Stress is defined as “appraised by the person (of a situation) as taxing or exceeding his or her resources and endangering well being, ” (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) and is commonly regarded as something people experience when they attend hospital. Having a high stress level may impact negatively on communication between patient and staff within the hospital, with communication being defined as “The process of passing information and understanding from one person to another" (Theo Haimann SAY WHAT YEAR,) This report will investigate how patient 's high stress levels can negatively impact on communication, with a focus on Cannon 's ‘fight or flight’ theory, Selye’s General Adaptation Syndrome theory and Lazarus’ coping strategies. Data concerning
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Stress challenges homeostasis, which is the term used to describe a constant internal environment, as well as affecting other body systems such as the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. This is seen through a stressed person having increased blood pressure, or breathing rates higher or lower than normal. (The Effects of Stress on the Body …show more content…
Primary appraisal assesses whether the event poses a threat, is neutral or positive. If the event is considered a threat, them secondary appraisal evaluates the coping strategies the individual can adopt. (Rana & Upton, 2009)Lazarus and Folkman also identified two main methods of coping. In problem focused coping, individual 's may be assertive and confront the stressor, whereas emotion focused coping may be distancing oneself from a situation or escaping through wishful thinking and avoiding the threat. (GREEN BOOK) In a hospital, patients may cope with stress by shutting themselves off to staff to protect themselves, or withhold information about themselves as they feel threatened. This is ineffective communication and can elevate stress levels further as well as staff possibly making errors as they do not have all information from the patient. This is seen through a 2004 study on preoperative anxiety highlighting patients coping with stress before surgery by exhibiting anxious behaviours as an outlet for the event they had appraised as stressful. (Erci,Sezgin and Kaçmaz,2008) By patients demonstrating ineffective communication behaviours as a way of distracting themselves from the stress they feel, they do not engage in effective communication which can have repercussions for their
Stress challenges homeostasis, which is the term used to describe a constant internal environment, as well as affecting other body systems such as the cardiovascular and respiratory systems. This is seen through a stressed person having increased blood pressure, or breathing rates higher or lower than normal. (The Effects of Stress on the Body …show more content…
Primary appraisal assesses whether the event poses a threat, is neutral or positive. If the event is considered a threat, them secondary appraisal evaluates the coping strategies the individual can adopt. (Rana & Upton, 2009)Lazarus and Folkman also identified two main methods of coping. In problem focused coping, individual 's may be assertive and confront the stressor, whereas emotion focused coping may be distancing oneself from a situation or escaping through wishful thinking and avoiding the threat. (GREEN BOOK) In a hospital, patients may cope with stress by shutting themselves off to staff to protect themselves, or withhold information about themselves as they feel threatened. This is ineffective communication and can elevate stress levels further as well as staff possibly making errors as they do not have all information from the patient. This is seen through a 2004 study on preoperative anxiety highlighting patients coping with stress before surgery by exhibiting anxious behaviours as an outlet for the event they had appraised as stressful. (Erci,Sezgin and Kaçmaz,2008) By patients demonstrating ineffective communication behaviours as a way of distracting themselves from the stress they feel, they do not engage in effective communication which can have repercussions for their