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What Is Stress?. Stress—a real or imagined threat to one ’ s being—leads to a series of physiological responses and adaptations. A stressor is a physical, social, or psychological event or condition that upsets homeostasis and produces a stress response. Isn ’ t Some Stress Healthy?.
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What Is Stress? • Stress—a real or imagined threat to one’s being—leads to a series of physiological responses and adaptations. • A stressor is a physical, social, or psychological event or condition that upsets homeostasis and produces a stress response.
Isn’t Some Stress Healthy? Stress isn’t necessarily bad for you!
What Is Stress? • Distress is stress that can have a detrimental effect on health. We view it as negative stress. Examples may include taking an exam or not being able to pay one’s monthly bills. • Eustress is positive stress and can present opportunities for personal growth. Planning a wedding or major event or going on a first date are examples.
What Is Stress? • Acute stress is the short-term physiological response to an immediate perceived threat. When someone cuts in front of us on the freeway, for example, we take action immediately. • Chronic stress is an ongoing state of physiological arousal in response to ongoing or numerous perceived threats. During your first few days at a new job, you might experience this kind of stress.
Your Body’s Response to Stress • Fight-or-flight response • The general adaptation syndrome (GAS), characterized by Hans Selye in 1936, has three distinct phases: • Alarm phase • Resistance phase • Exhaustion phase
The General Adaptation Syndrome • The hypothalamus functions as the control center for the sympathetic nervous system. It stimulates the adrenal glands to release epinephrine, which causes more blood to be pumped, more oxygen to be taken up, and glucose to be released. The body is now poised to act immediately. It is in the alarm phase. • In the resistance phase of the GAS, the body tries to return to homeostasis by resisting the alarm responses. However, because some stressor is still perceived, the body does not achieve complete calm or rest. • A prolonged effort to adapt to stress leads to allostatic load, or exhaustive wear and tear on the body, known as the exhaustion phase.
The Body’s Acute Stress Response Exposure to stress of any kind causes a complex series of involuntary physiological responses.
Common Physical Symptoms of Stress Sometimes you may not even notice how stressed you are until your body starts sending signals. Do you frequently experience any of these physical symptoms of stress?
Why Do You Always Get Sick during Finals Week? • If you spend exam week in a state of high stress— sleeping too little, studying too hard, and worrying a lot—chances are you’ll reduce your body’s ability to fight off any cold or flu bugs you may encounter.
Intellectual Effects of Stress • Stress may be the number one impediment to academic achievement. • Acute stress has been shown to impair short-term memory, particularly verbal memory. • Prolonged stress may be linked to cortisol (a key stress hormone), which shrinks the hippocampus. • More than half of all college students in a national survey felt overwhelmed by all they had to do.
Psychological Effects of Stress • Stress may be one of the single greatest contributors to mental disability and emotional dysfunction in industrialized nations. • Studies have shown the rates of mental disorder, particularly depression and anxiety, are associated with various environmental stressors. • The high incidence of suicide among college students is assumed to indicate high personal and societal stress in the lives of young people.
What Causes Stress? • Psychosocial Stressors
What Causes Stress? • Internal Stressors
Stress at Work and Home • For those in class who work full or part time, share an extremely stressful work event and how it was resolved. How did you feel at that time? • In potentially stressful situations at home, how do you prevent issues from escalating to an uncontrollable level? • Name a few ways in which to reduce stress at school. Have you had success in any of these? What support systems need to be in place?
Fight the Anger Urge • Anger results when we are frustrated or feel out of control. • We usually manage anger either by expressing it, suppressing it, or calming it. Expressing anger may be the healthiest method if it is not done aggressively. • Identify your anger style. • Learn to recognize patterns in your anger responses and how to de-escalate them. • Find the right words to de-escalate conflict. • Plan ahead. • Develop a support system. • Develop realistic expectations of yourself and others. • Turn complaints into requests. • Leave past anger in the past.
Managing Your Time • Use the following time-management tips in your stress-management program: • Do one thing at a time. • Clean off your desk. • Prioritize your tasks. • Find a clean, comfortable place to work and avoid interruptions. • Reward yourself for work completed. • Work when you’re at your best. • Break overwhelming tasks into small pieces, and allocate a certain amount of time to each. • Remember that time is precious.
The Multitasking Myth • Why isn’t multitasking as good an option as one might think? Do you agree that can become a problem? • How do you multitask in your own life? Does it have an effect on the quality of the work you are doing simultaneously? • Translate the three steps outlined to be more productive to your own daily life. Could you follow them?
Managing Your Finances • Develop a realistic budget. What are your true expenses and what are your luxury expenses? • Pay bills immediately—consider electronic banking. • Educate yourself about money management. • Avoid credit cards. • Aim to not get into debt.
Consider Downshifting • Downshifting involves a fundamental alteration in values and honest introspection about what is important in life. • It is important to consider the following: • Plan for health care costs. • Determine your ultimate goal. • Make both short- and long-term plans for simplifying your life. • Complete a financial inventory. • Try to select the career that’s best for you. • Consider options for saving money.
Relaxation Techniques for Stress Management • Relaxation techniques to reduce stress have been practiced for centuries, and there is a wide selection from which to choose. • Yoga is an ancient practice that combines meditation, stretching, and breathing exercises to relax, refresh, and rejuvenate the practitioner.
Other Relaxation Techniques • Qigong • Tai chi • Diaphragmatic or deep breathing • Meditation • Visualization • Progressive muscle relaxation • Massage therapy • Biofeedback • Hypnosis
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Sit or lie down in a comfortable position and follow the steps described above to increase your awareness of tension in your body.
Scoring Yourself • If your score is 300 or higher, you may be at high risk for developing a stress-related illness. • If your score is between 150 and 300, you have an approximately 50-50 chance of experiencing a serious health problem within the next two years. • If your score is below 150, you have a 1 in 3 chance of experiencing a serious health change in the next few years.
Assessing Yourself–A Personal Inventory • What was your score on the stress test? • Do you believe you take steps to manage the stress in your life better? • How mindful are you of stressors and how often do you work to restore homeostasis in your life? • As you leave class, consider a new method that you might try to help you control your stress response.
