STRESSORS BASED ON PERSONALITY VARIABLES

Defense mechanisms: Denial, repression (bury it), projection (onto others), humor, rationalization and displacement can be temporarily effective in avoiding immediate stressors but are poor methods for long-term stress coping.

Optimism/Pessimism: Pessimists tend to inflate problems while optimists minimize them.

Locus of control: Internal vs. external (blaming vs. accepting responsibility). Externals believe in fate while internals feel they can control destiny.

Co-dependency: Sense of worth derived from meeting the needs of others. Hesitating to get out of bad relationships and tolerating abuse are examples. The spouse of an alcohol abuser may cover up and make excuses, thus enabling the behavior to continue.

Cite an example where someone was stressed out by one of these.