Final answer:
Both overly dependent and emotionally isolated individuals often utilize emotion-focused coping strategies to handle stress, which can mitigate negative emotions but may not solve underlying issues, potentially leading to psychophysiological disorders and increased risk of heart disease and depression if stress is chronic.
Step-by-step explanation:
Both the overly dependent and the emotionally isolated individual may respond to stress with emotion-focused coping. This type of coping involves efforts to change or reduce the negative emotions associated with stress, rather than tackling the problem directly. Stressful events that are perceived as uncontrollable, such as serious relationship problems or the loss of a loved one, are more likely to elicit emotion-focused coping strategies. Research indicates that persistently high levels of negative interaction in close relationships can increase the risk of serious heart problems, indicating the physical toll of emotional stress.
Emotion-focused coping can manifest in various ways, including avoiding the problem, minimizing its importance, seeking social support for emotional comfort, or using distraction techniques to take one's mind off the stressor. While useful for managing emotions in the short term, this coping strategy does not address the root cause of the stress. This can lead to a range of health issues if the stress is chronic, such as psychophysiological disorders, weakened immune system function, and increased susceptibility to heart disease and depression.