NORTHWESTERN

UNIVERSITY

CONTENT STANDARD:
Stress and its sources; various stress responses; and coping strategies for
healthful living in middle and late adolescence.
PERFORMANCE STANDARD:
Identify personal ways of coping for healthful living.

COPING WITH STRESS IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE

At the end of the lesson, the students will be able to:

a. discuss that understanding stress and its sources during adolescence may
help in identifying ways to cope and have a healthful life;
b. identify sources of one’s stress and illustrate the effect of stress on one’s
system; and
c. demonstrate personal ways of coping with stress for healthful living.

INTRODUCTION:  

We all have certain things, situations, or people that cause us to lose our composure
from time to time. Determine what causes you to lose your cool by completing this activity.
When you begin to identify your stressors, you can become skilled at preventing negative
consequences. Place a ✓next to each factor that causes your stress.

______________ being late ______________ losing something valuable

______________ too much homework ______________ parents fighting
______________ speaking in public ______________ taking test
______________ arguments with friends ______________ video games
______________ restrictions at home ______________ getting an injection
______________ lack of sleep ______________ loud people
______________ pimples ______________ baby crying
______________ boredom ______________ a friend betrays you

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COPING WITH STRESS IN MIDDLE AND LATE ADOLESCENCE

Stress is common among teenagers. Recognizing stress and at the same time learning how
to reduce them are important life skills for teenagers.

What is stress?
It is the way your body responds to challenges and gets you
ready to face them with attention, energy and strength. It gets you
ready for action. When you feel you can cope with these challenges,
stress gives you the motivation to get things done. But there can be
problems when your stress is greater than your ability to cope.

Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come

from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or
nervous.
Stress is your body's reaction to a challenge or demand. In
short bursts, stress can be positive, such as when it helps you avoid
danger or meet a deadline. But when stress lasts for a long time, it
may harm your health.

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Considerations

Stress is a normal feeling. There are two main types of stress:

1. Acute stress. This is short-term stress that goes away quickly. You feel it when you slam on
the brakes, have a fight with your partner, or ski down a steep slope. It helps you manage
dangerous situations. It also occurs when you do something new or exciting. All people have
acute stress at one time or another.

2. Chronic stress. This is stress that lasts for a longer period of time. You may have chronic
stress if you have money problems, an unhappy marriage, or trouble at work. Any type of
stress that goes on for weeks or months is chronic stress. You can become so used to chronic
stress that you don't realize it is a problem. If you don't find ways to manage stress, it may lead
to health problems.

What are the signs of stress to teenagers?

According to Penetrante (2016), there are behavioral, emotional, physical, and mental signs
of stress. Behavioral signs include withdrawal from friendship groups or activities that the
adolescent usually enjoys; seemingly nervous or anxious; sleeping too little or too much; eating
more “comfort foods”; eating less; wanting to be by herself or himself more than usual; crying;
refusing to go to school; having emotional ‘ups and downs’ for no obvious reason; having less
energy than usual; drinking more caffeinated products or taking over-the-counter painkillers –
paracetamol, codeine or ibuprofen; being aggressive; going down in schoolwork or results; not
caring about appearance; behaving differently in relationships with parents-for example and
suddenly not talking to you.
In addition, teenagers might also manifest some emotional changes such as being cranky
or moody; feeling sad, down or hopeless; feeling worthless; finding it hard to relax or switch
off; getting angrier more than usual; feeling that ‘nothing’ is going right and on an ‘emotional
rollercoaster ride’.
Subsequently, there are also physical signs of stress such as; feeling sick--- for example,
headaches, shoulder pains, stomach aches, jaw pains; not being hungry; feels more tired than
usual, even if she’s getting enough sleep; losing or gaining weight; getting frequent colds and
infections; having panic attacks, dizzy spells, and fast breathing.
Furthermore, stress can also affect the mental and thinking state of the teenagers.
Changes such as finding it hard to concentrate and stay focused; losing the thread of thoughts
or conversations; having trouble remembering things; making snap decisions or errors in

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judgment; having trouble organizing and planning or making decisions; and, getting
confused or irrational are observed among stressed teenagers.

