PASSIONIST SISTERS’ SCHOOL (GENSAN), INC.

Upper Cahilsot, Calumpang, General Santos City

Personal Development
S.Y. 2020-2021
Grade Eleven

Name: __________________________________________________________ Date Submitted: ___________

Week 5 Title of the Lesson:
Coping with Stress in Middle and Late Adolescence

What I Need to Know?

Learning Objectives:
 Identify causes and effects of stress in one’s life.
 Demonstrate personal ways to cope with stress and maintain mental health.
 Appreciate and value one’s self.

What I Know?

Pre-test. Answer the questions below.

A. Complete the following phrases.
1. Stress is ___________________________________________________________________________________.
2-3. The two types of stress are __________________________ and ______________________________.
4. Walter Cannon, an American physiologist, calls stress as the ________________________________.
5. When stress becomes so overwhelming and leads to a sense of helplessness and exhaustion, it
is called as ______________________.
B. Give what is asked.
1. What are the three phases of “fight or flight” syndrome?
a.
b.
c.
2. What are the two common coping strategies?
a.
b.
3. What are the ways to overcome stress?
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.

What’s In?

Review: Analyze the picture below.

How does having a healthy mental health affect you
in becoming a responsible adult?
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________
__________________________________________________

1
 What’s New?

Activity 1: The Fruit and the Worm. Follow the instructions below and answer the questions that
follow.
1. If you were a fruit, what kind of fruit would you be? Draw the fruit that you like the most
inside the box.
2. Think of the stressors that you usually encounter. For each stressor, draw one worm around
the fruit. You can draw as many worms you want.

Questions:
1. In what ways can you relate with the fruit?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. What happens to the fruit when there are worms inside it? How does it look?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________

What Is It?

Discussion of Activity 1

Everyone experience stress every single day.

Adolescents face many challenges and difficulties ranging
from physical, to social and emotional problems.
Sometimes, stress becomes too heavy to bear that it
gradually takes a toll on one’s mental and emotional
health. We cannot escape stress.
We cannot escape stress. We will often encounter it
at home, in school, and in other places we go to. How can
our experience become stressful to us? What are the
things we can do to cope with stress? Let us find out in
this lesson.

What is Stress?

Stress is a natural response to the demands of our

environment. To put it more succinctly, stress is a
physiological response to a physical or psychological threat. It

2
is a normal reaction to anything that can disturb our balance, commonly termed as homeostatic
state or equilibrium.

Stress is the body’s 911 system.

Stress in and of itself is neither positive nor negative.
It is our perception of that stimulus which determines whether a situation is stressful.
Some event that is exciting and pleasurable to one person may be painfully stressful to another.
Stress is any kind that change causes us to make adjustments.
Stress is how our body responds to pressures, responsibilities, and threats (real or imagined).

Types of Stress
1. Eustress. This consists of our everyday stresses and is considered as good or positive stress
because of the benefits it brings to the people who experience it. It is a stress that can
challenge and motivate you to find creative solutions to your concerns.
Consequences of Eustress
 It can help improve performance of work.
 It can excite and stimulate the individual.
 It helps increase motivation.
 It helps increase energy.
2. Distress. This is a form of negative stress that is experienced when the situation or event is
threatening or overwhelming and one’s abilityy to cope is inadequate. It is when stress
becomes so overwhelming and leads to a sense of helplessness and exhaustion.
Consequences of Distress
 It can decrease the performance of work.
 It will cause anxiety, worry, and concern.
 It creates an unpleasant feeling.
 It can be a cause of mental problem.
 It can have physical and health consequences.

Sources of Stress
A stressor is but anything that induces a stress response. It may
be physical, mental, emotional, social, psychological, economic, or even
spiritual in nature.
Examples:
Physical Appearance – height, weight, body figure, skin problems
School/Academic pressure – quizzes, assignments, projects,
examination, reports
Social/Peer pressure
Loss – loss of a loved one, break-ups, separation
Frustration – failure to reach to goals
Romantic relationships – love quarrels, arguments, conflicts,
emotional roller coaster
Family Changes - Marriage/divorce, children, death, moving
Work Changes - New Job/Boss, unemployment
Environmental Changes - War, natural disaster, relocation
Future

Effects of Stress
The effect of stress cannot be easily felt except in cases of
trauma where the incident happens quickly and intensely such
as a car accident or parental separation. Stressors that happen almost everyday take time before
they finally take a toll on our health. Sometimes we get used to it that we simply ignore the signs of
stress. Our body and our mind can no longer take the pressure, thus, causing fatigue that
eventually lowers the immune system.

