Hi!! I was wondering if someone could give me some feedback for my extended response
I just want to know what I did well on, areas I need to improve in, if the wording of my sentences is weird and also it would be really appreciated if you could give me a mark out of 10
thank you so much!! Scenario:Gita is a 22-year-old student in her final year of university. Gita arrived in Australia when she was 12 years old.She is from a non-english-speaking background and is the first female in her family to attend the university. She has generally been able to manage her parents’ expectations,academic demands,part-time work and the usual daily irritations that have come her way.
When Gita lost her part-time job at the beginning of Semester 1, she experienced initial shock but quickly tackled this problem by drawing on her family and friendship network, which helped her find a new part-time job. However, at the end of semester 1, her first relationship break-up proved more challenging because she found her usual supports were not enough. She used meditation and dancing classes to help her refocus. Gita developed a cold after the break-up but still managed to stay on top of things.
However, there was one point at the beginning of semester 2 when Gita did struggle. The news that her car needed expensive repairs was a major setback that she had not budgeted for. She felt exhausted and overwhelmed by the situation but decided to keep the problem to herself, feeling that she should be able to manage it on her own.
Towards the end of semester 2, Gita developed insomnia and headaches, and finally visited her family doctor. The doctor explained that these symptoms were stress-related and referred her to a psychologist. The psychologist was able to help Gita view her situation differently and assist her with realising that it was a temporary problem that would be resolved once she finished university and started full-time work. Gita would then be able to apply for a bank loan to fix her car.
With reference to Gita’s situation, write a detailed analysis of her sources of stress, biological responses and psychological responses. In your response, discuss the theories and models of stress and/or coping that are relevant to this scenario.
My ResponseGita experiences stress on a daily basis. As she arrived in Australia at 12 and also comes from a non-English speaking background she may experience acculturative stress. Alongside this her parents' expectations may act as daily pressures to Gita.
From a biological perspective, when Gita lost her job she experienced the shock stage of the Alarm Shock phase of the General Adaptation Syndrome Model (GAS) causing increased heart rate and blood rate due to the release of adrenaline from the amygdala, known as the SAM pathway, however was able to cope with the stress leading to countershock, using coping methods such as her support systems of family and friends. However, when Gita experienced her breakup, this proved more challenging and she was able to both exercise her coping flexibility and context-specific effectiveness by adapting her coping methods to dancing and meditation to better cope with the stress she was experiencing and additionally use approach strategies like meditation and dancing lessons to specifically target the stress she is feeling . When Gita develops a cold it shows her immune system is decreasing in health due to the release of cortisol, a neurohormone that weakens the immune system, which may be a sign that she is in the Resistance stage of the GAS model. By the point of her car needing repairs Gita is experiencing more major health problems such as insomnia and headaches due to the ongoing release of cortisol has depleted her immune system and is vulnerable to sickness support the idea that Gita being in the final stage of Exhaustion.
Psychologically, in terms of the Lazarus and Folkman Transactional Model of Stress when Gita lost her job, her primary appraisal of the situation is of threat but then a challenge and potentially a form of eustress as this may be an opportunity to find a better job. Her secondary appraisal is that she has the adequate resources to cope. The primary appraisal of Gitas second source of stress of the breakup was also a loss but as she was able to exercise her coping flexibility she was able to realise she has the adequate coping strategies to cope with her life event stressor, but she did need to adapt her strategies. Her final stress of her car breaking down was appraised as a harm due to the financial struggles Gita was experiencing, and by keeping the problem to herself which is an example of an avoidance strategy her stress worsened as she didn't have the adequate resources to cope. When she finally inquired with her doctor and psychologist, another example of Gitas coping flexibility, as she is now seeking to adapt her current coping methods with her stressors after realising that they are ineffective, allow her to see her stress in a more positive light as she now sees this stressor as temporary and rather than a threat, a challenge for the future.