Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model of Stress and Coping

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How do you react to stress? Are you fearless or fearful?

Sabrine watches in dismay as the "cancelled" notices start appearing on the train departure board. "Why today of all days?" she thinks. Now she's going to be late for an important meeting.

She starts to stress over the knock-on effects of the delay. She won't have time to finish the report that her boss wants. She'll probably have to skip lunch with her friend, and she will likely be late home from work. She feels tense, anxious, and helpless.

Situations like these are a part of everyday life. Like Sabrine, we have no control over a traffic jam or a late train. But we can control how we react to these kinds of situations.

We don't make good decisions when we feel anxious and out of control. But thinking things through objectively and calmly can reduce stress and pressure when things don't go the way we expect.

In this article, we explore the stress management strategies outlined in Lazarus and Folkman's Transactional Model of Stress and Coping.

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