What are the causes of stress?

For teenagers, stress may be caused by their academic worries, how they can get ahead of
school in times of Covid-19 Pandemic, looking after and taking care of their younger siblings,
household chores, their friends, family conflict, Facebook and online concerns, how they look
physically, bullying, discrimination, some financial and economic issues in the family, conformity
with the peer groups, high personal expectations from parents, teachers and friends, and the
like.
Other causes of stress includes the following:
 Being unhappy in your job
 Having a heavy workload or too much responsibility
 Working long hours
 Having poor management, unclear expectations of your work, or no say in the
decision-making process
 Working under dangerous conditions
 Being insecure about your chance for advancement or risk of termination
 Having to give speeches in front of colleagues
 Facing discrimination or harassment at work, especially if your company isn't
supportive

The Long-Term Effects of Stress

If you’re often under stress, you need to learn to manage it well. Stress can affect your
well-being. Over time, you may show some of these symptoms of being stressed:

1. Physical. Frequent colds or flu, headaches, trouble sleeping, muscle tension, skin

problems, trouble with digestion
2. Mental. Poor concentration, forgetfulness, learning problems, frequent negative
thoughts, speech problems
3. Emotional. Anxiety, depression, anger, irritability, feelings of helplessness, lack
of purpose, relationship troubles

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4. Behavioral. Eating poorly, driving recklessly, abusing alcohol or
drugs, being accident prone, showing aggression

If you don't believe you are successfully managing the stressors in your life, get help
from your healthcare provider or a mental health professional.  There are many effective
strategies that can help you adjust your environment and get your stress level under better
control.

Ways to Cope with Stress

There are suggestions on how an adolescent cope with stress from American Psychological
Journal (2014):

1. Get enough time for sleep. After doing assignments, activities and hanging out with friends,
it can be hard to get enough sleep, especially during school days. Ideally, adolescents must get
at least nine hours of sleep every night. However, there is a need to cut back watching TV or
engaging in a lot of screen time in the evening to maximize the change sleeping soundly.

2. Focus on your strength. Focus on your time thinking about the things you are good at and
find ways to do more of those things. If you are good in dancing, you might as well volunteer
as dance tutor in your school. Focusing on your strengths will help you keep your stresses in
perspective.

3. Engage in physical activity. The most effective stress reliever or busters is your physical
activity. Engage in any physical activities you enjoy and build them into your routine.

4. Do things that make you happy. Do whatever you like or love to do (your hobbies) or just
listening to music, it relaxes you or seeing movies, or anything which you may find interesting
and relaxing.

5. Talk to someone. Talk to your friends or anyone whom you feel comfortable with or to
trusted adults. It helps you manage your stress. There are those who felt relieved when they
had shared their stories to trusted friends and adults.

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Checkpoint 1

Instruction : Write TRUE if the statement is correct. Otherwise, write FALSE.

_______ 1. Stress and anxiety are the same thing.

_______ 2. The causes of stress are essentially the same for everyone.

_______ 3. Being easily annoyed and unusually irritable can be an emotional warning sign of
too much stress.

_______ 4. Losing weight can be a sign of too much stress.

_______ 5. Chronic stress can contribute to depression.

_______ 6. Managing your expectations can help you cope with stress.

_______ 7. Anxiety is always a negative, harmful emotion.

_______ 8. Men are twice as likely as women to have a generalized anxiety disorder.

_______ 9. Stress and anxiety cannot be treated.

_______ 10. Stress can be harmful to your health.

Self Assessment Check

Instruction : Answer the following questions briefly but substantially.

1. Why is it important to know and meet the challenges and demands of adolescence?

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2. What challenges and demand of adolescence do you consider as quite hard for you to face?
Why?

Job well done, Northwesternian!

Resources: Reference Book and Online Sources

https://www.fairview.org/patient-education/85163

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