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Stress-Prone and Stress-Resistant Personalities. Chapter 6.
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“When I was 25, I got testicular cancer and nearly died. I don’t know why I am still alive. I can only guess. I have a tough constitution and my profession taught me how to compete against long odds and big obstacles.” —Lance Armstrong
Personality • Personality is thought to be comprised of several: • traits • characteristics • behaviors • expressions • moods • feelings as perceived by others
Personality • The complexity of one’s personality is thought to be shaped by: • genetic factors • family dynamics • social influences • personal experiences
Personality and Stress • How we deal with stress is due in large part to our personalities, yet regardless of personality, we each exhibit many inner resources to use in the face of stress. • New behaviors can be learned and adopted to aid in this coping process. • We do not have to be passive victims to stress.
Stress-Prone Personalities These personalities do not cope with stress well: • Type A personality • Codependent personality • Helpless-Hopeless personality
Type A Behavior • Time urgency • Polyphasia (multitasking) • Ultra-competitiveness • Rapid speech patterns • Manipulative control • Hyperaggressiveness and free-floating hostility
Codependent Personality • Ardent approval seekers • Perfectionists • Super-overachievers • Crisis managers • Devoted loyalists • Self-sacrificing martyrs • Manipulators • “Victims” • Feelings of inadequacy • Reactionaries
Helpless-Hopeless Personality • Poor self-motivation • Cognitive distortion where perception of failure repeatedly eclipses prospects of success • Emotional dysfunction • External locus of control of reinforcing behavior
Stress Resistant Personalities These personalities cope with stress well: • Hardy Personality • Survivor Personality • Type R Personality
The Hardy Personality • (Based on the work of Maddi and Kobasa) • Three characteristics noted in those who cope well with stress: • Commitment (invests oneself in the solution) • Control (takes control of a situation, doesn’t run from it) • Challenge (sees opportunity rather than the problems)
Survivor Personality Traits • A person who responds rather than reacts to danger/stress • Bi-phase traits (left and right brain skills) • Proud but humble • Selfish but altruistic • Rebellious but cooperative • Spiritual but irreverent • Considered optimists and good at creative problem solving
Type “R” personality (sensation seekers) • Zuckerman (1971) identified the sensation-seeking personality, as those people who seek thrills and sensations but take calculated risks in their endeavors; they appear to be dominated by an adventurous spirit.
Self-Esteem:The Bottom-Line Defense • Practices of high self-esteem: • Focus on action • Living consciously • Self-acceptance • Self-responsibility • Self-assertiveness • Living purposefully
Characteristics of High Self-Esteem • Connectedness (support groups) • Uniqueness (special qualities) • Empowerment (uses inner resources) • Role Models or Mentors (has others to look up to) • Calculated Risk Taking (not motivated by fear)