There tends to be two broad bands when it comes to coping strategies for stress, these are short term avoidance/denial methods and longer term realisation techniques. The short term methods can also have a negative effect on the body both mentally and physically. Overeating or comfort eating is one reaction to stress, sugary snacks raise blood sugar levels giving a person a feeling of satisfaction and increased energy levels this is, however, only temporary and the energy low can leave people feeling tired and irritable exacerbating the negative feelings of stress. There is also the danger of binge eating to attempt to maintain the sugar high and possibly leading to obesity, feelings of low self esteem and creating more stress. Although the negative feelings are relieved through overeating the act itself can lead to more stress and depression and does little to confront the reasons for the stress.
Smoking is another negative strategy for coping with stress. Although there may be a reduction in anxiety and some comfort from the habitual ritual of smoking it is undoubtedly harmful to health and not a good coping tactic for dealing with stress. Alcohol can have some benefit by helping people to relax after a hard day, it has been stated that drinking in moderation can be beneficial; however heavy drinking can produce feelings of anxiety or depression and cause sleeplessness.
In extreme cases reliance on alcohol to cope with stressful situations can lead to alcoholism, serious illnesses and eventually death, as such alcohol does not appear to be a good way to deal with stress. People can sometimes turn to drugs to release themselves from stress but the release from daily misery can lead to temptation to return for more and may turn into an addiction with the negative possibilities of job loss and break ups of families. Even allowing for the possible legal consequences of drug taking this is obviously a negative way of dealing with stress.
The negative ways of dealing with stress in the above paragraph are not natural reactions for humans so it is interesting from a psychological viewpoint to examine why there are so common today. As smoking and drinking are seen, in this context, as reactions to stress it could be suggested that the behaviourist theory for learning plays a strong part. Evidence from this could be drawn from Albert Bandura (1959) who created the phrase “reciprocal determinism”, in his theory Bandura stated that that environment causes behaviour and that behaviour causes environment, as such if we see our father reach for the whiskey bottle after a hard day at work or mother lighting a cigarette when she receives bad news this could indicate to their children that both these things are stress relievers and further that they are acceptable actions.
Overeating, drinking and smoking are all oral activities and, if we put aside the physiological changes they create, it could be argued that these activities are linked to Freud’s Oral Stage of development. The oral phase begins at birth and lasts eight months. It is characterized by the infant’s concern for his mouth and gratification he feels from oral stimuli such as eating, sucking and biting. As a person feels more and more stress it could be stated that a desire for regression is stimulated, a need to return to a point where there was little responsibility and as such little pressure.
Other ways in which people attempt to cope with stress is to go into denial or to procrastinate in an attempt to avoid the problem which is causing stress. Escapism is where a person will move from one situation to another in an attempt to make a fresh start and to leave unsolved problems behind. Projecting or displacing the blame for problems arising in the first place is another coping strategy when people refuse to take ownership for issues which cause stress. Sometimes people will falsely rationalise their behaviour blaming it on other issues rather than accepting the real reason for their bad temper or excessive smoking or drinking. All of these ways of coping with the negative feelings brought about by stress fail to deal with the causes and focus on denial of the facts or transference of feelings. Clearly these are negative and potentially unhealthy ways of coping with stress.