Reference: Schäfer, A., Pels, F., & Kleinert, J. (2020). Effects of different coping strategies on the psychological and physiological stress reaction: An experimental study. European Journal of Health Psychology, 27(3), 109-123. Do you ever feel like you're drowning in stress? Researchers investigated the effects of different coping strategies on physiological and psychological stress reactions. Researchers evenly split 55 College Physical Education students into four coping groups: focus on positives, social support, active coping planning, evasive coping, and a control group (unrelated reading task). Researchers asked participants to present a lesson plan for a PE lesson. Beforehand, they gave them two minutes to reflect on the task using one of the four coping strategies and measured physical stress response (their heart rate) and psychological stress (self-reported stress reactions). Results? None of the coping strategies significantly impacted the physical stress response. However, focusing on positives and active coping led to lower self-assessed psychological stress. When faced with stress, be optimistic. Think about how you might have a positive learning experience and what to do to solve the problem. This can help you feel more in control, thereby reducing your stress. So next time you're feeling stressed, try coming up with a plan to tackle the problem head-on instead of trying to manage your emotions.

Written by Jarret Bain B.S.