Managing Stress

image of comic

 

     Section A: What is Stress?

Stress is a physical, social, or psychological event that disrupts the body’s normal state and to which the body tries to adapt.  Tension is our body’s Fight or Flight response, and it is built into our DNA.  Feeling anxious can be your body's way of telling you to need to change some part of your life.  Stress is anything that happens to you that puts pressure on your mind and body and causes you to feel worried, uptight, or tense.

·       Fight ŕ to stay and deal with the situation

·       Flight ŕ to run away

The problem is that our bodies can overdo it and go into fight-or-flight mode when we are just a little anxious.  By ignoring a problem or running from it will not make it go away.

       Let’s Practice: Fight-or-Flight

 

 

          Section B: Types of Stress

 

There is positive and negative stress.  Positive stress provides an opportunity for personal growth, satisfaction, and well-being.  Negative stress can result in a buildup negative stressors like academic and athletic pressure.

·       Distress ŕ the destructive type that threatens your physical and emotional well-being; fear than excitement

·       Eustress ŕ good stress that motivates you to do your best; excitement than fear

School, money, friends, and the future are just a few of the factors that contribute to a person’s stress level.  Stress can affect your body, mind, and spirit. 

       Symptoms of Stress

·       Difficult to get out of the bed in the morning

·       Difficult to get to sleep in the evening

·       Eating issues

·       Headache

·       Stomach aches

·       Sweating

·       Cranking and Mean

·       Poor concentration

·       Depression

 

     Let’s Practice: Types of Stress

 

 

 

     Section C: General Adaptation Syndrome

 

 

In 1936, Hans Selye at McGill University defined these series of symptoms in the experiments with the rats as the General Adaptation Syndrome, which consists of three stages: the alarm stage, the resistance stage, and the exhaustion stage.

Stage One

Alarm Stage

·       Similar to the fight-or-flight response

·       Stressor disrupts bodies stability, temporarily lowering resistance

Stage Two

Resistance Stage

·       Body maintains a higher level of resistance

Stage Three

Exhaustion Stage

·       Body runs out of energy

·       Resistance drops below normal

 

            Coping Mechanism

·       Exercise

·       Extra sleep

·       Meditating

·       Breathing

·       Talk to a friend or adult you trust

·       Journal

·       Guided imagery

·       Massage

·       Laugh, Laugh, Laugh

 

     Unit Activity Log

Throughout this course, you will be given more examples of warm-ups, exercise activities, and cool downs.  If you have any questions or concerns at any time, please message your teacher.  Below is a chart on coping activities dealing with stress. The exercises are provided by “Centers for Disease Control and Prevention” that you can utilize to complete your "Unit Activity Logs."