TAKING CARE OF

ONE'S HEALTH -
STRESSORS AND
RESPONSES

BSMA 1-8
Presented by Group 5
TARGET OUTCOMES
1. Discuss the different causes and
sources of stress;
2. Manage the stress-related problems;
3. Discuss the negative and positive
effects of stress; and
4. Develop a stress management plan.
 STRESS
Stress is the body's reaction to
any change that requires an
adjustment or response. The
body reacts to these changes
with physical, mental, and
emotional responses. Stress is a
normal part of life. You can
experience stress from your
environment, your body, and
your thoughts.
 DIFFERENT CAUSES AND REASONS OF
STRESS
Being unhappy
Having a heavy workload or too much responsibility
Working long hours
Having poor management, unclear expectations, or no say in the
decision-making process
Working under dangerous conditions
Being insecure
Having to give speeches
Facing discrimination or harassment
 PHYSICAL RESPONSES
Physical stress includes the
problems that occurs in the body.

EMOTIONAL RESPONSES
(COGNITIVE AND BEHAVIOURAL)
These are thoughts and feelings
experienced during stressful
situations.
PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS OF STRESS
INCLUDE:
Low energy
Headaches
Upset stomach, including
constipation, and nausea
Aches, pains, and tense muscles
Chest pain and rapid heartbeat
Insomnia
Frequent colds and infections
Loss of sexual desire and/or ability
Nervousness and shaking, ringing in the ear,
cold or sweaty hands and feet
Dry mouth and difficulty swallowing
Clenched jaw and grinding teeth
High blood pressure
EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS OF
STRESS INCLUDE:
Becoming easily agitated, frustrated, and
moody
diarrhea, Feeling overwhelmed, like you are losing
control or need to take control
Having difficulty relaxing and quieting your
mind
Feeling bad about yourself (low self-esteem),
lonely, worthless, and depressed
Avoiding others
Changes in appetite
Nervous behaviours
Procrastinating
 STRESS INTERVENTIONS
Since stress is inevitable part of life, focus on
thins on how to combat it.

1. Take time out for you to relax.

2. Engage in activities that promote laughter.
3. Don't be afraid to say no if you feel overcommitted.
4. Practice deep breathing and meditation.
5. Get enough sleep, healthy foods, supplements and
exercise.
6. Keep a normal routine during a day.
7. Do your best to be surrounded by positice and
supportive people.
8. Realize that there is only so much in life that you
can control.
9. Seek for that CONSTANT love in your life.
 Develop Stress Management Plan
All of these ideas can lower stress without doing any harm. None are
quick fixes, but they will lead you toward a healthy and successful
life. The plan is divided into 4 parts.

Tackling the problem Taking care of my

body

Dealing with Making the world

emotions better
Part 1: Tackling
the problem
Point 1: Identify and Then
Address the Problem.

First decide if a problem

is a real tiger or just feels like
one. If it can’t hurt you
chances are that it can be
better handled with clear
thinking. This means turning
off those thoughts that make
you interpret the situation as a
disaster.
Point 2: Avoid stress when possible.

Sometimes we know exactly when we are

headed for trouble. Avoiding trouble from a
distance is easier than dealing with it up close. You
know the people who might be a bad influence on
you, the places where you’re likely to get in
trouble, and the things that upset you. Choose not
to be around those people, places, and things that
mess you up.

Point 3:Let some things go.

It's important to try to fix problems, but

sometimes there is nothing you can do to change a
problem
 Part 2: Taking Care of
My Body
Point 4: The Power of Exercise.

Exercise is the most important part of a plan to

manage stress.

Point 5: Active Relaxation.

You can flip the switch from being stressed to

relaxed if you know how to fool your body. Because
your body can only use the relaxed or emergency
nervous system at any one time, you can turn on the
relaxed system.
Point 6: Eat well.

Everyone knows good nutrition makes you healthier.

Point 7: Sleep well.

Most kids don’t get the sleep they need to grow and think clearly.
Part 3: Dealing with Emotions
Point 8: Take instant vacations.

Sometimes the best way to de-stress is to take your

mind away to a more relaxing place.

Point 9: Release emotional tension.