Effect of
Symptoms
stress in:
Cognitive Having memory problems, being unable to concentrate, having poor judgment,

3
 seeing only the negative, being anxious, and worrying constantly
Moodiness, irritability or short temper, agitation or restlessness, feeling of being
Emotional
overwhelmed, sense of loneliness and isolation, and depression or unhappiness.
Body aches, and pains, diarrhea or constipation, nausea and dizziness, chest pain,
Physical
rapid heartbeat, and frequent colds.
Eating more or less, sleeping too much or too little, isolating yourself from others,
procrastinating, neglecting responsibilities, drinking alcoholic beverages, smoking
Behavioral
cigarettes, taking illegal drugs, or playing computer for several hours, and having
nervous habits such as nail biting and pacing restlessly.
Relationship Less able to cope with others, needs, problems at home, impatient, intolerant,
s wanting to be left alone, over controlling towards others, need to “lean” on others

Stress Responses

a. Fight or Flight Syndrome by Walter Cannon

Walter Cannon, an American physiologist, calls stress as the
“fight or flight” syndrome (1939). It is a physiologic reaction
accompanied by a faster heart rate, muscle tension, or dilation of
pupil when a person perceives threat in order to survive danger.
The “fight or flight” syndrome is our initial reaction to stress. One
option to survive in the presence of a threat is by fighting back.
When the fight or flight stress response is elicited, our
sympathetic nervous system instantly becomes engaged in
generating multitude of physiological changes including
adrenaline surge, release of cortisol, redirection of blood
towards the major body organs, and heightened pulse
rate, metabolism, breathing rate, and blood pressure these
enable us to either fight or flee from the stressful event or
situation.

However, when this response is frequently

stimulated, this can be harmful and may result in uncomfortable physiological changes such as
headache, upset stomach, muscle tension, and shallow breathing. When the body does not go back
to its pre-stressed levels, the condition may lead to more serious health problems.

b. General Adaptation Syndrome by Hans Selye

Hans Selye, an Austrian- Canadian endocrinologist, proposed the General Adaptation Syndrome
(GAS) to explain our body’s response to stress (1974). You probably remember that there was a
burst of energy at the onset of a stressor, followed by a resistance or attempt to adapt to the
stressor, and finally a feeling of tiredness or fatigue when the energy is already adapted.
Example:
Stages/Phases:
Suppose your parents often quarrel, but before the
actual fight, you sense that the atmosphere gets tense
and you become upset. This is the alarm stage,
signalling that there is a problem starting to brew in
your family environment. Yet, you try to ignore it and
pretend that it does not affect you – the resistance
stage. However, your parents’ conflict continued on
with their fighting day after day until you are fed up
listening to their squabbles. You now enter the
exhaustion stage where you feel that you have
become tired and stressed out. Now you react to the
stressful situation by going out with friends.

The body’s resistance to stress differ depending on the individual’s capacity to contain its
effects of their flexibility to adapt to their situation. The ill effects of stress occur only when the
individual fails to adapt and gets exhausted by chronic or prolonged stress in life.

4
 When stress becomes a threat or perceived as
dangerous, the stressor signals our body by alerting it
and increasing our energy level. We try to resist or
fight back stress until our energy is finally depleted.

The General Adaptation Syndrome showing how our body goes through stages in reaction to stress.

c. Relaxation response by Dr. Herbert Benson

Dr. Herbert Benson, the founder of Harvard’s Mind/Body
Medical Institute, coined the term “relaxation response”. Relaxation
response is the body’s capacity to release chemical’s and brain signals
that slow down the movements of muscles and organs, thereby
boosting the flow of blood to the brain. Relaxation response puts a
halt on the physiological responses, thereby by bringing back the
body and mind into a state of equilibrium.
The relaxation response can be considered as the counterpart
of the fight or flight response. Formerly called meditation, it is deemed
beneficial in neutralizing the wide variety of physiological effects of stress. Meditation is believed to
have good health benefits as regular dose of it lowers stress levels. Relaxation response is thus
described as an effective treatment to various stress-related disorders. Learning the skills related to
this kind of stress response is believed to be helpful in dealing with life’s unexpected stressors,
healing oneself, and achieving better health condition.

Common Coping Strategies

People differ in their coping styles. One may evaluate a situation as threatening but another
person may not see it that way. Richard Lazarus, an American psychologist and professor, defines
coping as a cognitive or behavior response to stress aimed at managing or reducing stress. There
are basically two coping strategies normally used by individuals.

