Enumerate the different ways of coping with stress.

Coping is a dynamic, situation-specific reaction to stress. It is a set of concrete responses to stressful situations that are intended to resolve the problem and reduces stress. Endler and Parker gave following Coping Strategies:
1. Task-oriented Strategy:

• It is goal management through confrontation with the problem.

• This involves obtaining information about the stressful situation and making best use of resources available.

• It also involves prioritising and acting so as to deal directly with the stressful situation.

• Mostly it is used by optimists.

Task-oriented strategies are particularly effective when the resources in the environment are within the control of the individual. It is cognitive response to stress.

2. Emotion-oriented Strategy:

• It is emotion management.

• This strategy involve efforts to maintain hope and to control one's emotions. Individual works on his emotions rather than situations and goals.

• This mainly happens when the stressful event is such that it can not be manipulated in any way eg. loss of spouse or a family member.

• The individual deals with his emotions of anxiety, helplessness, hopelessness etc. and tries to gain hope and happiness again in his life.

• It can also involve venting feelings of anger and frustration or deciding that nothing can be done to change things.

• Emotion oriented strategies are particularly effective when the resources in the environment are beyond the controlled of the individual.

Avoidance–riented strategy:

• It is avoiding stressful event by indulging in different activities. Individual does not want to accept that he is facing such a stressful situation.

• This involves denying or minimising the seriousness of the situation.

• It also involves conscious suppression of stressful thoughts and their replacement by self protective thoughts.

• Watching T.V., attainding parties or going to sleep are example of this type of coping.

• It is basically escapism by using defence mechanisms.

According to Lazarus and Folkman, coping responses can be divided into two types of responses:

(a) Problem-Focused:

• It includes taking direct action to solve the problem.

• It is seeking information that will be relevant to the solution for, e.g., developing a study schedule to cope up with the semester demands and thereby reduce examination pressure.

• It is basically confronting with the problem using all the available resources.

(b) Emotion-Focused: It refers to reduction of the negative emotional reaction to stress. e.g., by distracting oneself from the problem, relaxing or seeking comfort from others.