- culture and generation
- financial or economic status
- personal experiences with crisis or disaster
- seriousness of the situation
Coping mechanisms, when they are positive,
move a person toward regaining control over the
situation and the ability to manage its circum-
stances. When they are negative, coping mecha-
nisms often instead result in responses that
perpetuate dysfunction or even the crisis itself.
Because coping mechanisms are learned behav-
iors, it is possible for people to identify those that
do not work well for them and replace them with
others that are more successful.
See also ANGER AND ANGER MANAGEMENT; BEHAVIOR
MODIFICATION THERAPY; COGNITIVE THERAPY; PSY-
CHOTHERAPY; STRESS AND STRESS MANAGEMENT.
cyclothymic disorder Alternating, short-term
periods (usually days) of elation and melancholy,
milder than the cyclic periods of MANIAand DEPRES-
SIONthat define BIPOLAR DISORDER. Other people
commonly view the person as extremely moody
or emotionally fragile though able to function rea-
sonably well in work and social settings when at
either mood extreme and quite well during peri-
ods of mood moderation. Some psychiatrists con-
sider cyclothymic disorder, also called
cyclothymia, to be a precursor (precondition) to
bipolar disorder though other psychiatrists con-
sider it a separate condition.
COGNITIVE THERAPY and BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION
THERAPYare the most effective treatments, provid-
ing understanding of the disorder and teaching
ways to accommodate the extremes of the mood
swings so as to maintain appropriate interactions
with others. Medications used to treat bipolar dis-
order may improve symptoms that disrupt the
person’s ability to function (such as job perform-
ance or fulfilling family responsibilities). Alterna-
tive and complementary approaches such as
BIOFEEDBACKand HYPNOSISmay also improve the
person’s ability to cope with mood extremes.
See also COPING MECHANISMS.370 Psychiatric Disorders and Psychologic Conditions