CHAPTER 6

COPING WITH STRESS IN MIDDLE

AND LATE ADOLESCENCE
 STRESS
• Reaction of the mind and body to a stimulus that disturbs
the well-being, state of calm, or equilibrium of a person.
COMMON BELIEF
Stress = UNHEALTHY

But, Psychologists have agreed that

Small and Sporadic = HELPFUL & BENEFICIAL
amount of Stress
 POINTS OF VIEW ABOUT STRESS
A. STRESS AS A STIMULUS, RESPONSE, AND
RELATIONAL
 As a STIMULUS
o Stress is caused by situations that may be life
threatening or life changing
ex. Separation, moving to a new home. Etc
o Situations or events are often called STRESSORS
 As a RESPONSE
o The way the body reacts to challenging situations
o Involves the interactions between the hormones,
glands and nervous system.
Adrenal gland produces CORTISOL or “Stress hormone”
enables the body to produce the
energy needed to gear toward action
NOREPINEPHRINE – triggers the body’s reaction

Heart rate Prolonged situations w/ Cortisol

and Norepinephrine
Blood Pressure  Wear the body down fast
Causes fatigue
Respiration Aging
Illness by low immune system
 As RELATIONAL
o When a stressed person takes a step back to look
at the situation that is causing the stress and
assess it.
Means that when the person allows reasoning to prevail
and weigh the relevance or irrelevance of the situation

If relevance is (+) Person will look

at it in a more positive light

If relevance is (-) Will produce negative

emotions that may lead to stress
B. Healthy Stress
o Can motivate, energize, and spur and individual
into fruitful action
e.g. Speaking in front of an audience,
competing in sports

WHAT ARE THE USUAL

STRESSORS OF MIDDLE
AND LATE ADOLESCENCE?
 External Stressors – that come outside of you
e.g. situations, people and experience

 Internal Stressors - those coming from within

you
e.g.
thoughts you have that caused you to be
fearful
uncertainties about the future
lack of control over situations
even personal beliefs
 POSSIBLE STRESSORS A STUDENT FACES

 SCHOOL DEMANDS AND EXPECTATIONS

– Quizzes & Tests
– Home works & projects
– Oral recitation
– Quarterly and Final Exams
– Grades

Apparently, academic failure to most

students is never an option. How can one
cope with this?
We will discuss coping strategies later.
 SELECTING A SCHOOL, COLLEGE COURSE, OR
CAREER
o A SHS student who just graduated faces more
demanding challenges, and the first of these are
the:
 Entrance Exams
 Picking your Course

Some SHS Graduates go through

a guessing game as to where and
what they will end up doing after
college
 Separation Anxiety
o Graduation to some means temporary ending or
separation from some of their friends.
 A beshy/barkadas might move to another place or school
However, technology might ease a pain of separation
by online chat, text or call.
 College Life

Being by themselves
in new school
Another stress for
Meeting and adjusting
graduating students
to new people
 ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS OR THE LACK OF IT
o Adolescents have a tendency to feel awkward when they
are not in a special relationship with someone

RELATIONSHIP Good looking,

interesting, attractive
becomes a status symbol

 FAMILY DEMANDS & EXPECTATIONS

o To some adolescents, family ties can be stressors
o Adolescents are learning and yearning for Independence
and Autonomy
but, parents may not be ready to relinquish control
over their “baby”.
 o Some parents still decide for their children on
critical issues
e.g. What course to take in College

PARENTAL EXPECTATIONS ARE DIFFICULT TO

MEET, ESPECIALLY IF THESE COUNTER ONE’S
SELF-IDENTITY.
 HEALTH CONCERNS
o To some adolescents, health may be a problem
 Unwanted Pregnancy
 HIV
 Sexually transmitted diseases
 Unhealthy lifestyles, poor eating & sleeping
 DEMANDS OF SOCIAL LIFE
A common belief among adolescents

ALONE EMBARASSING

That’s why the need to belong is significantly important

for adolescents.
Forming groups or joining one makes an adolescent feel
safe & secure because it is an affirmation they are acceptable
to others.
To be in a group
One has to have a common interests w/ the other members
e.g. Honor list, common extra co. interests
In some cases, stressful group pressure sets
e.g. experimenting w/ drugs, alcohol and sex
 BULLYING
o Being bullied may cause emotional & psychological
trauma to the individual experiencing it.

o Some individuals learn to deal w/ bullying by fighting

back with the right attitude and words

o Bullies are often believed to have problems either at

their home or with themselves.
It is important to know what stresses you and
identify your stress situations or stressors.
Once you identified these, check yourself and
see how you are reacting or relating to the
stressor.

NOTE:
Avoid going into denial by
saying you are okay when you
really are not.
 COPING WITH STRESS
• Important mechanism in dealing with stress
• Helps avoid damages that may be caused by
severe or chronic stress
Can be,
PROBLEM-FOCUSED – solutions are thought of to
change the situation to lessen the stress
EMOTION-FOCUSED – the objective is to lessen
the emotional impact caused by the stressful
situation
 BOTH PROBLEM-FOCUSED & 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
Additional remedies
1. Seek spiritual growth
2. Have a worthwhile hobby
3. Watch a movie with friends
4. Have a nice, quiet walk w/ a family member
5. Assess your expectations, if doable & realistic
or not. Then adjust the expectation to what
you are capable of.
6. Believe in yourself.