonely

Coping with Burnout: The Process

• Awareness of the Problem

• Taking Responsibility for Changing the

situation and/or Yourself

• Discriminating the Changeable from the

Unchangeable

• Developing New Strategies and Coping

Skills

Coping With Burnout:

Specific Recommendations

• Examining Coping Patterns

• Goal-Setting and Clarifying Priorities

• Acknowledging Vulnerabilities

• Compartmentalizing Work and Non-work

• Decompression Time/Time Off

• Maintaining Physical Fitness

• Building Social Support

Coping With Burnout:

Specific Recommendations

• Challenging/Changing Maladaptive

Attitudes and Beliefs

• Using Burnout to Promote Personal

Growth

• Learn Mental Coping Skills

• Choose to Have Fun

Unit 7:

Attention Control

I. Introduction

II. Effective Attention

III. Attention Control Principles

IV. Things that Disrupt Attention

V. Suggestions for Improving Attention

VI. Attention & Pain Tolerance

Effective Attention

• Voluntary focus on relevant cues

• Maintaining focus over time

• Shifting the focus of attention when

necessary

• Screening out irrelevant stimuli

Effective Attention:

Information Processing

• Attending to relevant cues

• Integrating cues within memory

• Responding appropriately

Attention Control Principles

• Attention has dimensions

• Effective attention involves shifting it

• Arousal influences attention and

performance

Internal

External

Broad Narrow

Broad-External

Broad-Internal Narrow-Internal

Narrow External

Choking Defined

• Because of excessive arousal, an individual’s performance progressively deteriorates and the the person can’t regain control of it

– High arousal

– Attention shifts towards the person’s dominant attentional style

– Attention goes internal and narrow (towards negative thoughts and feelings)

Things that Disrupt Attention:

Internal Distracters

• Thoughts about the past

• Thoughts about the future

• Pressure and choking under pressure

• Over-Analyzing (Paralysis through analysis)

• Fatigue

• Lack of motivation

Things that Disrupt Attention:

External Distracters

• Visual distracters

• Auditory distracters

• Gamesmanship

Suggestions for Improving

Attention

• Use simulations

• Use cue or trigger words

• Employ non-judgmental thinking

• Establish routines

• Develop performance plans

• Practice eye control

• Use self-monitoring

Suggestions for Improving

Attention (Continued)

• Over-learn behaviors

• Turn failure into success (in your mind)

• Practice shifting attention

• Park distracting thoughts

• Increasing focusing and refocusing skills

• Use technology (EEG, biofeedback, etc…)

• Use mental skills (goals, imagery, etc…)

An Excellent Book on Attention

Beilock’s Recommendations for

Exams • Reaffirm your worth

• Remember you’re not just a student

• Write your worries down on paper

• Learn mediation

• Change your thinking

• Positively reinterpret your body

reactions

Beilock’s Recommendations for

Exams (Continued)

• Pause (take breaks)

• Learn about stereotype threat

• Think of people similar to you who’ve

succeeded

• Practice under pressure

• Outsource your cognitive load

• Meaningfully organize what you know

Beilock’s Recommendations for

Sports & Other Performances

• Distract yourself

• Don’t slow down

• Practice under pressure

• Don’t dwell on past mistakes, reinterpret

them to your advantage

• Focus on the immediate outcome, not

body mechanics

• Use key or trigger words

• Focus on the positive

Pain Control Strategies

• Dissociative Strategies

– Direct attention away from painful stimuli

– Examples: counting backwards by 17s,

imagining you are somewhere else, watching

an engaging movie

• Associative Strategies

– Direct attention towards painful stimuli, but in

a detached, non-emotional way

Unit 8: Sleep

I. Sleep Basics

II. Circadian Rhythms

III. Sleep Debt

IV. The Opponent Process Theory of Sleep

V. Sleep as a Performance Enhancement

Skill?

What is Sleep?

“Sleep is a period of sensory isolation.”

-William Dement

• Sensory input from the environment is

blocked

• When you are asleep, you won’t notice a

bright light flashing even if your eyes are

taped open

Multiple Sleep Latency Test

(MSLT)

• Give people the opportunity to sleep every

2 hours (i.e., 9:30, 11:30, 1:30, 3:30 &

5:30)

• Have 20 minutes to fall asleep

• As soon as you fall asleep, or at 20 minute

mark, the test ends

Multiple Sleep Latency Test

• Well rested people: 15-20 minutes

• Sleep deprived: 10 minutes

• Serious sleep deprivation: 5 minutes or

less (associated with big sleep debt and/or

sleep disorders)

• Correlates very strongly with subjective

feelings of tiredness and fatigue

Starbucks Stores Since 1987

Sleep Debt

• Defined: All lost sleep less than the daily

average amount you need

• If you need an average of 10 hours per

night, and you sleep 7 hours, you just

added 3 hours to your sleep debt

Sleep Debt: The Cumulative Effect of

Lost Sleep Baseline: 9 hours sleep/night; Study: 5 hours sleep /night

Sleep Debt

• Sleep debt is only reduced (or paid back)

by getting EXTRA sleep (sleeping MORE

than the daily average amount you need)

