Part A: Essay
Introduction
Stress is mostly understood to be a powerful psychological and physiological response to stressful situations which is crucial for survival of human beings over time. Stress reactions are beneficial in short-term situations, but long-term chronic stress negatively affects health and well-being. Stress is more than an emotional connection to external conditions; it synthesizes emotional, cognitive, and behavioral functions. This essay will delve into two primary psychological explanations of stress: Cognitive, Psychodynamic, and other approaches are not to blame. The Cognitive Approach, by considering stressors to be subjectively perceived, brought attention to mental processes and subjective perceptions.
In contrast, the psychological approach founded in Freudian theory considers conflicts and unconscious influences as the cause of stress drama that is usually traced back to the life experiences of the early stages. This essay will be dedicated to discussing the foundations of these approaches, applying each theory to stress-induced processes, and analyzing the pros and cons of these concepts. By applying the comparative analysis between cognitive and psychodynamic perspectives, this study will offer a detailed comprehension of stress not only from an intellectual but also from an emotional point of view, thus, having a more adequate point of view about stress conditions.
Main Body of the Essay
Cognitive Approach to Stress
Brief Description and Explanation of Stress
The Cognitive Approach to stress emphasizes the role of mental processes and perception. Central to this perspective is the idea that stress is not merely caused by external events but rather by the individual’s interpretation of these events (Tafet, 2022). Pioneers like Lazarus and Folkman have significantly contributed to this approach, introducing primary and secondary appraisal concepts. In the Cognitive Approach to stress, the process of cognitive appraisal, as described by Franks et al.(2022), is pivotal. It begins with primary appraisal, where an individual evaluates a situation for its potential threat, harm, or challenge. For instance, a student views an upcoming exam as a significant threat to academic success. The next stage is secondary appraisal, focusing on the individual’s perceived coping abilities and resources. Here, the student assesses their preparation and available support. Stress occurs when there’s a perceived imbalance between the demands of the situation and the individual’s ability to handle them. If the student feels ill-prepared and unsupported, stress ensues. This approach highlights the subjective nature of stress: different individuals may experience varying stress levels in identical situations based on their assessments and perceived coping mechanisms, underscoring that stress is less about the situation and more about the individual’s interpretation of it.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The study of the cognitive approach to stress management, though offering some level of understanding, also has its limitations (Ravinder Jerath, Syam, and S.M. Zabed Ahmed, 2023). The primary strength of this method is that it recognizes the different ways each person can perceive stressors. This identification opens up the avenue of targeted stress management interventions that will be appropriate in response to people’s unique mental processes and emotional reactions. This approach is important because it enables the study of how individuals appraise and interpret stressors in order to achieve personalized stress understanding that leads to a more tailor-made intervention.
Nevertheless, the cognitive approach could face an overestimation of situation management as an extension of this tendency. It concentrates on the particularities of the perception and interpretation of stressors that could often ignore the impact of the not-controllable external factors that are stress-inducing from an objective point of view. Likewise, socioeconomic variations or climatic changes can be external stress triggers along with the cognitive evaluation. This shortcoming highlights the necessity of a cognitive-social viewpoint that integrates internal mental processes and external environmental influences on stress management and understanding.
Similarities and Differences with Psychodynamic Approach
The cognitive and psychodynamic perspectives on stress are distinctive as they combine both common and subsequent differences in their comprehension and interpretation of stressors. A central similarity is that they admit that there are inner mechanisms that explain the stress, just in their different shapes. They realize, however, that mechanisms, including cognitive appraisals or unconscious conflicts, act in a crucial way in how stress is either physically felt or will be expressed. But their specific priorities differ so much. The Cognitive Approach only focuses on their conscious mind processes. That is, how these individuals actively perceive and interpret the stress they encounter. It argues that stress is not about situations but how one figures out each situation. Unlike that, in the Psychodynamic Perspective, the task is getting to know the world of the unconscious processes (Luyten and Fonagy, 2021). The novel is strongly built on psychological conflicts, most of which can be traced back to early life encounters and the failure to resolve them, which in turn leads to mental strains in adulthood. While the Cognitive Approach is more intent about perceiving present circumstances and decision making, the Psychodynamic Approach digs deep into the past of psychological development and the role of unconscious factors, thus providing a detailed, often longitudinal view regarding the origins of stress.
Implications and Usefulness
The real-world implication of the cognitive approach encompasses even extending to the behavioral aspects of psychotherapy, mainly through cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) (Naeem et al., 2020). This strategy holds as its core principle the possibility that refocusing the cognitive processes may lead to control over the emotional and physiological efficiency of a person when dealing with stress. CBT, the therapy initially recommended in the book, as a widely recognized and scientifically verified therapy form, is based on this very idea. It centres to detect and change any thoughts and beliefs that conduce to stress and anxiety disorders, which are not only harmful but also irrational.In reality, cognitive behaviour therapy gives people the means to see stressful situations from different angles and reverses negative thinking, leading to constructive and active attitudes. This reassessment has a vital role in the process due to the influencing behavioural consequences and emotional reactions.
