 | Meichenbaum’s stress inoculation trains performance under load in three phases — understand the stress response, acquire coping skills, then rehearse under graded challenge until the old cue loses catastrophic meaning. Meichenbaum (1985) · Pergamon Press · ISBN 9780080315966 |
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Key principles
- Conceptualization — Map triggers, appraisals, and bodily alarm — name the loop before fighting it.
- Skills acquisition — Relaxation, self-talk, and problem-solving — tools staged before live fire.
- Application — Graded exposure and rehearsal — dose rises as competence rises.
- Coping self-statements — Replace catastrophe scripts with prepared scripts under load.
- Inoculation metaphor — Small controlled stress builds immunity to collapse — not flooding by default.
- Lineage — Sits in the cognitive-behavioural skills-training thread after Beck — see Cognitive therapy lineage.
Core science
SIT is an evidence-backed protocol for anxiety, pain, and performance stress — one pillar of cognitive-behavioural skills training. Mechanism overlap with graded exposure and cognitive restructuring; pair with Cognitive Therapy and the Emotional Disorders for the appraisal spine on the same shelf.
Application
Reach when avoidance keeps the alarm high — design three phases, not one heroic exposure. Open Mithridatisation for bounded-dose doctrine; mechanism map on Hormesis.