Common Causes of Mental Distress
Friday, June 8th, 2007Hundreds of millions of people worldwide are affected by mental, behavioural, neurological and substance use disorders. About 877,000 people die by suicide every year. In addition, one in four patients visiting a health service has at least one mental, neurological or behavioural disorder but most of these disorders are neither diagnosed nor treated. For example, […]
Responding To Stress III — Adjustment
Sunday, December 31st, 2006
There are two kinds of slaves, the prisoners of addiction, and the prisoners of envy.
~ Ivan Ilich
One criterion for mental health is adjustment — a pattern of coping with stress and conflict across life situations. The alternative is a maladjusted pattern of behaviour, a characteristic of behavioural disorders.
Research on adjustment […]
Responding To Stress II — Coping
Saturday, December 30th, 2006Coping requires dealing with the source of stress or anxiety, not merely alleviating the symptoms. Coping involves three choices for action: confrontation, compromise and withdrawal.
1. Confrontation
In confrontation, one faces a stressful situation honestly and forthrightly. This may involve intensifying effort, learning new skills, or enlisting others’ aid.
For example, a woman […]
Responding To Stress I - Defending
Friday, December 29th, 2006
Responding to stress generally takes one of two forms: defending or coping. Defending behaviours reduce the stress or anxiety without eliminating the source. Coping responses restore balance and remove the threat. Because coping requires resources like strength and time, most early responses to stress are defensive rather than effective in coping.
Defensive reactions […]
