Trauma Support | Understanding Stress | Revision Questionnaire

Chapters

Understanding Stress

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Coping strategies

Practical Help and Treatment

1. Understanding Stress

Revision Questionnaire

The body's Fight or Flight response is activated by:

a. An actual threat to our physical safety

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b. Any actual or perceived threat to our physical or mental safety

Right answer! Our body does not distinguish between real or imagined threats in terms of its response. It also does not distinguish between actual threats or subtler psychological pressures that cause mental distress.

c. Any injury to our body, no matter how small

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d. Serious mental trauma

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Which of the following does not happen when our bodies have a stress reaction?

a. Our blood sugar levels drop

Right answer! The release of adrenaline causes a rapid release of glucose into the bloodstream, which is pumped into our muscles to prepare for either fight or flight.

b. Our heart beat increases

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c. We start sweating

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d. Our muscles contract

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Once the perceived danger or stress has passed, the stress hormones in our system will:

a. Dissipate of their own accord

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b. Continue to build up if not metabolised by exercise or relaxation

Right answer! Our bodies have evolved to respond to stress by physical activity or deep relaxation. If we do not engage in either of these activities after suffering from stress, the stress hormones will continue to build in our system.

c. Reinforce the memory of the event in our brains

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d. Remain at the same level

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Regularly interviewing victims of violent crime is likely to prove far more stressful in the long-run than editing footage and photographs of disasters.

a. True

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b. False

Right answer! You don't have to be in the direct presence of trauma to be deeply affected by it. Editors can be stressed by the images that they work with every bit as much as the reporters and photographers who witness the events first hand.

Which is the most common form of stress for journalists?

a. Cumulative stress

By far the most common form of stress among journalists is cumulative stress. Only a minority will ever develop full-blown PTSD, and while burnout is more common, most people will never go through it.

b. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

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c. Burnout

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d. Borderline Personality Disorder

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