Psychological Stress

Psychological Stress: Psychoanalytic and Behavioral Studies of Surgical Patients attempts to present as complete a picture as possible of the psychological aspects of surgery. The primary purpose is to highlight the theoretical implications by conveying what has been learned concerning the dynamics of human adjustment to stressful life events. It also draws attention to some of the main practical implications with respect to three important types of problems : (a) the formulation of policies of medical management which take account of the psychological needs of sick people; (b) the improvement of diagnostic procedures relevant for predicting high or low stress tolerance; and (c) the development of effective methods of psychological preparation which could be widely applied as part of a mental health program designed to reduce the disruptive emotional impact of many different types of potential disasters. The book is organized into two parts. Part I formulates a large number of propositions concerning the dynamics of stress behavior. These propositions generally deal with the causes and consequences of various types of emotional reactions and adjustment mechanisms that are frequently activated when people are exposed to severe environmental threats, dangers, or deprivations. Part II focuses on two reaction variables which appear to be of fundamental importance in adjustment to stress: (a) fear of body damage, as manifested by verbalized attitudes of apprehensiveness, overt signs of emotional tension, and overt attempts to execute protective actions; and (b) externalized anger, as manifested by verbalized attitudes of resentment toward persons in the immediate environment outbursts of rage, and overt acts of opposition or resistanceto the demands of danger-control personnel.