This handbook can help you to manage stress.

1. STRESS
ABSTRACT
Psychology can help one to understand stress.
Managing stress is a key to success; there are
strategies that help individuals to effectively
manage stress.
Jean Pascal Piaget ASIFIWE
Psychology

2. Table of contents
I. STRESS MEANING 1
II. STRESS AND EMOTION RELATIONSHIP 1
III. PSYCHOLOGY MEANING 1
Some terms used in Psychology: 2
a. Optimism 2
b. Self-efficacy 2
c. Hardiness 2
IV. SOME EXAMPLES OF REASONS WHY PEOPLE ARE STRESSED 2
V. BODY’S REACTION TO STRESS AND ASSOCIATED EFFECTS 3
VI. COPING WITH STRESS 4
REFERENCES 7

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I. Stress meaning
Stress refers to the physiological responses that occur when an organism fails to respond
appropriately to emotional or physical threats (Introduction to pyschology). Stress is appeared
in different ways. One of the courses through which stress is appeared, is relentless assessment
exhaustion. A couple people dumbfound stress and consumption. When we are physically
drained, it is the outcome of something we did. You may work a physically asking for work or
have completed an intensive exercise regimen. Physical weariness is for the most part a choice
we have made. With rest, the most ideal sustenance and time to loosen up we can without
quite a bit of an extend recover from physical exhaustion. Regardless, when your consumption
begins from stress, it is particular. It is a mental weakness, realized by pushing or the
inconvenience in adjusting to a situation in your life. It is an outcome of considerations and
suppositions rather than physical exertion (Bailey, n.d.).
II. Stress and emotion relationship
There exists another meaning of stress, and it will help us to comprehend its association with
emotions. Stress can be characterized as a continuous exchange between the natural requests
and a man's assets, with strain (which alludes to negative mental [e.g., emotions], and
behavioral reactions) coming about because of imbalance between these requests and assets
(Baqutayan, 2015). This means, if an individual does not assume that they have the advantages
for deal with the solicitations experienced in the restriction condition, then he or she will likely
experience negative emotions, for instance, apprehension and shock, and possibly encounter
the evil impacts of negative lead, for instance, physical strain (Rich Neil, 2011). It is clear that
emotions can be results of stress; therefore, they are named stress-based emotions. But there
are also some emotions that are not related to stress. For instance, when a girl cries after being
surprised. This emotion is not a result of stress but a sign of extreme happiness.
III. Psychology meaning
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. The word “psychology” comes from the
Greek words “psyche,” meaning life, and “logos,” meaning explanation (Introduction to
pyschology). So, it is clear that through psychology we get to know more about life. Many
aspects of life are explained through psychology. Psychology is also defined as the study of
mind and behavior in relation to a particular field of knowledge or activity (Merriam-Webster
Inc, n.d.). People who have studied Psychology are referred to as psychologists. They are able to
help the community in many ways including helping people who have mental disorders (also
known as psychological problems) and teaching Psychology as a science. Stress is one of the
psychological problems that people face most nowadays. So, Psychologists can help people
suffering from stress.

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Some terms used in Psychology:
a. Optimism
Optimism is the ability to think positively and have both hope and confidence that what you are
doing will result to something good in the future.
b. Self-efficacy
Self-efficacy is the spirit to believe in our capabilities as a result of our experience; we then
believe that we will be successful in what we are doing by producing desired outcomes. Self-
efficacy is the power that helps people to achieve victory.
c. Hardiness
Hardiness is the ability to endure all the challenges that you face and deal with them. This is a
key to overcoming your challenges as staying strong in challenging situations gives someone
time to focus on finding solutions.
IV. Some reasons why people are stressed
In this century, people are working very hard to the extent that they fail to take care of
themselves. It is obvious that people are stressed and fail to find out that. It happens that
people sometimes get used to stress and consider it as something permanent. They give up on
thinking about it and live with it. Sometimes we are stressed as a result of working very hard.
But this is not the main reason why people are stressed; people are often stressed when they
fail to address sudden challenges.
Sudden challenges that result to stress:
 Failing an examination or any sort of test
 Death of somebody who is important to you. Examples: a parent, a guardian, a friend, a
brother, a sister, etc.
 Financial crisis
 Relationship conflict
 Divorce
 Jail
 Sexual difficulties
 Being fired from work
Conditions that result to stress:
 Marriage
 Retirement
 Being new to a workplace or change of position
 Pregnancy
 Struggling to meet a deadline

