Stress Management

Definition of Stress
 Stress:The
human reaction
to events in our
environment
STRESS!!!
 Eustress: Good Stress

– Getting into college

– Getting engaged

– Winning the lottery

STRESS !!!
 Distress: Stress from
bad sources

– Difficult home
environment

– Overwhelming work
load

– Threat of personal injury

FOUR TYPES OF
STRESS
1. General Stress:

– Everyone has this

kind of stress

– It resolves itself
within a day or two

– No intervention is
necessarily required
FOUR TYPES OF
STRESS
2. Cumulative Stress:
– Stress builds up in
your body
– You may have more
serious physical
symptoms
– You may have more
serious mental
anguish
FOUR TYPES OF
STRESS
3. Acute Traumatic
Stress:

– Critical Incident Stress

– EX: Car Wreck

– Produces considerable
distress

– A normal reaction to
abnormal events
FOUR TYPES OF
STRESS
4. Post Traumatic Stress:

– Severe stress produced

by severe psychological
trauma

– Created by unresolved
Critical Incident Stress

– Produces lasting
changes
The 5 General Categories
of Stressors:
1. Biological: illnesses, or injuries.
2. Environment: poverty, noise, and pollution.
3. Cognitive /Brain: the way you handle a
situation.
4. Behavior: negative reactions caused by
tobacco, alcohol, or other drugs or by lack of
physical activity.
5. Life Situations: death, divorce, and
situations with peers.
The Alarm Response:
The Body’s Way to Deal
with Stress:
Alarm:
Alarm is the first stage in the stress response. This is
when the body and mind go on high alert. (Flight or
Fight Response)
Resistance:
During this stage, your body adapts to the rush created
by alarm and reacts to the stressor. This is the stage in
which you to “fight” or take “flight.”
Fatigue:
The Third stage of the stress response, a tired feeling
takes over that lowers your level of activity. Both the
mind and the body become exhausted.
Short Term Physical
Stress Symptoms
– Increased
sweating
– Tense muscles
– Feelings of
nausea
– Butterflies in
your stomach
Long Term Physical
Stress Symptoms
– Insomnia (can’t
sleep)
– Change in Appetite
(eat a lot or not very
much)
– Feelings tired all the
time
– Prone to illness (get
sick a lot)
 BEHAVIORAL STRESS
SYMPTOMS
 Talking too fast  Over reacting
 Talking too loud  Emotional
 Nail biting  Defensive
 Grinding teeth  Irritable
 Drumming fingers  Hostile
 Pacing  Aggressive
 How People Fail to Manage Stress
1. “If I ignore it, it will go away.” “It” may, but
there will likely be more right behind it.
2. “Other people cause my stress.” You control
your response to other people.
 HEALTHY LIVING TO
CONQUER STRESS
 Examine your diet  Add to your diet
– Lower your salt – Vegetables
– Fruits
intake – Vitamins
– Eat less sugar – Water
– Lower your caffeine
intake
HEALTHY LIVING
 Rest:

– Get at least 8 hours

of rest every night.
HEALTHY LIVING
 Exercise:
– At least twenty
minutes, five times
a week
– break a sweat, to
release endorphins
HEALTHY LIVING

 Talk things out with

someone you trust -
a family member, a
good friend, or a
school counselor
HEALTHY LIVING
 Learn to manage
your anger

 Anger affects your

health

 Anger causes you

to over react to
many situations
HEALTHY LIVING
 Fill your life with fun
things to do!!!!

 Keep your sense of

humor!!!!
HEALTHY LIVING
 Too many people
look for an easy
answer to stress
management by
misusing
 Alcohol
 Drugs
 Marijuana
 Medicines & Pills
HEALTHY LIVING

Relaxing needs to
be part of your daily
routine.
Stress Relief Activity
 DOLPHIN
STRESS TEST

It's a simple test designed to indicate whether people have too much
stress in their life.

It's a picture of two dolphins. The two dolphins appear normal when
viewed by a stress-free individual. This test is not accurate enough to pick
up mild stress levels.

It's quite simple. If there is anything that appears different about the
dolphins (ignore the fact of the slight color differences) it is often an
indication of potential stress related problems. Differences, if any, may
also indicate the source of your stress.

Sit upright and viewing the screen head-on, take a deep breath, breathe
out and then open the picture and look directly at it.

If there is anything out of the ordinary then you should consider taking
things a little easier..
If you see anything other than two dolphins,
take a few days off and unwind.........