Lesson 3:

Less Stress, More Care

LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
1. Explain the effects of stress to one’s health;
2. Examine cultural dimension of stress and coping;
and
3. Design a self-care plan.
ABSTRACTION
• Stress and Human Response
• Selye hypothesized a general adaptation or stress syndrome. This
general stress syndrome affects the whole body. Stress always
manifests itself by a syndrome, a sum of changes, and not by
simply one change.
• The general stress syndrome has three components:
1. The alarm stage
2. The stage of resistance
3. The exhaustion stage
• Stress diseases are maladies caused principally by errors in the
body’s general adaptation process.
• If stress is induced chronically, our defense response lowers its
resistance since fewer antibodies are produced and an
inflammatory response dwindles.

• The stress response begins in the brain.

• When someone experiences a stressful event, the amygdala, an

area of the brain that contributes to emotional processing, sends
a distress signal to the hypothalamus.

• The hypothalamus is a bit like a command center. This area of

the brain communicates with the rest of the body through the
autonomic nervous system.
The autonomic nervous system has two components:

The sympathetic nervous system triggers the fight-or-flight

response, providing the body with a burst of energy so that
it can respond to perceived dangers.

The parasympathetic nervous system promotes the “rest

and digest” response that calms the body down after the
danger has passed.
Techniques to Counter Chronic Stress
1. Relaxation response. These include deep abdominal breathing,
focus on a soothing word (such as peace or calm), visualization
of tranquil scenes, repetitive prayer, yoga, and tai chi.
2. Physical activity. People can use exercise to stifle the buildup of
stress in several ways. Exercise, such as taking a brisk walk
shortly after feeling stressed, not only deepens breathing but
also helps relieve muscle tension.
3. Social support. Confidants, friends, acquaintances, co-workers,
relatives, spouses, and companions all provide a life-enhancing
social net, and may increase longevity.
Self-care Therapy
1. Stop, breathe, and tell yourself: “This is hard and I will get through this one step at
a time.”
2. Acknowledge to yourself what you are feeling. All feelings are normal so accept
whatever you are feeling.
3. Find someone who listens and is accepting. You do not need advice. You need to
be heard.
4. Maintain your normal routine as much as possible
5. Allow plenty of time for a task.
6. Take good care of yourself. Remember to:
a. Get enough rest and sleep.
b. Eat regularly and make healthy choices.
c. Know your limits and when you need to let go.
d. Identify or create a nurturing place in your home.
e. Practice relaxation or meditation.
f. Escape for a while through meditation, reading a book, watching a movie, or
taking a short trip.
Self-compassion Therapy
• Being warm and understanding toward ourselves when we suffer, fail, or
feel inadequate, rather than flagellating ourselves with self-criticism;
• Being imperfect and experiencing life difficulties is inevitable, so we soothe
and nurture ourselves when confronting our pain rather than getting angry
when life falls short of our ideals;
• Recognizes that life challenges and personal failures are part of being
human, an experience we all share. In this way, it helps us to feel less
desolate and isolated when we are in pain.
Self-compassion and Emotional Well-being
• A key feature of self-compassion is the lack of self-criticism, and self-
criticism is known to be an important predictor of anxiety and
depression.
• Self-compassion is not merely a matter of looking on the bright side
of things or avoiding negative feelings. Self-compassionate people
recognize when they are suffering, but are kind toward themselves.
• Self-compassion is associated with greater wisdom and emotional
intelligence, suggesting that self-compassion represents a wise way
of dealing with difficult emotions.
• By wrapping one’s pain in the warm embrace of self-compassion,
positive feelings are generated that help balance the negative ones.
Self-compassion, Motivation, and Health
• Research supports the idea that self-compassion enhances motivation
rather than self-indulgence.
• Self-compassionate people aim just as high, but also recognize and
accept that they cannot always reach their goal.
• Self-compassionate people have been found to have less motivational
anxiety and engage in fewer self-handicapping behaviors such as
procrastination than those who lack self-compassion.
• Self-compassion was positively associated with mastery goals (the
intrinsic motivation to learn and grow) and negatively associated with
performance goals (the desire to enhance one’s self-image)
• Self-compassionate people are motivated to achieve, but for intrinsic
reasons, not because they want to garner social approval.
Self-compassion versus Self-esteem
Self-compassion:
• Predicts greater happiness and optimism as well as less depression and anxiety
when controlling for self-esteem
• Are less focused on evaluating themselves, feeling superior to others, worrying
about whether or not others are evaluating them, defending their viewpoints, or
angrily reacting against those who disagree with them
Self-esteem :
• Robust association with narcissism
• Evaluation of superiority/inferiority that helps to establish social rank stability and is
related to alerting, energizing impulses and dopamine activation
• Self-compassionate Letter
1. Candidly describe a problem that tends to make you feel bad about
yourself.
2. Next, think of an imaginary friend who is unconditionally accepting and
compassionate.
3. Finally, write a letter to yourself from that perspective. What would your
friend say about your perceived problem? What words would he or she
use to convey deep compassion? How would your friend remind you
that you are only human? If your friend were to make any suggestions,
how would they reflect unconditional understanding?
4. When you are done writing, put the letter down for a while and come
back to it later. Then read the letter again, letting the words sink in,
allowing yourself to be soothed and comforted.
• Less Stress, Care More
We should be in control of the stress that confronts us every day.
Otherwise, when we are overwhelmed by stress, it can be detrimental to
our health. Self-care and self-compassion are two ways to positively
confront stress. We should love and care for our self more and more each
day.