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It is highly recommended to pay attention to the above causes of stress. This is because when
stress is not addressed at the very first place, it builds up into something that is hard to deal
with. People are different from robots; unlike robots, people need to rest. People need to
manage well stress before it negatively affects them.
V. Body’s reaction to stress and associated effects
Stress impacts the whole human body; in any case, there are parts that are affected most.
Those are nervous system (cerebrum), hormones and heart. Exactly when a particular body
react to stress; we say that it has responded to it. Generally, there are two exceptionally
remarkable responses to stress. Those are independently fight or-flight response and the tend-
and-progress toward becoming companions with response. Fight or-flight response is an
excited and behavioral response to stress that manufactures readiness to movement while
tend-and-turn into a nearby social contact with response is a behavioral reaction to stress that
incorporates practices expected to make casual groups that give security from threats
(Introduction to Psychology). Character matters when responding to stress. People who
experience strong adverse sentiments along these lines of standard annoys (stressors) and
respond with undermining vibe are likely going to experience pessimistic prosperity comes
about. One of the antagonistic prosperity comes about that these people experience is heart
strike. Heart strike is deadly; it can be an outcome of postponed tension yet essentially an
eventual outcome of how an individual responded to push. Men as a general rule respond to
stress thusly. The energy that men experience when they are centered around leads them to
either go on the strike, in a powerful or demanding requital way, or else pull back as quick as
they can to security from the stressor. The fight or-flight response licenses men to control the
wellspring of the uneasiness if they need to do all things considered, or if that is unrealistic, it
grants them to cover any clue of disappointment face by leaving the condition. The fight or-
flight response is actuated in men by the institution of the HPA axis (Introduction to
Psychology). Women, on the other hand, are less likely to take a fight-or-flight response to
stress. Rather, they are more likely to take a tend-and-befriend response. This approach is also
self-protective because it allows the individual to talk to others about her concerns, as well as
to exchange resources, such as child care. The tend-and-befriend response is triggered in
women by the release of the hormone ocytocin, which promotes affiliation. Overall, the tend-
and-befriend response is healthier than the flight-or-flight response because it does not
produce the elevated levels of arousal related to the HPA, including the negative results that
accompany increased levels of cortisol. This may help explain why women, on average, have
less heart disease and live longer than men (Introduction to Psychology). In all cases, there exist
exceptions. There are men who behave like women, and women who behave like men. Men
who behave like women are less likely to have fight-or-flight response, and women who behave
like men are more likely to have fight-or-flight response. As it was mentioned above, only
personality matters. Other effects of stress include serious headache, fever, exhaustion, and

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etc. The diagrambelow shows what happens to the body when it experiences fight or flight
response.
VI. Coping with Stress
Psychologists have perceived two important courses in which people cope with stress. In the
principle approach, a person may persist or deny the expert uneasiness; this is the uninvolved
approach. Then again, a person may defy the substances of the refined uneasiness and clear up
the issue through game plans with various people. This is the dynamic approach. Investigators
have accumulated the ways people adjust to stress into four characterizations. In any case, they
may fight the substances of experienced uneasiness; they endeavor to fight remembering the
true objective to fulfill what they require. Second, they may flight or leave what make them feel
centered. Third, they may lessen their stress through such activities like social support, and
religious presentation. Finally, they may decide to accept their life as it is (Baqutayan, Stress
and Coping Mechanisms: A Historical Overview, 2015). We can ask ourselves, which one of
these four categories is applicable to cope with academic stress. Lazarus and Folkman
concentrate on two types of coping strategies: problem-focused coping and emotion-focused
coping. In the problem-focused coping, efforts are made to change the stressful situations
Figure 1 Gore, R. (n.d.). Fight or flight response [Photograph showing what happens to the body when
it gives fight or flight response.]. Retrieved from http://www.thinklikeahorse.org/flight_or_fight.html

