Physiological Methods of stress management
There are two physiological methods of stress management
1. Drug treatment
2. Biofeedback
1. Drug treatment
2. Biofeedback
Drug treatment
Drugs help manage stress by altering the body’s response to a stressor
and making it easier to deal with.
Different drugs act on the body in different ways:
Benzodiazepines (BZs)are anti-anxiety drugs (eg. Librium and Valium) that act on the central nervous system (the brain).
They are the most widely prescribed drug treatment for clinical disorders.
They work by increasing a natural brain chemical (neurotransmitter) called GABA, which has the effect of slowing activity in neurons and therefore overall brain activity. 40% of neurons in the brain are affected by GABA.
Beta-blockersact on the sympathetic nervous system around the body and work by reducing by the activity of adrenaline and noradrenaline, which are key agents in the sympathomedullary response to stress.
Essentially, these hormones are blocked by the drug, which attaches itself to beta-adrenergic receptors on the heart and blood vessels.
The receptor is therefore not stimulated and adrenaline and noradrenaline have no effect in increasing heart rate and blood pressure. This reduces a key part of the body’s response to stress.
Medication is a useful option for managing stress, especially in the short term. It can be used to help individuals deal with a stressful or anxiety provoking event such as redundancy or bereavement. Once an individual has stabilised their emotional response to stress they can begin to tackle the source of the stress.
Different drugs act on the body in different ways:
Benzodiazepines (BZs)are anti-anxiety drugs (eg. Librium and Valium) that act on the central nervous system (the brain).
They are the most widely prescribed drug treatment for clinical disorders.
They work by increasing a natural brain chemical (neurotransmitter) called GABA, which has the effect of slowing activity in neurons and therefore overall brain activity. 40% of neurons in the brain are affected by GABA.
- Benzodiazepines react with the GABA sites on the outside of the receiving neuron.
- This opens a channel allowing Cl- ions to enter the neuron.
- Cl- ions make the neuron less responsive to other neurotransmitters that would usually excite the neuron.
Beta-blockersact on the sympathetic nervous system around the body and work by reducing by the activity of adrenaline and noradrenaline, which are key agents in the sympathomedullary response to stress.
Essentially, these hormones are blocked by the drug, which attaches itself to beta-adrenergic receptors on the heart and blood vessels.
The receptor is therefore not stimulated and adrenaline and noradrenaline have no effect in increasing heart rate and blood pressure. This reduces a key part of the body’s response to stress.
Medication is a useful option for managing stress, especially in the short term. It can be used to help individuals deal with a stressful or anxiety provoking event such as redundancy or bereavement. Once an individual has stabilised their emotional response to stress they can begin to tackle the source of the stress.
A02: Evaluation of drugs as a method of stress management
Advantages
Drugs have been shown to be effective in
treating stress . Drugs are tested in (double blind) clinical trials with
placebo conditions. A wide range of studies have shown that drugs can be highly
effective and also safe for the short term treatment of major stress events and
anxiety.
Drug treatment can help an individual deal with the emotional side of a problem while they are coming to terms with a major stress event. This allows the individual to stabilize and begin to tackle the cause of the problem or to adjust their psychological response. They can be used along-side more long term psychological treatments (CBT). Drugs are extremely convenient. They are easy to administer and they work very quickly. These drugs are prescribed by a doctor so they are used in a supervised and safe way. Drugs are relatively cheap compared to cognitive behavioural therapy. |
Disadvantages
Drugs only help relive the symptoms of
stress, but they don’t tackle the cause. In the long run they are unhelpful and
can actually hinder the individual and prevent them from addressing the cause
of the stress.
Stress drugs can have side effects such as drowsiness and fatigue. For example it is dangerous to drive taking these drugs. The individual may not be able to respond appropriately to different situations. E.g. they might struggle to pay attention in certain situations. These drugs can become addictive with the individual coming to depend on them in order to get through the day. In the long term they can become part of the problem rather than the solution. Increased use of drugs increases tolerance. This means that you need a higher dosage in order to achieve the same effect. This is because the body starts to adapt to the presence of the drug and adjusts its response. If an individual stops taking the dugs they will experience side effects, such as increased anxiety. Drug treatment is a biological response and so is reductionist. It does not address the psychological factors involved in stress, such as cognitive style and learned responses. Overall drugs are not a good long-term solution to managing stress. |
A01: Biofeedback as an alternative method of stress management
- A technique in which participants are
provided with information about bodily processes (heart rate, blood pressure or
muscle tension). Using instruments
like blood measure monitors and electromyograms (detect muscle contraction)
- Biofeedback allows them to ‘see’ or
‘hear’ this information as they are connected to a feedback machine.
- Participants then try to find a
strategy (muscle relaxation, meditation) to reduce the stress.
- This method allows the individual to
realise the techniques, which are relaxing for them as they can hear or see the
effects through the reduction in heart rate, blood pressure and muscle tension
on the biofeedback monitor.
A02: Evaluation of biofeedback
- One strength of biofeedback is that is is effective, especially with young children.
- One limitation of biofeedback is that the method is costly as it is a 1:1 therapy and requires specialised equipment.
- A final criticism of biofeedback is that it has been argued that biofeedback is an expensive form of muscle relation and is no more effective than muscle relaxation techniques.