When trying to cope with stress, some individuals use biological treatments (drugs) to help them manage their stress as it directly targets the stress response systems. One example is Benzodiazepines (BZs), such as Librium and Valium, they work by slowing down the activity of the central nervous system and reduce central arousal. BZs enhance the actions of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) which is a neurotransmitter and is the body’s natural form of anxiety relief. BZs enhance the action by reacting with GABA receptors (which increases the flow of chloride ions into the neuron) meaning it is harder for the neuron to be stimulated and the person feels more relaxed. BZs also reduces the levels of serotonin (a neurotransmitter that has an arousing affect on the brain), by decreasing these levels it reduces the anxiety the person feels.
A strength of BZs is they are an effective form of stress management, for example Kahn et al’s (1989) study of 250 patients found that BZs were significantly more effective than placebos. This suggests that BZs do work at reducing the stress levels of individuals and are an effective way of treating stress.
However, a weakness of BZs is that they have been known to produce ‘paradoxical’ symptoms, such as: aggression and cognitive problems (impaired memory). This is a weakness because the side effects of the drug treatment might be worse than the original symptoms of stress that the individual is seeking help from, plus these side effects could result in impairing the patient’s day-to-day life, meaning BZs might not be a good way of treating stress.
Another form of biological treatment for stress management is Beta-Blockers. They bind to the receptors on the cells of the heart and other parts of the body, this blocks the receptor from being stimulated. This reduces the activity of the sympathetic nervous system, decreasing the activity of adrenaline and noradrenaline and slows down the heartbeat. By blocking these receptors, it is harder to stimulate the cells so the heart beats slower and with less force and blood vessels do not contract easily. This lessens the stress on the heart and results in a fall in blood pressure, which has a calming effect on the patient
A strength of this treatment is the ease of use. Drugs can easily be prescribed and the patient simply has to take a tablet. This means there is little effort required from the patient, compared to Stress Inoculation Therapy and Hardiness Training; therefore it is suitable for everyone as it doesn’t require motivation and effort from the patient.
A weakness is that the drugs only tackle the symptoms not the cause. For example, when a patient stops taking the drugs the symptoms can return as the issue of the stress hasn’t been dealt with. This means drugs are a short-term treatment and might not be as effective at treating chronic stress.