Psychological Distress: Current Perspectives and Challenges

This monograph comprises nine chapters, each providing a different point of view concerning the problem of psychological distress. Chapter 1 describes alexithymia, a personality trait characterized by a persons inability to identify and describe emotions experienced by themselves or others, and how this trait connects with psychological defence mechanisms. Chapter 2 also examines alexithymia, this time in the context of how artistic creativity can connect to psychological well-being or insanity. Chapter 3 examines some of the biological, developmental, and situational factors that appear to influence the formation and maintenance of ones attachment style, which affects his or her capacity to form and maintain nurturing interpersonal relationships. Chapter 4 reports on the challenges that health professionals encounter when treating mental health problems associated with the stress of being diagnosed with cancer and undergoing treatment. Chapter 5 studies the connection between a mindfulness-based program for elite soccer athletes and these athletes self-compassion, self-criticism, flow and perceived performance. Chapter 6 studies the link between mental health literacy, fears of compassion, psychological flexibility and psychopathological symptoms in adolescent students. Chapter 7 explores the impact of school violence against teachers on teachers health, well-being, and job attitudes, and how emotional intelligence can mediate some of the negative impacts of school violence. Chapter 8 highlights the role of different strategies such as social support, self-efficacy and cognitive coping in reducing psychological distress in Pakistani infertile women. Finally, Chapter 9 collates available evidence and recommendations for supporting the mental health of healthcare workers, specifically in the context of additional workplace stress connected to the COVID-19 pandemic.