1. Personal Reactions to Stress

2. Why do individuals have different reactions to stressful events? Some people seem easy going about stressful events Others may have an outburst or emotional breakdown Examples -Waiting in lines -Traffic -Health problems -Work -Relationships Why might influence how individuals handle stressful events?

3. -Three factors have shown to influence the way a person handles a stressful event 1.Personality type Explain how this can influence. -Depending on behavior patterns, thoughts, feelings, etc. people can be classified in to one of two types. Type A -driven to achieve goals -speed up mental and physical tasks -are more critical and demanding Type B -Relaxed and patient -Not as easily angered *Type A personalities are generally more prone to stress

4. Another characteristic that can influence how we handle stress? 2.Perceived control What might this mean? -Most people want to believe that they have some degree of control over the stressors in their lives -This gives us the confidence to handle stressful events and situations What are some of the ways that this perception develops? -Predictability of stress -Feedback from others

5. Last factor influencing our personal reaction to stress? 3.Social Support -These are the people around us and in our lives that help us deal with stress Who are the social support groups we have? -Family -Friends -Co-workers How do these people help? -Listening -providing feedback -Advice -Give us confidence to handle Do these groups always help ease our stress? -No -Sometimes these people can indeed cause more stress or strain in our lives -But it is probably healthier to have them than not