Skilled therapists employing cognitive restructuring, mindfulness, and problem-solving strategies help patients identify and modify unproductive thought patterns. This reduces stress, contributing to an improved overall sense of well-being. Accompanied by the proliferation of the Cognitive Approach within CBT, there is now convincing evidence to add to its effectiveness in the treatment of many kinds of stress-related conditions such as anxiety, depression and PTSD. Its utilization in the treatment and promotion of mental health covers stress prevention and resilience-building, as well, so it is considered one of the most essential parts of the interventions for mental health. Such an approach, being concise on skill acquisition and self-control, helps reduce the immediate stress and creates long-term mental health maintenance conditions, which indirectly illuminate the everlasting utilities of such an approach not only in clinics but also in everyday stress management.
Psychodynamic Approach to Stress
Brief Description and Explanation of Stress
The Psychodynamic Approach by Freud, interprets human behaviors as under the control of conscious and unconscious processes which contributed by early childhood experiences. This point of view concerns stress as a product of internal psychological conflicts. Consequently, these conflicts usually cause unresolved early life problems and may result from id-ego-superego interactions in a Freudian model of the mind. When there is not the proper communication among psychic structures or if defense mechanisms previously built to manage the conflicts and keep them under control prove ineffective, stress arises. However, an individual of this kind hardly falls into a deep sleep (Naeem et al., 2020b). This type of insomnia causes stress and anxiety in the long run. The use of this approach offers an intensive insight into the psychological basis of stress, making evident the fact that the stress response in adulthood comes from childhood memories that can result in various mental disorders.
Strengths and Weaknesses
The psychodynamic view of the subconscious as the basis of all personality components and behaviour offers the Psychodynamic Approach a core strength in its search for the deep underlying causes of stress. This type of treatment of the unconscious processes and unresolved emotional conflicts as early as possible life experiences by the analyst offers a general view of stress causes. Nevertheless, it should be noted that this approach poses a challenge in exact empirical validation. Several of its approaches, often based on the implicitness of the unconscious mind, are very difficult to estimate and verify using standard scientific measuring tools, giving a significant gap in empirical confirmations for this theory.
Similarities and Differences with Cognitive Approach
Although both fruitful in their own right, the Cognitive and Psychodynamic Perspectives on Stress differ significantly in terms of what they pay attention to and how they go about finding out what could be the causes of stress in people. The Cognitive Approach is based on the premise that a person’s perception and interpretation of stressors in the present moment, which leads to cognitive appraisal, is the critical focus. According to this line of thought, it is how one uses active interpretation and evaluation of situations that can equally cause stress. Thus, the point of this method is to get into the here and now, and it allows for such issues as cognitive-behavioural therapy to be applied.
On the other hand, the psychodynamic approach handles historical and a deeper analytical standpoint by focusing on past experiences and underlying behaviours (Petriglieri and Petriglieri, 2020). It claims that stress often comes from unresolved internal conflicts and unexpressed emotions, mainly during the period of early developmental stages. Their strategy is to discover and address these ingrained problems, which give an insight into how what happened to us in the past still affects us today and upsurges our stress. Cognitive therapy emphasizes current thought changing, but psychodynamic therapy involves the exploration of past emotions and the healing process, which makes it a more long-term understanding of stress.
Implications and Usefulness
The Psychodynamic approach has historically been one of the most influential factors in the development of psychotherapy that has primarily contributed to the introduction of psychoanalytical therapy. This type of psychotherapy is based on an approach that gives a solution to hidden psychological problems often originating from the different stages of early childhood development. In this view, stress, anxiety, and often adverse psychological outcomes arise from situations where a person’s internal conflicts are unresolved, and anxiety remains suppressed by the conscious mind without being immediately noticed.
In turn, psychoanalysis aims to present these unconscious destructive dynamics to the patient by applying free association and dream analysis in the therapy and reconstructing the patient’s early experiences. By exploring these relatively unidentified parts of the mind, individuals will be more able to work out the origin of their stress that. This mode of treatment is more substantial in history, offering granite to resolute the flaws of an individual’s psychological landscape and thus becoming a stable tool for alleviating symptoms rather than just an immediate accomplishment of such a goal.
Moreover, the psychodynamic approach has expanded the view of how childhood memories are intertwined with adult behaviors and coping mechanisms. Therefore, it bears inevitable repercussions not only for personal interventions but also for mental health, which should be beneficial for the community. It indicates the significance of the multi-faceted approach aimed at otherwise ensuring people’s mental well-being and the current situation.
