Stress and Coping from Traditional Indian and Chinese Perspectives

Abstract

The paper focuses on the differences in the conceptualisation of stress in the East and the West in the light of differences in the social and cultural context. Modern notions of stress and coping and their Eastern equivalents, such as suffering or dukkha are discussed. While the Western approach is concerned with distress or negative aspects of stress, in Eastern thought, pleasure as well as pain are consid ered stressful and there is a greater degree of acceptance of suffering. While stress researchers have evolved a taxonomy of stress, Indian and Chinese texts focus on the causes of suffering. These include a discussion of types of pain (self and environment generated, supernatural), intense desires and ego involvement or afflictions (klesas). The consequences of suffering such as mental pain, despair and exhaustion are outlined and mediators of suffering which include dharma (right conduct), detachment, impulse control, belief in rebirth and karma and transcendence are discussed. Differing perspectives on coping and stress are presented and the parallels between Eastern and Western coping strategies are drawn. Clearly in the Eastern perspective, long-term strategies such as meditation and development of a philosophy of life are emphasised.

Hippocampal connectivity in the aftermath of acute social stress

“…It remains to be tested whether our findings can be extended to adults with fully mature brain development. Given the profound cultural differences in how people cope with stressor (Palsane and Lam, 1996; Taylor et al, 2007), individuals from western cultures may respond differently to the TSST and show distinct neural patterns (Allen et al, 2014). A culture social neuroscience approach to study stress may shed lights on the cultural variation in psychological and neural processes under stress.…”

Present-fatalistic time perspective and life satisfaction: The moderating role of age

“…For example, Confucians encouraged people to learn a sense of transcendence, which is a consideration of something beyond oneself, others, and the world. Such a mental state may facilitate people to become open to any issue, thus avoiding fixation which was the prominent cause of mental problems (Palsane & Lam, 1996). For Taoism, people are told to take no intervention in life, and form a sense of acceptance.…”

“…Fatalism in Chinese culture mainly originated from the thoughts of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism. They all advocated the acceptance for uncontrollable experiences or aversive life change as a wisdom (Ch'en, 1964;Cheng, Lo, & Chio, 2010;Palsane & Lam, 1996). Thus, the Chinese traditional philosophy rooted in fatalism denoted that the fatalism in China has a unique meaning thus it is valuable to study the association between fatalism and life satisfaction.…”

Measuring reliability and validity of “Stressometer®”: A computer-based mass screening and assessment tool for evaluation of stress level and sources of stressors

“…Theories on behavioral health have been developed and studied mainly from the Western point of view,[6] which focuses on stress and its results from a more biomedical angle. [7] Studies examining behavioral health in other cultures have discovered differences in stress, coping, and behavioral health,[8] thus suggesting that standard Western instruments cannot be simply translated and used across cultures. [9] For instance, many non-Western patients present with somatic complaints, such as aches, pains, and gastrointestinal distress, and not offer cognitive and mood symptoms until asked,[10] possibly because of a cultural difference that physical symptoms are expected from ill people or possibly because of stigma toward the mentally ill.[11]…”