Sometimes feelings become so overwhelming that

we cram them all away in an imaginary box and think
we’ll deal with them later. But later, there’s so much
stuff in the box that there is too much to deal with
Part 4: Helping a little can
make your world better . . .
and help you feel better.
Point 10: Contribute.

Young people who work to make the world

better have a sense of purpose, feel good
about themselves, and handle their own
problems better.
 POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE
EFFECTS OF STRESS
Positive Stress
Good stress or positive stress is
called “eustress.” Eustress is the
spark that drives us to achieve more,
to improve the quality of our life, to
ask for a raise, to fight for justice, or
simply go on a holiday. So, here is a
list of positive effects of stress.
Negative Stress
Bad stress or negative stress (called
distress) results in the full-blown stress
response. If continuous, negative stress can
lead to loss of productivity, health problems,
and exhaustion.

It can increase short-term
immunity.
When your body responds to stress, it prepares
itself for the possibility of what is to come.
It boosts brainpower.
Low-level of stress helps in the production of
brain chemicals called neurotrophins and
strengthens the connection between neurons in
the brain.
It motivates you to succeed.
Eustress can be the thing you need to get your
job done at work. Think about a deadline staring
you in the face. It’s going to encourage your
behavior to manage the situation effectively and
more productively.
Positive Effects of Stress
It can make you stronger.
Dealing with manageable stressful situations can
make such situations in the future easier to
handle.
Makes you creative.
We feel stressed when we move onto a new path
because we are afraid of the unknown. Stress
pushes you to change, to fight, to grow and to
adapt.
It can enhance child development
Pregnant women often worry that their anxiety
will negatively affect their unborn babies. And it
sure can if it's constant. But if the stress levels
are moderate, they can in fact be good for the
child.
 Negative Effects of Stress
Stress symptoms may be affecting your health, even though
you might not realize it. You may think illness is to blame for
that irritating headache, your frequent insomnia or your
decreased productivity at work. But stress may actually be the
cause.
 TAKING CHARGE OF ONE'S
HEALTH - SOURCES OF
COPING AND STRENGTH
TARGET OUTCOMES

1. Differentiate the 2. Explain the different 3. Identify effective and 4. Discuss the negative
internal and external symptoms of stress; ineffective coping and positive effeccts of
stressors; responses and stress mechanisms.
mechanisms; and
 INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL
STRESSORS
Internal Stressors
There can be things going on
inside us that cause us stress e.g.
telling yourself you aren’t good
enough. These things can often be
within our control so we can
change them, e.g. appreciating
when you do something well
External Stressors
There are also things going in the
world around us which can cause
stress e.g. redundancy at work,
noisy neighbors. Often we may
have less control, however we can
sometimes take steps to reduce
this e.g. look for another job.

CAUSES OF
STRESS
Everyone has different stress
triggers. Work stress tops the list,
according to surveys. Forty percent
of U.S. workers admit to
experiencing office stress, and one-
quarter say work is the biggest
source of stress in their lives.
Life stresses can also have a big impact.
Examples of life stresses are:
• The death of a loved one
• Divorce
• Loss of a job
• Increase in financial obligations
• Getting married
• Moving to a new home
• Chronic illness or injury
• Emotional problems (depression, anxiety,
anger, grief, guilt, low self-esteem)
• Taking care of an elderly or sick family
member
• Traumatic event, such as a natural
disaster, theft, rape, or violence against
you or a loved one
 Sometimes the stress comes from inside, rather than
outside. You can stress yourself out just by worrying
about things. All of these factors can lead to stress:

Fear and uncertainty. When you regularly hear
about the threat of terrorist attacks, global warming,
and toxic chemicals on the news, it can cause you to
feel stressed, especially because you feel like you
have no control over those events. And even though
disasters are typically very rare events, their vivid
coverage in the media may make them seem as if
they are more likely to occur than they really are.
Fears can also hit closer to home, such as being
worried that you won't finish a project at work or
won't have enough money to pay your bills this
month.
Attitudes and perceptions. How you view the world
or a particular situation can determine whether it
causes stress. For example, if your television set is
stolen and you take the attitude, "It's OK, my
insurance company will pay for a new one," you'll be
far less stressed than if you think, "My TV is gone and
I'll never get it back! What if the thieves come back
to my house to steal again?" Similarly, people who
feel like they're doing a good job at work will be less
stressed out by a big upcoming project than those
who worry that they are incompetent.
Unrealistic expectations. No one is perfect. If you
expect to do everything right all the time, you're
destined to feel stressed when things don't go as
expected.