• If you’re tired today, it’s more likely a

function of your sleep debt than how much

sleep you got last night

Circadian Rhythms

• Defined: Rhythms that repeat about every

24 hours (often slightly more than 24

hours)

• Processes following circadian rhythms:

– Melatonin levels

– Body temperature

– Tooth enamel

– Alertness

Circadian Rhythms

• Important rhythm for our discussion:

“clock-dependent alerting”

• Experience a push of wakefulness two

times a day:

– In the morning when you wake (e.g. 8 AM)

– Again around 12 hours later (e.g. 8 PM)

• Second push is stronger because you’ve

acquired a day’s worth of sleep debt

Sleep & Motor Memory

• Motor Learning task: typing out numbers

on a keyboard (~ playing a piano)

• Wake First Group: Train (10 AM) Test (10

PM) SLEEP Retest (10 AM)

• Sleep First Group: Train (10 PM) SLEEP

Test (10 AM) Retest (10 PM)

Wake First Group

Sleep First Group

Basketball: Individual Sprint (282 ft) Sleep extension begins after Session 6

Basketball: 3 Point Shots (out of 15; sleep extension starts after day 18)

Unit 9: Communication

I. Communication as a Life Skill

II. The Communication Process

III. Listening

IV. Expressing

V. Nonverbal Communication

Real listening is based on the

intention to…

• Understand someone.

• Enjoy someone.

• Learn something.

• Give help, solace, or support.

Twelve Blocks to Listening

• Comparing

• Mind Reading

• Rehearsing

• Filtering

• Judging

• Daydreaming

• Identifying

• Advising

• Sparring

• Being Right

• Derailing

• Placating

Four Steps to Effective

Listening • Active Listening

– Paraphrasing

– Clarifying

– Feedback (immediate, honest, supportive, clear, & concise)

• Listening with Empathy

• Listening with Openness

• Listening with Awareness

Six Rules for Effective Listening

• Maintain good eye contact

• Lean slightly forward

• Reinforce the speaker by nodding and

paraphrasing

• Clarify by asking questions

• Actively move away from distractions

• Be committed to understanding

Pseudo-Listening Intentions

• To listen in order to buy time to think of

what to say

• To listen for specific pieces of information,

ignoring the rest

• To listen because we think we “should”

(half-listening)

Kinds of Expression

• Observations (Facts)

• Thoughts (Conclusions drawn from the

facts)

• Feelings (Emotions)

• Needs (What would help or please you?)

Value Judgments

• Comparative appraisals that are based on standards or norms

• They include judgments about goodness/badness, positive/negative, etc…

• Often related to moral or ethical considerations

• Example: “It is wrong(or appropriate) to assist homeless individuals.”

Theories

• A set of statements that specifies how

different factors are related to one another

• Usually created to explain the causes of

something

• Example: “Pam gets very nervous when

she drives her car at night. She must have

poor night vision.”

Beliefs

• Statements at a cognitive level that are representative of psychological facts

• The statements are perceived as facts themselves, but there is insufficient foundation to form irrefutable knowledge or truth

• Example: “Openness is essential to a good marriage.”

Opinions

• Conclusions that are based primarily on

personal bias or intuition, rather than

substantive facts.

• Some overlap with value judgments

• Example: “Faculty meetings are a waste of

time.”

Guidelines for Sending Effective

Messages

• Be direct

• Be immediate

• Own your messages (“I” and “My”)

• Be complete and accurate

• Distinguish between observations and

thoughts

• Clearly state your feelings and needs

Whole Messages…

• include what you observe, think, feel, and need.

• are an important part of good relationships and effective

expression.

• To send whole messages, ask yourself, “Have I…

– expressed what I know to be the facts?”

– expressed and clearly labeled my thoughts?”

– expressed my feelings?”

– shared my needs?”

Guidelines for Sending Effective

Messages

• Keep messages congruent

• Focus on one thing at a time

• Be straight (avoid hidden agendas)

• Be supportive

• Fit the receiver’s frame of reference

• Be redundant

• Obtain feedback

Hidden Agendas

• I’m good

• I’m good (but you’re not)

• You’re good (but I’m not)

• I’m helpless, I suffer

• I’m blameless

• I’m fragile

• I’m tough

• I know it all

Tactics to Avoid When Being

Supportive

• Global labels

• Sarcasm

• Dragging up the past

• Negative comparisons

• Judgmental “you” messages

• Threats

Areas of Verbal Message Impact

(Albert Mehrabian)

7% Verbal (actual words)

38% Paralanguage (pitch, volume, rhythm)

55% Body language (mostly facial

expressions)

Paralanguage

(the way in words are spoken)

• Pitch

• Resonance

• Articulation

• Tempo

• Volume

• Rhythm

Body Language (Kinesics)

• Gestures

• Posture

• Touching behavior

• Facial expressions

• Eye behavior