Stress and Reframing . . .

One of the most important issues involved in stress (or almost any other mental/emotional issue) concerns defense mechanisms: how the mind automatically uses them to cope with stress and how they can be implemented to facilitate the ability to cope.

Defense mechanisms determine how the mind interprets stressors. Whether these tools are positive in effect depends on which mechanisms are used and how they are applied. The degree to which they dominate one's response to stressors is also an important consideration. Possibly the healthiest and most effective defense mechanism (perhaps more accurately termed as defense strategy) is the management of one's internal representation.

The most important factor in dealing with stress is an attitude toward change. Another term for this is reframing or, more specifically, context reframing. An example of this (appropriate for these economic times) would be the loss of a job, which would be viewed as an opportunity to step up in the future, as opposed to a viewing it as a serious setback. The meaning of the incident in the example is changed to reflect a more positive eventual result.

Another type of reframing, content reframing, is used to expose the true degree of severity of a problem. Indeed, we often look upon a problem as worse than it really is. An objective examination of the problem and working out a process to solve it can be a very calming procedure.

While it would be impossible to discuss this fully in the space provided here, I do go into it in far more depth in my Positive Personal Modification Therapy course. If you go to my website on stress, I provide a free video there, after which one can order a free 60-minute CD that is packed with information. Here's the link.