1. Problem-focused approach. This strategy

fundamentally involves focusing on the source
of the stress. This may include trying to analyze
the situation and making the extra effort or
working harder to solve the problem.
Confronting or communicating with the direct
source of stress is also under this strategy.

2. Emotion-focused strategy. This approach

encompasses concentrating on one’s feeling or emotion brought about by the stress instead
of facing the actual source of stress. A person subscribes to this strategy when he or she
accepts the stress but mopes around, keeps on complaining, or blames herself/himself or
others for the stressful event. This approach may also entail resorting to drinking alcohol,
taking drugs, and other forms of escaping the stressful situation. Evidently, this strategy is
not advisable.
Emotion-focused coping behavior Problem-focused coping behavior
Eating more or less Talking with the person concerned
Sleeping more or sleeping less Researching about the topic
Excessive playing of computer games Talking with friends about their opinion
Talking Crying, shouting strategizing

Thus, coping responses differ from one individual to another and different situations call for
various ways of responding.

Other tips on coping with Stress

a. Engaging in physical activities

b. Doing activities that are relaxing
c. Acquiring social support

5
 d. Getting ample rest and sleep
e. Being realistic
f. Thinking positively
g. Learning the art of resilience
h. Pampering oneself

Indicators that you have Successfully Handled Stress

a. Emotional Stability
b. Being tactful
c. Doing well in school
d. Learning to say “no”

What’s More?

Enrichment Activities: A. Read the text below and answer the questions that follow.

Ana met her friend, Marie, at the mall. “Hi, Marie, how are you?” greeted Ana. “Oh, I’m good,
thanks” answered Marie forcing a smile on her face. Marie is a college freshman and works at a fast
food chain in the evening. Her father has a disability and had to stay home. Her mother earns a living
through a small business. To compensate for their tight finances, she decides to get a part-time job.
She takes a night shift to work and attends her classes in the morning.

When they parted ways, Ana felt worried and thought that Liza might be undergoing some
problems. She looks tired, haggard, sad and lacks the bubbly spirit that she used to have. Could she
be going through stressful times these days?

Processing Questions:

1. What do you think happened to Marie?

___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How did Marie’s problems affect her?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What were the signs that Marie is going through hard times?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
4. If you were Marie’s friend, how are you going to help her?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
5. If you were Marie, how would you cope up with your situation?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________

B. How Vulnerable Are You to Stress?

The following test was developed by psychologists Lyle H. Miller and Alma Dell Smith at Boston
University Medical Center.

Score each item from 1 (almost always) to 5 (never), according to how much of the time each
statement applies to you.

Item Score
1. I eat at least one hot, balanced meal a day.
2. I get seven to eight hours of sleep at least four nights a week.
3. I give and receive affection regularly.
4. I have at least one relative within 50 miles on who I can rely.
5. I exercise to the point of perspiration at least twice a week.
6. I smoke less than half a pack of cigarettes a day.

6
7. I take fewer than five alcoholic drinks a week.
8. I am the appropriate weight for my height.
9. I have an income adequate to meet basic expenses.
10. I get strength from my religious beliefs.
11. I regularly attend club or social activities.
12. I have a network of friends and acquaintances.
13. I have one or more friends to confide in about personal matters.
14. I am in good health (including eye-sight, hearing, teeth).
15. I am able to speak openly about my feelings when angry or worried.
16. I have regular conversations with the people I live with about domestic problems, e.g.,
chores, money, and daily living issues.
17. I do something for fun at least once a week.
18. I am able to organize my time effectively.
19. I drink fewer than three cups of coffee (or tea or cola drinks) a day.
20. I take quite time for myself during the day.
TOTAL

To get your score, add up the figures and subtract 20. Any number over 30 indicates a
vulnerability to stress. You are seriously vulnerable if your score is between 50 and 75, and
extremely vulnerable if it is over 75.
C. Awareness of Stress. Try to recall the time that you stressed. Identify your stressors and list
each one on the lines provided below.

Stressor Type of Stressor

1. _________________________________________________ _______________________________
2. _________________________________________________ _______________________________
3. _________________________________________________ _______________________________
4. _________________________________________________ _______________________________
5. _________________________________________________ _______________________________

D. Assessment of Coping Strategies. Evaluate the strategies you commonly use to cope with
stressful conditions. Put a cross (X) inside the box if it is not effective, and a check (/) if you think
that it is helpful.