Change. Any major life change can be stressful --

even a happy event like a wedding or a job
promotion. More unpleasant events, such as a
divorce, major financial setback, or death in the
family can be significant sources of stress.

Your stress level will differ

based on your personality and
how you respond to situations.
Some people let everything roll
off their back. To them, work
stresses and life stresses are just
minor bumps in the road. Others
literally worry themselves sick.
 TYPES OF COPING SKILLS
Based on different areas of
focus:
1. Problem- Focused Strategy: rational
approach that attempts to change the
situation by changing either something
in the environment or how the person
interacts with the environment.
2. Emotion-Focused Strategy: tend to
make themselves feel better about a
problematic situation without changing
the problem itself or the perception of it.
May use mechanisms like: brooding,
imagining or magical thinking, avoiding or
denying; blaming or seeking social
approval.
Based on different areas of
focus:
1. Active Coping: involves an awareness of
the problem or situation causing stress
and conscious attempts to either reduce
the resulting stress, eliminate the source
of the stress, or both.
2. Avoidant Coping: They may be aware
that there is a problem or they may be in
denial about the problem.
 UNHEALTHY COPING
Fall into the avoidant category and the attack,
avoidance, defense, or self-harm groups
In general, unhealthy coping will actually create stress
or anxiety and damage self-confidence. (Boyes, 2013)

Acting out - not coping, but giving in to pressure to misbehave

Avoidance - mentally or physically avoiding potential sources of
stress
Denial - refusing to acknowledge the problem
Displacement - shifting of intended action to a safer target
Dissociation - separating oneself from parts of your life
Distancing - moving away from the problem
Emotionality - outbursts and extreme emotion
Fantasy - escaping reality into a world of
possibility
Help-Rejecting Complaining - asking for help
but rejecting it
Idealization - playing up the good points and
ignoring limitations of things desired
Intellectualization - avoiding emotion by
focusing on facts and logic
Passive Aggression - avoiding refusal by
passive avoidance
Performing Rituals - patterns that delay
dealing with the real problem
Projection - seeing your own unwanted
feelings or characteristics in others
Provocation - getting others to react so
you can retaliate
Rationalization - creating logical
reasons for bad behavior
Regression - returning to a child state to
avoid problems
Repression - subconsciously hiding
uncomfortable thoughts
Self-harming - intentionally physically
damaging the body
Somatization - psychological problems
turned into physical symptoms
Trivialization - making small what is
really something big
Some of these methods manifest in
unhealthy habits like:
Consuming too much caffeine
Smoking
Drinking to excess
Compulsive spending
Emotional eating
 POSITIVE COPING
Positive coping refers to coping styles or mechanisms
that result in less stress, increased well-being, and
effective handling of one’s problem.
Positive coping involves changing one’s perspective to
view it as an opportunity instead of a problem.
This generally requires a certain level of maturity and
an ability to accept one’s own faults without resorting
to self-blame.
 Types of Positive Coping
Styles
Immediate problem-solving - fix the immediate
cause of the stress
Root-cause solving - fix the underlying problem for
good
Benefit-finding - looking for the good amidst the bad
Spiritual growth - finding ways to turn the problem to
grow spiritually
 Mechanisms that can
contribute to positive coping:
Adaptation - human ability to adapt to different situations
Aim Inhibition - lowering one’s sights to what seems more
achievable
Altruism - helping others to help the self
Compartmentalization - separating conflicting thoughts into
separate compartments
Compensation - making up for a weakness in one area by gaining
strength in another
Conversion - subconscious conversion of stress into physical
symptoms
Crying - tears of release and seeking comfort
Identification - copying others to take on their characteristics
Post-traumatic Growth - using the energy of trauma for good
Sublimation - channeling psychic energy into acceptable activities
Substitution - replacing one thing for another
 REMEMBER:
Effective coping reduces stress, lessens the intensity of triggers,
allows one to face more challenges, become more productive and
engaged with other people.
Ineffective coping reduces ability to address stress, prevents one
from developing mental health, and harmful to overall
physical/mental health.