Chapter 3 Stress Management

Lesson 1 A Natural Part of Your Life

Stress Combination of a new or possibly threatening situation and your body’s natural response to the situation

Stressors Anything that causes stress

Distress Is the negative physical, mental, or emotional strain in response to a stressor

Positive Stress (eustress) A stress response that happens when winning, succeeding, and achieving

Stressor in Your Life Arguing with a brother or sister Getting glasses or braces Moving to a new home Getting in trouble with a teacher Making a speech in front of the class

Serious Stressors Being pregnant and unmarried Experiencing the death of a parent Going through parents’divorce Becoming an unmarried father Becoming involved with drugs and alcohol Experiencing the death of a brother or sister Experiencing a change in your acceptance by your peers Experiencing the death of a close friend

Lesson 2 How Stress Affects You

Stress Response Fight or flight is your body’s reaction to a stressor

Epinephrine Hormone that increases the stress level of sugar in your blood

Body’s reaction to short-term stress 1- Mouth may be dry 2- You may feel sick 3- Muscles may tighten up 4- You may feel like you have extra power 5- Vision and hearing may sharpen

Lasting effects of stress Physical fatigue Mental fatigue

Distressed Continuously 1- Difficulty sleeping or frequent headaches 2- Mental or emotional problems, or cry for no reason 3-Become bored, depressed, or frustrated 4-Feel tense, irritable, and overwhelmed 5-Trouble concentration on schoolwork and making decisions

Lesson 3 Defense Mechanisms

Defense Mechanism Is an automatic, short-term behavior to cope with distress

Type of Defense Mechanisms 1- Rationalization-making excuses instead of admitting mistakes 2- Displacement-shifting negative feelings about one person to another 3-repression-blocking out unpleasant memories 4-denial-ignoring reality or pretending that something doesn’t exist 5-projection-putting the blame for your problem on someone or something else.

Lesson 4 Managing Your Stress

Stress Management The ability to handle stress in healthy ways

Warning signs of physical stress Headaches Indigestion Muscle aches Dry Mouth Shortness of breath Fatigue Insomnia Teeth grinding Pounding heart

Warning signs of mental and emotional stress Nightmares Depression Anxiety Mood swings Frustration Irritability Worrying Loneliness Poor concentration

Reframing Changing the way you think about a stressor and changing your emotional response to the stressor

Managing distress Asserting yourself-Tell other people how you feel Plan ahead-Make time to do things you must do even if you don’t like to do them Laughing –is important. Make it a point to laugh every day

Emotions Are the feelings that are produced as you respond to something in your life Anxiety -Love Panic -Sadness Anger -Sympathy Fear -Happiness

Lesson 5 Preventing Distress

Plan Is a detailed program, created ahead of time for doing something

Tips for preventing Distress 8 hours of sleep Lot of fruits and vegetables Set short and long term goals that are realistic Have fun Believe that every problem has a solution Laugh every day Learn something new each day Treat others the way you want to be treated

Time Management Is making appropriate choices about how to use your time

Prioritize Arranging items in the order of their importance

Chapter 3 Stress Management