The role of coping mechanisms and heart-brain coherence in the management of professional stress of the judge

VARIA

Abstract

Given that in today's society, the vast majority of people feel pressure on them every day (family, workplace, school), stressors can manifest themselves in different forms, constantly influencing their behaviour towards themselves and others. Long-term health conditions (of self, family or close friends) are the biggest stressor in today's society. Events outside the individual's personal sphere can also contribute to stress, and social factors, natural disasters and other traumatic events can induce extreme stress responses.

How does stress influence physical health? This question is timely for a number of reasons, one of which is that stress puts people at risk of some of the chronic diseases that place the greatest burden on workplace health. However, although stress can worsen health, it is important to know the mechanisms and how it might occur (Gianaros & Wager, 2015). Unexpected events, lack of important details about certain aspects of the problem, and chaos caused by misinformation, inability to manage things are some of the factors in the emergence and development of stress.

The professional stress of the judge is based on professional overload, which comes from the very high volume of intellectual activity, the large number of cases that the judge has to manage during the court session, all of which have short and long term consequences in the cognitive and emotional sphere. As a consequence, psychological adaptation or coping to occupational stressors induces endocrine responses in the nervous system, as well as the secretion of the hormones involved, particularly steroid hormones by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis.

Keywords: stress, physical and mental health, coping mechanisms, heart-brain coherence, resilience, professional adaptation, neuroscience