1. ___________________________________ 4. ___________________________________

2. ___________________________________ 5. ___________________________________

3. ___________________________________

E. Encircle the letter of the correct answer.

1. Stress and anxiety are the same thing.
a. True
b. False
2. Stress doesn’t serve any purpose now.
a. True
b. False
3. You have some control over how stress affects you.
a. True
b. False
4. Being stressed all the time can help you fight off colds.
a. True
b. False
5. Stress is linked to diabetes.
a. True
b. False

6. Stress caused by daily life can lead to health problems.

7
 a. True
b. False
7. Chronic stress can affect your waistline.
a. True
b. False

What I Have Learned?

Generalization. Answer the questions below.

1. How does your attitude and approach to different things affect you in overcoming stress?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
2. How is stress psychological? Physiological?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What are the bodily signs that indicate you are undergoing stress? How did you overcome
them?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
4. Why is it important to determine the sources of stress and its effects among adolescents?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
5. What is the significance of learning how to cope with stress?
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________________

8
 What I Can Do?

Application: Read the situations below. Identify the positive and negative thoughts, feelings, and
behaviors. The first one is done for you.
Event/Situation Positive Thought Positive Feelings Positive Behaviors
Academic life “I feel so much Calm, confident, Checks if
(Final examination pressure compared to hopeful notes/materials for
period) last time but I know I review are complete.
can do it because I Joins study groups.
studied really hard for Consults classmates
this exam. and teachers on topics
that are harder to
understand.
Spends more time
studying.
Negative Thought Negative Feelings Negative Behaviors
“Have I studied Worried, panicky, Crams at the last
enough? What if the tense minute
teacher includes those Nervous behavior
I neglected to study? I Neglects to eat
will fail!”
School life with friends Positive Thought Positive Feelings Positive Behaviors
(a friend betrayed you)
Negative Thought Negative Feelings Negative Behaviors

Family Positive Thought Positive Feelings Positive Behaviors

(Financial instability)
Negative Thought Negative Feelings Negative Behaviors

B. Read the situations below and identify the possible coping strategy to use.
1. Anna is an adolescent studying for the first time in Manila. Consider his background in
answering: he was born and grew up in a small barrio in the province; his parents are both farmers;
his tuition fees and other expenses are being shouldered by the limited scholarship that he was able
to secure; he is shy and timid and feels insecure because of his inability to communicate well in
English.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. Michelle is an orphan at an early age. Her parents died in a plane crash. From then on, she is a
scholarship grantee of her school in exchange of maintaining high grades. One day, she met a group
of girls inviting her to join in their sorority. At first, she hesitated but later, she joined.
Unfortunately, her grades start to fall. She failed to attend her classes. She was called by the Dean
and was informed of the dismissal of her scholarship if her academic performance will not change.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

9
 Assessment

Post Assessment. A. Identify what is asked. Write your answers on the blanks provided before
the number.

_______________ 1. He introduced the fight or flight response.

_______________ 2. In this strategy to manage or cope with stress, the focus is on the source of the
stress.
_______________ 3. The type of stress which helps to bring out the best in an individual.
_______________ 4. The effect of stress manifested through impatience, irritability, and moodiness.
_______________ 5. The two coping strategies.
_______________ 6. A natural response to the demands of our environment.
_______________ 7. A term used to describe the cause of stress.
_______________ 8. A type of coping that requires strategizing to solve a problem.
_______________ 9. The founder of Harvard’s Mind/Body Medical Institute, coined the term
“Relaxation response”.
_______________ 10. A stress that can challenge and motivate you to find creative solutions to your
concerns.
B. Indicate if the statement is true or false.

_______________ 11. Every person has his or her own coping style.
_______________ 12. When a person is under stress, the cortisol level in the blood increases.
_______________ 13. Sleeping too much is a problem-focused style of coping.
_______________ 14. A little amount of stress can be helpful.
_______________ 15. What one perceives as stressful may not be stressful to another person.

Additional Activities

Additional Activity: Journal Writing No. 5. Write a journal entry about the causes of your stress
and how did you handle/manage it.
Focus Question: What causes you to experience stress and how did you handle it effectively?
Journal Writing No. 5

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
10
Prepared by:

Jowena S. Migue
Subject Teacher

References:
Personal Development by Myreen P. Cleofe
Personal Development by Aida Maria H. Perez
Personal Development: A Textbook and a Workbook for Senior High School by Jens Micah De Guzman and Maria Liza Samonte Nicolas
Actualizing the Adolescent: Values Approach To Personality Development

11