Chapter 4 Managing Stress and Coping with Loss

Chapter 4 Managing Stress and Coping with Loss

Lesson 1 ¡ Understanding Stress

What Is Stress? ¡ ¡ ¡ Reaction of the body and mind to everyday challenges and demands Can appear very quickly or slowly over a few days Many times, situations associated with stress are unavoidable Stress of an event can affect you however, it depends on your perception of it (the act of becoming aware through the senses) Reactions to stress also depends on previous experiences

Reacting to Stress ¡ ¡ ¡ Stress can have both positive and negative effects Positive stress can motivate you Stress is negative when it interferes with your ability to perform. May make you feel distracted, overwhelmed, impatient, frustrated angry Negative stress is harmful to health Understanding the cause of stress and how you react to it will help you develop effective stress-management skills

Causes of Stressor- anything that causes stress ¡ Stressors can be real, imagined, anticipated or expected ¡ People, objects, events and situations are all potential stressors ¡

Figure 4. 2 Stressors for Teens Life Situations ¡ Environmental ¡ Biological ¡ Cognitive (Thinking) ¡ Personal Behavior ¡

Your Body’s Response to Stressors ¡ ¡ When you perceive something to be dangerous, difficult or painful, your body automatically begins a stress response. The nervous and endocrine systems are active during your body’s response to stress The physical response to stress is normally involuntary or automatic Any type of stress response involves these 3 stages:

Your Body’s Response to Stressors ¡ ¡ ¡ 1. Alarm- mind and body go on high alert. A. K. A. “Fight or Flight” Response (prepares the body either to defend itself or flee from a threat 2. Resistance- if exposure to a stressor continues, your body adapts and reacts to the stressor 3. Fatigue-if exposure to stress is prolonged, your body loses its ability to adapt

Stress and Your Health Physical changes that take place in your body during the stress response can take a toll on your body ¡ Psychosomatic Responsephysical reaction that results from stress rather than from an injury or illness. (can be caused by prolonged stress) ¡

Stress and Your Health ¡ Physical effects of stress include: l l l ¡ Headache Weakened immune system High blood pressure Bruxism- clenching of jaw or grinding teeth Digestive disorders Mental/emotional and social effects of stress include: l l l Difficulty concentrating Irritability Mood swings

Journal ¡ Read the Real World Connection at the top of page 96. After reading, please write in your journal about what worries you about returning to school? How do you cope with stress of your new classes and the work involved for each of those classes.