Managing Stress and Coping with Loss Chapter 4

Managing Stress and Coping with Loss Chapter 4: Sec 1 Stress and Your Health

Objectives l Describe five different causes of stress. l Describe the body’s physical response to stress. l Differentiate between positive and negative stress. l Describe how stress can make you sick.

What Causes *Stress? l. STRESS l The body’s and mind’s response to a demand.

Type of Stressors l A STRESSOR is any situation that puts a demand on the body or mind.

Environmental Stressors l Conditions or events in our physical surroundings l l l Natural disasters Noise Crowds Pollution Poverty

Biological Stressors l Conditions that make it difficult for your body to take part in daily activities l l l Illness Injury Disability

Thinking Stressor l Mental challenge l Taking a test

Behavioral Stressor l Unhealthy behaviors l l l Smoking Not getting enough sleep or exercise Using drugs

Life change Stressors l Any major life change l l l Divorce Death of a loved one Getting married Having trouble with a teacher Having more arguments with parents

Research Highlight Procrastination, Performance, and Health l Researchers found that the procrastinators suffered significantly more stress and had more health problems than non procrastinators. l Space out your studying and try to complete your assignments as early as possible. Procrastination can be hazardous to your health, as well as your grades. Source: Huffman, K. Vernoy, M. , and Vernoy, J. (2002). Psychology in Action (5 th Ed. ). Davers: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

*Physical Response to Stress l The physical changes that prepare your body to respond quickly and appropriately to stressors is called the fight-or-flight response. l Past vs. Present: the fight-or-flight response might even be maladaptive at times. Today, we are taught not to fight or flee but to stay calm and resolve stressful situations rationally. l Your body provides energy, reflexes, and strength to respond to a stressor. l Your body releases epinephrine hormones. l Breathing speeds up, heart beats faster, muscles tense up, pupils get wider, sweating increases, digestion stops, blood pressure increases, and blood sugar increases.

Emotional and Behavioral Response to Stress l Eustress is a positive stress that energizes one and helps one reach a goal. l Try to make stress positive. l l Alert, focused, motivated, energized, and confident. Distress is negative stress that can make a person sick or keep a person from reaching a goal. l Nervous, forgetful, frightened, confused, and unsure.

Stress-Related Disorders and Diseases l l l l Tension headache Cold and flu Asthma Migraine headache Backache Temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMJ) Heart disease Stroke High blood pressure Chronic fatigue Ulcer Anxiety disorder Insomnia Depression

Long-Term Stress Can Make You Sick l The general adaptation syndrome is a model that describes the relationship between stress and disease. l l l Alarm stage l Your body and mind become alert (flight-or-fight response) l Headaches, stomachaches, difficulty sleeping, and anxiety Resistance stage (adaptation) l If stress continues, your body becomes more resistant to disease and injury than normal Exhaustion stage l Your body cannot take the resistance to the stressor any longer. You become exhausted, organs and immune system may suffer…

Closure l What do you think would be the consequences of not having a fight-or-flight response? l Is all stress bad? l What is the difference between stress and depression?

Creative Activity l Create a post card or flyer relating to the issue of coping with loss. l Group (table activity). Write all group members name of the card. Everyone should participate. l Based on new knowledge, provide words of encouragement and show your support for a person who recently experienced a loss l Be creative and have fun