Unit 5-8 Objectives
(Stress & Coping; Grief & Loss; Pain Management; CAM)
(Ch.42- Death and Loss, Ch.32- Stress and Coping, Ch.36 Pain Management, Unit 8)
1. Understand that your culture and belief system can aid in times of stress.
2. Know the difference between mild and moderate anxiety. (pg.721)
Mild Anxiety (can be beneficial)
o Can be motivational, foster creativity, and actually increase the ability to think
clearly.
Example- A person who experiences mild performance anxiety when acting in
a play may have a heightened ability to remember lines or cues which keeps
the person at top performance level.
Moderate Anxiety
o Narrows focus, dulls perception, and may challenge the person to pay attention or use
appropriate problem-solving skills.
3. Understand what crisis intervention is and when a referral may be necessary. (pg. 729)
Crisis Intervention
o Short-term assistance provided at a time of physical or emotional upheaval with the
goal of helping the person in distress to regain equilibrium.
It involves immediate action to help reduce the impact of a traumatic event in
the affected person’s life.
o Crisis intervention involves simple, innovative, accessible, practical, and immediate
actions that ensure a person's safety and mental well-being, such as providing
counselors for school students after the sudden death of a classmate or encouraging a
person to drive as soon as possible after involvement in a fatal accident that took the
life of a friend.
o Nurses, doctors, clergy, counselors, and community workers (such as firefighters and
police) often are called on to provide crisis intervention at times of natural disasters,
tragic accidents, or unexpected loss.
o Lack of appropriate assistance for a person in crisis to help reestablish a sense of
equilibrium may lead to the development of mental illness.
o Crises should be approached by professionals as teachable moments in which people
have great openness to change and growth.
,4. Identify and differentiate the defense mechanisms used by people. (p. 719 Box 32-1)
Example of Compensation
o People with difficult family life may direct their energy toward excelling at work.
Example of Denial
o Denying alcohol or substance problems because you may still be able to function and
get up to go to work every day.
Example of Displacement
o A manager screams at an employee but the employee doesn’t scream back- but they
will go home and scream at their wife.
Example of Intellectualization
o Endlessly researches the details of a significant illness to avoid the anxiety, fear, and
sadness of receiving a diagnosis.
o Repeatedly listing the benefits of being single instead of facing the pain of rejection
after a breakup.
Example of Projection
o A married man who is attracted to a female coworker, but rather than admit this to
himself, he might accuse her of flirting with him.
, o A woman wrestling with the urge to steal, who comes to believe that her neighbors
are trying to break into her home.
Example of Rationalization
o A student who is rejected from her dream college may explain that she's happy to be
attending a school that's less competitive and more welcoming.
Example of Reaction Formation
o A man who feels insecure about his masculinity might act overly aggressive.
o A woman with substance use disorder may extol the virtues of abstinence.
Example of Regression
o A driver stuck in traffic may get angry and throw a tantrum, even though he doesn't
usually behave that way.
o A child may revert to sucking their thumb or wetting the bed after a trauma.
Example of Repression
o A child, who faced abuse by a parent, later has no memory of the events but has
trouble forming relationships.
o A woman who experienced painful labor but continues to have children (and each
time the level of pain is surprising).
Example of Sublimination
o A woman who recently went through a breakup may channel her emotions into a
home improvement project.
5. Know your stress hormones that can influence heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure
—fight or flight hormones. (Pg 718)
The hypothalamus functions to adapt to stress by releasing hormones such as ACTH,
cortisol, adrenaline epinephrine and norepinephrine
The release of these hormones:
o Increased heart rate, cardiac output, and blood flow to muscles
o Dilation of bronchi and increased respiratory rate
o Pupillary dilation
(Stress & Coping; Grief & Loss; Pain Management; CAM)
(Ch.42- Death and Loss, Ch.32- Stress and Coping, Ch.36 Pain Management, Unit 8)
1. Understand that your culture and belief system can aid in times of stress.
2. Know the difference between mild and moderate anxiety. (pg.721)
Mild Anxiety (can be beneficial)
o Can be motivational, foster creativity, and actually increase the ability to think
clearly.
Example- A person who experiences mild performance anxiety when acting in
a play may have a heightened ability to remember lines or cues which keeps
the person at top performance level.
Moderate Anxiety
o Narrows focus, dulls perception, and may challenge the person to pay attention or use
appropriate problem-solving skills.
3. Understand what crisis intervention is and when a referral may be necessary. (pg. 729)
Crisis Intervention
o Short-term assistance provided at a time of physical or emotional upheaval with the
goal of helping the person in distress to regain equilibrium.
It involves immediate action to help reduce the impact of a traumatic event in
the affected person’s life.
o Crisis intervention involves simple, innovative, accessible, practical, and immediate
actions that ensure a person's safety and mental well-being, such as providing
counselors for school students after the sudden death of a classmate or encouraging a
person to drive as soon as possible after involvement in a fatal accident that took the
life of a friend.
o Nurses, doctors, clergy, counselors, and community workers (such as firefighters and
police) often are called on to provide crisis intervention at times of natural disasters,
tragic accidents, or unexpected loss.
o Lack of appropriate assistance for a person in crisis to help reestablish a sense of
equilibrium may lead to the development of mental illness.
o Crises should be approached by professionals as teachable moments in which people
have great openness to change and growth.
,4. Identify and differentiate the defense mechanisms used by people. (p. 719 Box 32-1)
Example of Compensation
o People with difficult family life may direct their energy toward excelling at work.
Example of Denial
o Denying alcohol or substance problems because you may still be able to function and
get up to go to work every day.
Example of Displacement
o A manager screams at an employee but the employee doesn’t scream back- but they
will go home and scream at their wife.
Example of Intellectualization
o Endlessly researches the details of a significant illness to avoid the anxiety, fear, and
sadness of receiving a diagnosis.
o Repeatedly listing the benefits of being single instead of facing the pain of rejection
after a breakup.
Example of Projection
o A married man who is attracted to a female coworker, but rather than admit this to
himself, he might accuse her of flirting with him.
, o A woman wrestling with the urge to steal, who comes to believe that her neighbors
are trying to break into her home.
Example of Rationalization
o A student who is rejected from her dream college may explain that she's happy to be
attending a school that's less competitive and more welcoming.
Example of Reaction Formation
o A man who feels insecure about his masculinity might act overly aggressive.
o A woman with substance use disorder may extol the virtues of abstinence.
Example of Regression
o A driver stuck in traffic may get angry and throw a tantrum, even though he doesn't
usually behave that way.
o A child may revert to sucking their thumb or wetting the bed after a trauma.
Example of Repression
o A child, who faced abuse by a parent, later has no memory of the events but has
trouble forming relationships.
o A woman who experienced painful labor but continues to have children (and each
time the level of pain is surprising).
Example of Sublimination
o A woman who recently went through a breakup may channel her emotions into a
home improvement project.
5. Know your stress hormones that can influence heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure
—fight or flight hormones. (Pg 718)
The hypothalamus functions to adapt to stress by releasing hormones such as ACTH,
cortisol, adrenaline epinephrine and norepinephrine
The release of these hormones:
o Increased heart rate, cardiac output, and blood flow to muscles
o Dilation of bronchi and increased respiratory rate
o Pupillary dilation