Conclusion
This essay explored two distinct psychological approaches to stress: the Cognitive Approach and the Psychodynamic Approach. According to the cognitive approach, stress results from individuals’ perception and cognitive evaluation of their situations, which imply that personal interpretation plays an important role in stress coping. CBT is tangible proof of its value, as it can deliver tailored tactics that help to deal with stress. Nevertheless, it may not entirely take external factors that are uncontrollable into the account. On the contrary hand, the Psychodynamic Approach prioritises unconscious processes and conflicts that remain unresolved from childhood experiences which cover the psychological foundation of stress. While this method provides deep insights into the roots of stress problem, it still suffers scientifically from difficulties in experimental confirmation. On the other hand, the Cognitive Approach looks more pragmatic and practical taking CBT as an example of the most effective treatment and management of stress. However, Psychodynamic theory brings forth crucial perspectives into the hidden, unconscious parts of stress. This paper establishes the need for an integrated, multi-pronged realization and management of stress, involving short-term cognitive appraisals and the evaluation of deeper psychological states.
Part B: Reflection
Description and Feelings
Realizing development in both my academic knowledge and my approaches in this module course, I see the difference big time. Initially the skills like note-taking and organizing my study schedule made me feel at the ease. However, even before the course had started, I knew that I needed to improve my analytical skills and work on the practical side of theoretical concepts.In order to progress, I always have with me multiple strategies and techniques which I used throughout my path. The implementation of the SQ3R technique of reading comprehension vividly convinced me of the truth of my capacities to comprehend the complex psychological theories. The reflective exercises (leading with Gibbs’ Reflection Cycle) have opened my vision and helped me develop my higher order thinking skills, most of all, the essay in Part A itself has become more analytical.Dealing with the module, my writing proficiency had a great advance in academic writing and I could well acquire the concepts of psychology through my essays. The challenge has not discouraged me but changed my learning behavior remarkably. I am now perceiving each academic challenge as an opportunity for development and can see a correlation with the continuous improvement of my own skills and techniques to be effective at next modules, concerning my professional development.
Evaluation and Analysis
On the evaluation of my academic growth, I could say that a couple of processes and tools have given me more positive results than other ones. Undoubtedly, SQ3R study technique was absolutely essential in terms of improving my understanding and retaining information in complex materials. Such strategy, emphasizing survey, interrogation, reading, speaking, and review, was efficient in involved me into the texts profoundly, and that made assessment tasks effective.On the flip side, I was met with challenges such as arranging the arguments as well as integrating theories seamlessly into the academic writing. Yes, I grasped the material quite easily, however, appropriating this understanding into a well organized essay with a solid argumentation was initially difficult for me. This was due in part to the fact that I was very timid in getting feedback and participated in peer review sessions.Exploring the essay for the module Part A helped me to notice both those qualities and deficiencies of mine. The procedural reading process was smooth, with concerted reading approaches, but at the same time, formulating a structured essay and holding my arguments together in a coherent style required more effort. As I keep working on my writing skills by getting feedback or seeking help from writing workshops, I keep improving my skills slowly. It was due to this lesson that the need for learning in a never-ending process and for adjustment in the academic world became clear.
Conclusion
One of the major improvements I have done in this module is to sharpen my critical thinking and academic writing abilities. The SQ3R method which was adopted by me improved my understanding of certain difficult subjects while reflective writings helped me hone my critical thinking. In this regard, while I have already learned how to structure essays and relate theories to the exercise properly; there is still much to be improved.In this regard, I’ve put in place SMART goals. I am planning two hours per week for concentrated essay writing practice and I am going to attend monthly workshops concerning academic writing. Additionally, I also expect my tutors to give me regular feedback, as well as I expect the peer reviews to help me better my writing.I am also going to take advantage of the services offered by the university’s academic skills center and consult my module unit. The reading and self-reflection skills practiced in this module will be used in my future educational program too. An approach to the development of these academic skills by virtue of active learning, accommodating to changing conditions and seeking external help is a must.
Reference list
Franks, K.H., Rowsthorn, E., Bransby, L., Yen Ying Lim, Trevor T.-J. Chong and Pase, M.P. (2022). Association of Self-Reported Psychological Stress with Cognitive Decline: A Systematic Review. Neuropsychology Review. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11065-022-09567-y.
Luyten, P. and Fonagy, P. (2021). Integrating and Differentiating Personality and Psychopathology: A Psychodynamic Perspective. Journal of Personality, 90(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12656.
Naeem, F., Latif, M., Mukhtar, F., Kim, Y., Li, W., Butt, M.G., Kumar, N. and Ng, R. (2020). Transcultural adaptation of cognitive behavioral therapy ( CBT ) in Asia. Asia-Pacific Psychiatry, 13(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.1111/appy.12442.
Petriglieri, G. and Petriglieri, J.L. (2020). The Return of the Oppressed: A Systems Psychodynamic Approach to Organization Studies. Academy of Management Annals, [online] 14(1), pp.411–449. doi: https://doi.org/10.5465/annals.2017.0007.
Ravinder Jerath, Syam, M. and S.M. Zabed Ahmed (2023). The Future of Stress Management: Integration of Smartwatches and HRV Technology. Sensors, 23(17), pp.7314–7314. doi: https://doi.org/10.3390/s23177314.
Tafet, G.E. (2022). Psychological Approach to Stress. Springer eBooks, pp.85–104. doi: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-00864-1_3.
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