Question 1.
Bonnie’s early childhood experience had a negative impact on her perception of social interactions. Children learn social behavior through experience; when the clerks laughed, and the parents felt embarrassed for her inability to exercise self-control, she developed anxiety and fear of social situations. She developed the behavior of avoiding social interactions due to the fear of embarrassing herself. The experience developed a conditioned fear response affecting her ability to interact years later. In her perception, socially-improper behavior results in punishment; in order to avoid punishment, she avoids social interaction altogether. She developed a generalized view that the pattern applies in every social situation. The parents’ embarrassment and lack of support negatively reinforced her anxiety; this facilitated her avoidance of social situations. There is a need for the application of learning principles to help Bonnie in adjusting. She should be encouraged to engage in social interaction through positive reinforcement. For instance, her parents should acknowledge her efforts in social interaction. Display of confidence and self-driven activities should be rewarded; this encourages the probability of a repeat thus reducing anxiety during interaction.
Question 2.
Bonnie’s memory of the accident she had at 3yrs old distorts her perception of social interactions. Her inability to exercise self-control resulted in embarrassment; this was worsened by her parents’ embarrassed reaction and reprimands. She developed a view that doing socially unacceptable behaviors resulted in embarrassment and feelings of anxiety. Her beliefs that social interaction must occur perfectly make her afraid of doing anything wrong; thus, in order to avoid mistakes, she refrains from interacting with others whenever she can. Her actions after the incidents were influenced by the anxiety it elicited.
The concept of state-dependent memory states that people remember things well when in the state they learnt it. In Bonnie’s case, situations evoking the anxiety she felt at 3years old resulted in increased avoidance of such situations. It conditioned her into avoiding any situation resulting in feelings of embarrassment and anxiety. The concept reinforces the effects of prior episodic memory on subsequent behavior patterns. It distorted her view of social interaction as triggers of anxiety.
Question 3
Bonnie’s sleep problems resulted from her break up and learning that her boyfriend was dating somebody else; this resulted in depression. It caused her lack of sleep and irregular sleep patterns. It also increased her isolation from others. The sleep disorder is insomnia; this is the inability to get adequate sleep, thus exhaustion and inactivity during the day. It is evidence of underlying health conditions. In Bonnie’s case, they are stress, depression and anxiety; they result from her secluded lifestyle choice and inability to handle social problems such as break ups.
There are various ways in which Bonnie can regain a normal sleep pattern. First and foremost, she needs to cope with the stressful thoughts and feelings causing the disorder. She should be interactive; engaging in social activities keeps her mind away from thoughts of the break up. Developing a positive outlook in life is necessary; she needs to accept that the break up occurred and move on. Engaging in activities ensures one is tired and sleep at night. There are sleeping pills and supplements that ensure peaceful sleep.
Question 5
The inability to cope with stress results in anxiety; it occurs due to a person’s cognitive perception of occurrences. Bonnie viewed social interactions as possibilities of embarrassment through actions, speech or looks. She conceived an unreal discrepancy between social situations and her ability to cope. At the primary appraisal stage, she seeks an understanding of situations and their effects on her wellbeing. She thinks social interactions would affect her if she does something to embarrass herself in front of others. In order to avoid that feeling, she opts out of any social situation.
The quality of approaches selected in stress control determines the ability to cope. Bonnie had unhealthy means of coping with stress which included; depending on her sister’s help during social situations, avoiding interaction with new people, display of confidence and being the center of attention. The remedies were not efficient; this is because they do not focus on solving the root cause of anxiety and stress in relation to social interaction. Identifying the stressor is a problem-focused strategy that is efficient. Calming techniques help in reducing anxiety during interaction thus emotional stability.
