Coping with Stress: Part II

Activity 1: Positive Events

Here are the 10 positive events/activities that a person usually experiences in his/her lifetime. Try to
think of the stressors that may come from each. What makes each of these activities or events stressful?

1. Travelling- The unexpected problems and issues that occur during travel, especially while
traveling to or from a destination, cause stress for many travelers. Doing travel study, making
travel plans, designing an itinerary, and packing are all part of the planning stage. Money is
critical in travel because it can restrict where we go, how we get there, where we stay, and
what we can do once we arrive. Traffic delays, flight delays or cancellations, adverse weather,
natural disasters, lost baggage or missed booked reservations.
2. Going out with friends- A toxic friend is someone who makes you feel stressed when you're
around them. They're always competing with you, trying to change you, and they might be
ineffective, argumentative, or have unreasonable expectations of you. These habits can make
your stress and anxiety levels dangerously high.
3. Celebrating a birthday- Your birthday has a routine of becoming extremely stressful. If you're
throwing your own party, you'll have to make most of these decisions yourself but, if you ask
anyone else to do it, it can be overwhelming to place that much pressure on your friend. That
might not be your style, which is one of the reasons your birthday always seems to be
stressful.
4. Celebrating holidays- Every holiday's meal should be award-worthy, and every gift should be
beautifully wrapped. Finding the time to attend all of the events you've been invited to, or
feeling like you haven't been invited to enough, can be stressful. When you add in the financial
pressure, travel, and visits from family members, tension can easily mount.
5. Graduating from college- Feelings of failure if the new graduate is unable to find work in their
area of specialty in a reasonable length of time.
6. Getting engaged- There are some aspects of the engagement stage that can be stressful leading
up to the wedding. You may have an inner debate in which one part of you says, “Of course I
love him/her and want to marry him/her!” While the other half makes a number of
counter-arguments, such as "I'm not ready" or "How do I know s/he is the right partner for
me?" You could even come across yourself.
7. Getting married- May result in a lot of financial stress. You're concerned about paying for a
wedding, ensuring that your relatives are pleased with their financial contributions, finding a
new place to live, and a hundred other things.
8. Receiving a work promotion- May come from heavier workloads and extra responsibilities and
reduce leisure time.
9. Being assigned or elected as a leader- Leaders report that work is a primary source of stress in
their lives and that having a leadership role increases the level of stress. A lack of resources
and time are the most stressful leadership demands experienced by leaders.
10. Winning the lottery- When people know you have that much money, you're also in greater
danger of being robbed.
Activity 2: Effect of stress in different aspect of your life

When you're stressed, you may feel a range of emotions, such as anxiety, fear, rage, sadness, or
Emotional frustration. These emotions can also feed off of one another, resulting in physical symptoms that
make you feel even worse.
As an effect, the individual becomes overworked and suffers from stress-related tension. Physical
Physical signs of stress include headaches, stomachaches, high blood pressure, chest pain, and difficulty
sleeping. Stress may also cause or intensify certain symptoms or diseases.
If stress becomes too much and lasts too long, the likelihood of mental health and medical issues
Mental grow. Long-term stress raises the risk of mental health concerns like anxiety and depression, as well
as drug abuse issues, sleep issues, discomfort, and physical problems like muscle tension.
Our social lives are often affected by stress. When people are under a lot of stress or have been
Social under a lot of stress, they appear to withdraw from social situations and become irritable and
aggressive.
Since your brain is looking for the perceived danger and trying to come up with solutions for
Spiritual keeping healthy, people who are overwhelmed may have difficulty concentrating on important
situations. Your thoughts tend to turn pessimistic. You may find it challenging to complete
assignments, and critical reasoning may be thrown out the window.