Chapter 3 Stress

1. What is Stress?
Chapter 3:1

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

3. • You experience stress when situations,
events, or people make demands on your
body and mind.
• At moderate levels, stress can actually
improve your ability to concentrate and
perform at your best.

4. Eustress Vs. Distress
• Eustress
• Positive Stress
• Examples:
– Anything that
promotes personal
growth
– Helps you accomplish
your goals
• Distress
• Negative Stress
• Examples:
– include divorce
– too much pressure
– death of a loved one.

5. Four types of Stressors
• An event or situation that causes stress is
called a stressor.
Four general types of stressors are
• major life changes
• Catastrophes
• everyday problems
• environmental problems

6. Major Life Changes
• Starting High school
• Serious illness
• Not making a team
• Going to college
• Parent’s divorce

7. Catastrophes
• A catastrophe is an event that threatens
lives and may destroy property.
• Examples:
– natural disasters
– violent crimes
– Terrorism
– war

8. Everyday Problems
• Common, everyday events.
• Conflict—disagreements with family
members, friends, or others
• Examples:
– Misplacing keys
– too much homework
– missing the bus
– pressure to succeed.

9. Environmental Problems
• Conditions in your immediate
surroundings affect your level of stress
each day.
• Examples:
– Crowded bus
– messy locker
– Noise
– unsafe living conditions

10. Chapter 3.2
How Stress Affects
Your Body

11. When you perceive something to
be a threat, your body
automatically springs into action.

12. The body’s response to stress occurs in
3 stages:
Alarm Stage
Resistance Stage
Exhaustion Stage

13. Alarm Stage
The body releases adrenaline into your blood; more sugar is
released which equals an energy burst.
“Fight or Flight” response: Fight the stressor or take flight
and ESCAPE!
Several things happen to your body during this stage: heart
beats faster, breathing speeds up, muscles tense, sweating
increases, blood pressure increases; digestion slows down,
pupils open.

14. Resistance Stage
If you can’t respond to a stressor during the alarm
stage, your body moves into the resistance stage.
The Body is trying to return to normal. A lot of
energy is used and you may become tired, irritable,
and less able to handle any added stress.

15. Exhaustion Stage
Your body can no longer keep up with the
demands placed on it.
Does not occur with each stress response;
only occurs if a stressor continues for a long
time.

16. Recognizing Signs of
Stress
1. Changes in your Behavior
2. Changes in emotions
3. Changes in thinking
4. Physical changes
Page 62

17. What warning signs of stress do
you experience?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ot_vJLJ86M

18. Stress and Illness
Severe or prolonged stress can affect your
health.
Stress can trigger illnesses, reduce the body’s
ability to fight an illness, and make some
diseases harder to control.
Examples include:
◦Stomachaches
◦heart diseases
◦Asthma
◦Headaches
◦immune system weakens with prolonged stress.

19. Chapter 3.3
STRESS AND INDIVIDUALS

20. People’s responses to stress
vary
Why does one person remain calm when
faced with a stressor while another
becomes anxious and tense?

21. How you react to a stressor
depends on how you assess the
situation.
As you assess the situation, you are answering two
important questions:
1. Is this situation a threat to my well-being?
2. Do I have the necessary resources to meet the
challenge?

22. Your personality has a lot to do
with how you respond to
stressors.
Optimism – focusing on the positive
aspects of a situation.
Pessimism – focusing on the negative
and expecting the worst.

23. Aiming for perfection can cause
stress.
If you tend to be a perfectionist, you need to
accept that you cannot be perfect
a.take pride in the things you do well
b.don’t focus on your mistakes.
Resilience – the ability to “bounce back” from
extreme or prolonged stress
◦the key factor in resilience is having support of family
and friends.

24. Chapter 3.4
Coping with Stress

25. You can do many things to keep
stress under control.
1. Time Management – don’t put things off until the last
minute. Don’t Procrastinate!
What are the time wasters in your life? Video games,
TV, phones, music, not having a plan, worrying
2.Mental rehearsal – practicing an event without actually
doing it; imagine yourself doing your best.
Athletes use this to stay focused on their performances
during highly stressful times.

26. If stressors aren’t under your control,
there are still things you can do to
reduce the stress
Physical Activity – biking, walking, aerobics, dancing – find something you enjoy
doing
Relaxation – reading a book, taking a nap, listening to music, cooking, playing
your guitar, taking a hot bath, getting a massage, deep breathing.
Avoid negative thinking – substitute negative thoughts with positive or realistic
thoughts.
Humor/Laugh
Build resilience by – taking care of yourself, build a support system, take action,
help somebody, go easy on yourself, put things in perspective, find a hassle-free
zone, stick to your routine.
Biofeedback – learn to control one or more body functions by monitoring their
body’s responses.

27. HELP!!!
Sometimes stress is too much to
handle on your own, and you may
need to ask someone to help you with
your problems. Sharing your
problems can help you see them more
clearly. Suggestions: parent, adult
relative, teacher, coach, religious
leader, school counselor, nurse,
sibling, or friend.