biological methods of stress management
- Created by: Rachel
- Created on: 11-02-13 20:18
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- Biological methods of stress management
- Beta-blockers
- drugs such as Inderal. they reduce the heart rate and blood pressure
- they reduce adrenaline and noradrenaline. These hormones stimulate beta-adrenergic receptors in the body, which lead to a higher heart rate and blood pressure
- they are sometimes used by performers and sportspeople to reduce their physiological stress response and improve their concentration
- BZs
- drugs such as Valium which reduce stress and anxiety
- they work at reducing brain arousal. they enhance a chemical called GABA, which tells the brain neurons to stop firing which leads to the person feeling calmer
- it reacts with a special site on the outside of the recieving neuron. this allows chloride ions to pass into the neutron which makes the neutron less responsive
- evaluation of drugs:
- drugs lead to either or both side-effects and dependency. side effects of BZs include increased aggresion and cognitive effects such as impaired memory.
- drugs work rapidly therefore the participants feel better more quickly and they feel more effective to the people taking them
- they are easy to obtain because all you have to do is remember to take them which takes less time and effort than SIT
- they only deal with the symptoms of stress not the causes therefore stress keeps occuring
- drugs have been shown to work: Hidalgo did a metra-analysis and found that BZs were more effective at reducing anxiety than other drugs such as anti-depressants
- Biofeedback
- it provides a lasting remedy for harmful stressors by bringing involuntary behaviours into the concious arena
- patients are attached to a machine which gives visual and auditory feedback about physiological activity
- patients are taught relaxation techniques
- evaluation:
- has been used to successfully address a variety of physical disorders
- Budzynski found that it helps to counteract chronic muscle-contraction headaches
- Curtis used it to address the constriction of blood flow to fingers and toes caused by Raynaud's disease
- Attansio found it worked best with children. children are miore wiillng to try harder and acheieve
- it is not understood fully how it works and it may be that success is due to relaxation which leads to alleviation of stress symptoms
- treatment is relatively expensive and requires specialist training and equipment
- Beta-blockers
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