Coping with Stress in Middle and

Late Adolescence
(Part 2)
January 27, 2017
Defining Stress

 Defined as the reaction of mind and body to a

stimulus that disturbs the well-being, state of calm,
or equilibrium of a person.
Points of View About Stress
Stress as Stimulus, Response and Relational

 Stress as a Stimulus
 Caused by situations that may be life threatening or life
changing

 Separation
 Moving into a new home
 Having a new job
Points of View About Stress
Stress as Stimulus, Response and Relational

 Stress as a Response
 The way the body reacts to challenging situations
 Involves the interactions between the hormones, glands,
and nervous system
 Production of cortisol
 Release of norepinephrine (increased heart rate, higher blood
pressure and respiration)
Points of View About Stress
Stress as Stimulus, Response and Relational

 Stress as a Response
 Prolonged chronic situations that involve both cortisol and
epinephrine will eventually affect the body to wear down
fast
 Prolonged chronic stress cause fatigue, aging, illness, low-
immune system
Points of View About Stress
Stress as Stimulus, Response and Relational

 Stress as a Relational
 A person experiencing stress takes a step back to look at
the situation that is causing the stress and assesses it.
 Positive and negative relevance
 Flight delay
 Positive: There is a purpose why things happen.
 Negative: Blaming the airline and look into lost opportunities
Healthy Stress

 Stress that can benefit a person

 Short and sporadic stress can propel to a necessary action
 Speaking in front of an audience
 Stage performance
 Competing in sports
 Bad stress can be transformed into good stress
Coping with Stress
Problem-focused and Emotional-focused Remedies

1. Conduct creative imagery of the problem

2. Seek group or social support
3. Get into relaxation activities
4. Create a situation where you can feel more relaxed
5. Learn to manage your time
6. Eat properly and regularly
7. Seek spiritual growth
8. Have a worthwhile hobby
9. Watch movie with friends
10. Have a nice quiet walk with family member after eating
11. Believe in yourself
Activity:

STRESS SURVIVAL KIT

1. Choose 3 objects or symbols that make you feel relaxed to include in your kit.
2. You can make the symbols.
3. You can use words or pictures.
4. You can bring an object from home.
5. Think about how the symbol helps you when you are dealing with stress and stressful
situations.
6. Write a paragraph for each symbol or object in your kit and how it helps you cope with
stress in your everyday life.

Sharing a part of your kit with peers.

Activity: PROJECT TO-DO-LIST
 Sample Project To-Do List
 Project Overview:
Psychology Term Paper
 Project Overview:
 Step 1: Find a Topic
 Tasks:
 Talk to the professor
 Check my textbook
 Peruse the available books and
journals at the library
 Step 2: Locate Research Materials
 Tasks:
 Use library databases to locate articles
 Check online databases
 Get articles (download, copy, order from
interlibrary loan)
 Step 3: Research Paper
 Tasks:
 Read articles, taking notes as I go
 Determine if I need references
 Piece together an outline of my paper based
on my notes
Activity: PROJECT TO-DO-LIST
 Now you do it!
 Project To-Do List
 Project Overview:
 Step 1: _____________________________
 Tasks:
  _______________________________
  _______________________________
  _______________________________
 Step 2:
 Tasks:
  _______________________________
  _______________________________
  _______________________________
 Step 3:
 Tasks:
  _______________________________
  _______________________________
  _______________________________
Assignment

 Project-To-Do
 With your group mates, plan your Grade 11 year-end fun day following the Project-To-Do
Template.
 Write this plan down.
 Then write a reflection on how your experience of planning changed with the use of the
planning tool.
 What did you notice about your group’s work?
 Was there a lot of stress in planning?
 How did your group reduce their stress level?
 How can you apply this planning method to other real-life projects?