Stress Management

8/22/2020

Stress Management

Read Now

Stress Happens when our needs are not being met

https://www.thoughtco.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs-4582571

What is stress?

Stress is the response of your body and mind to being challenged or threatened.

Positive stress is eustress
awkward situations that help us grow, they cause stress but the result is beneficial for our overall well being

Examples

getting to know someone new
networking and connecting with a possible employer
competitive sports
public presentations
developing new skills
preparing for bigger goals

Negative stress is distress

can be debilitating and reinforce fear, when we are not getting our needs met
loss of a job or job insecurity
loss of home
loss of relationships
hunger
problems at school or work
bullying or drama
sleep problems

Stressor

event or situation that causes stress

Any change: some changes are harder to adapt to than others and some changes are harder to adapt to for one person vs another
Prior experience with a stressor helps us adapt, it is best to find ways to make life less stressful.
Each person gets to reflect on what stresses them out, nobody can tell them that their experience of stress is not valid

What are some common stressors

Everyday problems

Minor but frequent everyday events
Misplacing keys
Missing your bus
Too much homework
Disagreements with family members
Pressure to succeed
Competition

Life changes

Experiencing death of a parent
Going through parents’ divorce
Experiencing remarriage of parent
Having a newborn sibling
Having a serious illness
Moving to a new school district
Failing a grade
Being accepted to college
Breaking up with boyfriend or girlfriend
Having parent lose their job
Learning you were adopted
Not making a team
Being elected to student government
Being recognized for an achievement
Leaving home for college or a job
Graduating from high school

Catastrophes

Events that destroy lives and may destroy property
Natural disasters such as hurricane, flood, earthquake, tornadoes
Violent crimes and war
A person who experiences a catastrophe may deal with psychological effects for years after the event

Environmental problems

Conditions in your immediate surroundings that increase your level of stress
Overcrowded bus
Traffic
Noise if you live near an airport
Poor air quality
Contaminated water
Heat wave or blizzard, unusual weather
Living in an overcrowded space

How stress may affect us

Stages of Stress Response

Alarm Stage

during the alarm stage, your body releases adrenaline into your blood, it causes an immediate change in your body: heart rate speeds up, muscles tense up, breathing speeds up, your attention narrows and you focus on the stressor. (Life hack [as long as alarm stage is not alerting you to something that you need to react to to save your life]: look at your surroundings and notice four items, take note of sounds around you, take your mind off the stressor)

Resistance Stage

you feel that it is all good because the alarm stage is gone but you still experience the stress, you try to adapt to it and go by your day. Sometimes we react with bottled up, accumulated stress and [small things] set us off. Your body is working hard to cope during the resistance stage and you may be inexplicably irritated, tired, and less able to handle additional stress. Traffic is a common cause of this state or resistance.

Exhaustion Stage

Your body can no longer keep up with the demands placed on it, depleted emotional and or physical state. this happens after a long time of resistance stage, it can happen when we lose a loved one. It is not permanent but it can last years.

PHYSICAL effects of Stress

Signs of stress, pg. 63:

Stomachaches: can occur in stomach, small or large intestine. Stress disrupts the movement of food through the digestive system. Food might move too fast or too slow and you might feel gas, cramps, diarrhea, or constipation. Stress increases stomach acid making an ulcer more likely to occur.

Breathing problems: Asthma may be triggered by stress, it also increases breathing rate and heart rate which can least to feeling short of breath.

Headaches: Tension in muscles around scalp, face, and neck can cause aches, a migraine begins when blood vessels in the brain and scalp narrow which limits the supply of oxygen to the brain. You can keep a log to see when you experience aches.

Lowered resistance to disease: Stress may lower your immune system, During the alarms stage some parts of the immune system function better than usual to protect you but prolonged stress can slow the immune system down.

Heart disease: Your heart can suffer from prolonged or frequent stress because your blood vessels narrow and your blood pressure rises.

What is stress management

Responses to stress

Optimism to overcome pessimism
Aiming for perfection
Resilience

Time management and coping

It can help us feel less stressed out if we make a schedule and goals to work on.

Break bigger projects into smaller steps and schedule when to complete the parts of your project

Mental rehearsal- visualize the work getting done, practice the event without actually doing the event

Reduce tension- activities that help us reduce tension vary
- exercise, walking, yoga
- watching tv or reading
- reflecting

Planning and Time Management

Goals

Goal Setting

WEB SITE ON SETTING GOALS, SMART GOALS
WWW.MINDTOOLS.COM

To make sure your goals are clear and reachable, each one should be:

Specific (simple, sensible, significant).
Measurable (meaningful, motivating).
Achievable (agreed, attainable).
Relevant (reasonable, realistic and resourced, results-based).
Time bound (time-based, time limited, time/cost limited, timely, time-sensitive).

Coping skills

Confront the situation
Release excess energy
Take a break
Talk through feelings with someone that you trust
Support groups
Creative outlets

Unhealthy Defense Mechanisms

Denial
refusing to recognize an emotion or problem, acting as though nothing is wrong

Compensation
making up for weakness in one area by excelling in another area

Rationalization
Making excuses for actions of feelings

Reaction formation
behaving in a way opposite to the way you feel

Projection
putting your own faults onto another person

Regression
returning to immature behaviors to express emotion

Building community

People can work together to create an environment that supports a healthy community, also remember, taxes are meant to promote the common good.

Write three things or ideas that help with each of
these dimensions of wellness:

Emotional

Environmental

Financial

Occupational

Intellectual

Physical

Social

Spiritual

0 Comments

Health Class