Briefly discuss the type of coping method you use to deal with stressful experiences (Chap 14 in the Schacter et al textbook). Based on personal experience, what do you believe to be the most effective method of control for coping with stress? Give an example of when you have used this coping technique in your own life.

Example paper: ------ By now the long-term effects of stress are fairly well known. All one has to do is turn on the TV or surf the Internet and be bombarded with various suggestions to cope with or reduce stress. The textbook outlines different ways of coping with stress: mind management, body management, and situation management. The form of coping I tend to use most often is situation control, specifically by scheduling and activating. In using this approach for school, I plan ahead, because as is stated in the text book “Studying now, or at least a little bit each day, robs procrastination of its power over you.” (Schacter, Gilbert, Nock, & Wegner, 2017). I personally employ this technique when dealing with school related stress. Anyone who has attended college knows that the assignments and exams can pile up and have a tendency to be due all at the same time. This can cause some serious panic attacks! However, I find that the best way to handle everything and keep my stress level as low as possible is to be proactive and create a plan of attack, so to speak. The syllabi are given out at the beginning of the semester and contain the course schedules, wherein the professors list all the assignments and corresponding due dates. I input all the information from each class into a planner and then prioritize and work through the assignments right away and try to finish them early. This way if something unexpected pops up (and it usually does) I am not left wondering how I am going to get everything done. I find that this also leaves me plenty of time to let my work sit for a day or two and then I go back and read through it to scan for and correct errors. This helps me to both alleviate stress and produce a better quality paper. I check my planner frequently to be sure I am staying on top of everything and to cross off completed assignments. I find that this gives me a feeling of control over my work instead of my work controlling me. I also gain a certain amount of satisfaction from crossing things off in my planner. I cannot begin to describe the sense of relief and accomplishment I feel every I cross something off, but I can tell you that those positive feelings help temper the stress from balancing so much work. I cannot control the amount of work I am assigned but I can control how I handle that work: in short, my behavior. In summary, managing the situation by planning ahead serves to give me a sense of control and also keeps me on task and finishing my work ahead of schedule. The end result is feeling less stressed. ------ Reference Schacter, D.L., D.T. Gilbert, M.K., Nock, and D.M.,Wegner (2017). Psychology (4th ed.). New York: MacMillan.