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through problem solving, decision-making and/or direct action. In emotion-focused coping,
attempts are made to regulate distressing emotion, sometimes by changing the meaning of the
stressful situation cognitively without actually changing the situation (Folkman & Lazarus,
1985). The best option to cope with academic and work-related stress is problem-focused
coping. Scholars and employees need to take part in changing stressful situation through
problem solving, decision-making or a direct action (Baqutayan, Stress and Coping Mechanisms:
A Historical Overview, 2015).
According to Oregon State University, there are six strategies that help individuals to manage
stress:
1. Avoid unnecessary stress (Oregon State University, 2011)
 Learn how to say “no”: An individual should know his or her limits and stick to them.
Notwithstanding whether in your own particular life or master life, you should decrease to
recognize included obligations at whatever point you are close reaching them. Taking more
than you can manage is key inspiration driving why people are stressed.
 Avoid people who stress you out: A couple people are the essential inspiration driving why
you are usually stressed. If some individual dependably aims stress in your life and you
cannot turn the relationship around, limit the measure of time you proceed with that
individual or end the relationship completely. This is one of the stress of the
inconsequential stresses the length of you are aware of your life.
 Take control of your environment
 Avoid hot-button topics: These are topics that make you upset. You should not be at places
where these topics are being discussed.
 Pare down a to-do list: You should make a to do list and stick to it. This list reminds you
tasks that you have to complete in given time. It will help you to overcome stress that rises
when you have forgotten to do something really important.
2. Alter the situation (Oregon State University, 2011)
 Express your inclination as opposed to restraining them: Express your feelings instead of
keeping quiet and hide who you really are.
 Compromise: When you ask for that some individual change his or her lead, basically
guarantee that you do a comparable thing. In case you both are will to bend no not as much
as a bit, you will have an OK shot of finding a lively focus ground.
 Be more responsible: Don't take a rearward sitting game plan in your own specific life. You
should be fit for your own life. Oversee issues head on, doing your best to expect and
thwart them. If you should do an exam soon, you need to contemplate for it and get
prepared. You should avoid unrestrained level mates or give them little of your time.
 Manage your time better.

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3. Adapt to the stress (Oregon State University, 2011)
 Reframe problems: Try to view stressful situations from a more positive perspective.
 Look at the big picture.
 Adjust your standards: Perfectionism is a significant wellspring of avoidable stress. Stopped
setting yourself for disillusionment by asking for perfection. Set sensible measures for
yourself and in addition other individuals, and make sense of how to favor of "satisfactory.
 Focus on the positive.
4. Accept the things that you cannot change (Oregon State University, 2011)
 Do not try to control the uncontrollable: There will always be things that are beyond your
capacity.
 Look for the upside: When facing major challenges, try to look at them as opportunities for
personal growth. If your own poor choices contributed to t a stressful situation, reflect on
them and learn from your mistakes.
 Share your feelings: You should not keep quiet in case you are stressed. Try to communicate
as someone else can help you out.
 Learn to forgive: Sometimes, forgiving is the only step to make when you want to get rid of
stress. It happens that we are stressed out after failing to forgive others. If you have a habit
of not forgiving; you should learn how to forgive. You should find it in your heart.
5. Make time for fun and relaxation (Oregon State University, 2011)
 Set aside relaxation time.
 Connect with others.
 Do something you enjoy every day.
 Keep your funny slant.
6. Adopt a healthy lifestyle (Oregon State University, 2011)
 Exercise regularly.
 Eat a healthy diet.
 Reduce caffeine and sugar: The temporary high levels of caffeine and sugar intake end-up
with a crash in mood and energy. By reducing the amount of coffee, soft drinks, chocolate,
and sugar snacks in your diet, you will feel more relaxed and you will sleep better.
 Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs.
 Get enough sleep.
There are many benefits of managing stress. It is true that one of the most important skills we
can learn is the right way to manage stress. Once the skills are in place, moods become more
stable, thoughts become clearer, relationships improve, and the risk of illness diminishes
(Collingwood, 2017).

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References
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http://www.healthcentral.com/anxiety/c/1443/153191/stress-fatigue/
Baqutayan, D. S. (2015). Stress and Coping Mechanisms: A Historical Overview. Mediterranean
Journal of Social Sciences, 479.
Baqutayan, D. S. (2015, March 1). Stress and Coping Mechanisms: A Historical Overview.
Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences, 6 No 2 S1(Stress), 481-482. Retrieved March
13, 2017, from www.mcser.org/journal/index.php/mjss/article/download/5927/5699
Collingwood, J. (2017, February 25). The Benefits of Stress Management. Retrieved from Psych
Central: https://psychcentral.com/lib/the-benefits-of-stress-management/
Introduction to Psychology. (n.d.). In Saylor, Introduction to Psychology (p. 507). The Saylor
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Introduction to pyschology. (n.d.). In Saylor, Introduction to pyschology (p. 6). The Saylor
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Merriam-Webster Inc. (n.d.). Dictionary/psychology. Retrieved from Merriam-Webster:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/psychology
Oregon State University. (2011). Stress management. Retrieved from Academic Success Center:
http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm
Rich Neil, S. H. (2011). Competition stress and emotions in sport performers: The role of further
appraisals. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 460-470.