Workgroup 4: Chronic diseases

This week is about chronic diseases. A chronic disease is a long-term disease which won’t go away. Examples of chronic diseases are RA, diabetes, heart diseases, (most types of) cancer, asthma, psoriasis, epilepsy, Crohn’s disease, Bechterew’s disease and multiple sclerosis. Apart from physiological consequences, psychological consequences may occur as well, like stress, anxiety, depression and anger.

The stress coping model says the degree to which a chronic illness is considered a source of psychological stress depends on individual personal resources, social resources and life goals. Individual adaption processes to stressors are describes by stress coping models. Personal and interpersonal influenced on appraisals and stress responses are coping styles, personality, cognitions, emotions and social support.

Coping styles are interdependent and can occur together as seemingly oppositional strategies to create the overall coping response. They can change dynamically according to the context.

• Problem focused: to reduce demands of stressor or increase personal resources (e.g. confronting the source of stress)
• Emotion focused: managing the emotional response (e.g. by venting anger)
• Approach oriented: e.g. attending to source of stress
• Avoidance: e.g. distraction