Managing And Caring For Oneself­­

1. How to become a better student

2. Setting goals for success

3.TAKING CHARGE OF
ONE’S HEALTH
 TAKING CHARGE OF ONE’S HEALTH

STRESS in people can be PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL,

or PSYCHOLOGICAL.
McEwen & Sapolsky (2006)
ALLOST A SIS 
the process of how the body

RESPONDS
to stress, whether it
is ACUTE (short-term) or CHRONIC (long-term).
 
STRESS
a UNIVERSAL human
experience
ST R E SS
A RESPONSE TO EVENTS THAT
ARE THREATENING TO ONE’S
WELL BEING.
It is a common experience that can be
OCCASIONAL or PROLONGED.
…the result of an interaction between a PERSON and the ENVIRONMENT, in which the
person believes the situation to be OVERWHELMING and dangerous to his or her well-being
(Matlin, 1992).
STRESSOR
unpleasant situation that produces the stress
STRESSOR

IS YOUR
WHO
WHAT STRESSOR
WHERE
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF

STRESS
HANS SELYE
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF STRESS

CANADIAN PHYSICIAN (1956) “THE STRESS OF LIFE”

• the first scientist to try to figure out how external

stressors “get under the skin” to make us will
Selye did not believe that people
should aim for stress-free life.

…some negative stress is simply

unavoidable; it’s called

LIFE!
GOAL: MINIMIZE THE
WEAR AND TEAR ON THE
SYSTEM, NOT GET RID OF
IT ENTIRELY
 SOURCES
OF

TR ATION
AN G E
•F RU S
C T • CH TMENT
FL I •A D J U S E
ON E S S U R
•C •P R
 FRUSTRATION
LATIN WORD “FRUSTRA” means “IN VAIN”
A NEGATIVE EMOTION THAT STEMS FROM THE BLOCKING OF A
GOAL-DIRECTED BEHAVIOR
PERSONAL FACTORS
PERSONAL LIMITATIONS
WEAKNESSES
ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS

IE S
M IT
ALA
C
POWER FAILURES
SOCIO CULTURAL FACTORS
 CONFLICT
LATIN “ conflictus” means “strike together”

OCCURS WHEN A PERSON IS FACED WITH TWO OR MORE

OPPOSING SITUATIONS OF WHICH HE HAS TO CHOOSE
TYPES
OF CONFLICT:
• APPROACH-APPROACH
• AVOIDANCE-AVOIDANCE
• APPROACH-AVOIDANCE
• MULTIPLE APPROACH-AVOIDANCE
APPROACH-APPROACH
AVOIDANCE- AVOIDANCE
APPROACH- AVOIDANCE
calories
DOUBLE APPROACH- AVOIDANCE
BRAND NEW POSITIVE
2 or 3 hand
nd rd
NEGATIVE

•.
VERY NEGATIVE

POSITIVE

EXPENSIVE CHEAP
CHANGE
• It is inevitable
• POSITIVE, UNDESIRED /DESIRED

REASON: alter the usual order of activities

ADJUSTMENT
individual copes with
his ever-changing
needs, motives and
habits
PRESSURE
RESPONSES
• ANXIETY
 AGGRESSION TO STRESS
 APATHY
 DEJECTION
 GRIEF
ANXIETY
MAY CAUSE INTENSE
• SUFFERING
• PANIC
• IRRATIONAL FEAR
 FRUSTRATION-AGGRESSION HYPOTHESIS
by John Dollard

frustrated people may become

hostile and behave violently
when frustrated.
Stress produces feelings of anger
ranging in intensity from mild
annoyance to uncontrollable rage.
 

AGGRESSION
APATHY
DEJECTION AND GRIEF
EFFECTS
OF STRESS
• MILD
• SEVERE
• PROLONGED
EFFECTS OF STRESS

MILD
CAN IMPROVE BEHAVIOR
 SEVERE
EFFECTS OF STRESS

CAN DISRUPT BEHAVIORS,

COGNITIVE PROCESSES,
EMOTIONS, AND
PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES
 EFFECTS OF STRESS

PROLONGED STRESS
PROLONGED STRESS
RESEARCHES HAVE SHOWN THAT

STRESSORS
CAN DECREASE THE NUMBER OF

LYMPOCYTES
(WHITE BLOOD CELLS THAT ATTACK THE BACTERIA)

CAN SUPPRESS THE IMMUNE SYSTEM

DELAYED REACTION TO STRESSFUL
SITUATIONS OR EXPERIENCES.
MAJOR SYMPTOMS
OF

PTSD
MAJOR SYMPTOMS OF PTSD
RE-EXPERIENCING OF THE TRAUMATIC EVENTS
( war, torture, rape and other forms of abuse, floods, earthquakes, accidents)
• recurrent painful memories of the event
• recurrent dreams or nightmares of the event
• relives the event and behaves as though experiencing the event at that moment

NUMBING OF RESPONSIVENESS OR REDUCED

INVOLVEMENT WITH THE EXTERNAL WORLD
• diminished interest in usual activities
• feelings of detachment from others
• blunted emotional responses when the individual is not re-experiencing
the traumatic event
 FACTORS
MODERATING
THE IMPACT OF STRESS
FACTORS MODERATING THE IMPACT OF STRESS
SOCIAL SUPPORT
• EMOTIONAL
• APPRAISAL
• INFORMATIONAL
• INSTRUMENTAL
PERSONALITY
• BEHAVIORAL PATTERN
• HARDINESS
• OPTIMISM
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTROL
 FACTORS MODERATING THE IMPACT OF STRESS

SOCIAL SUPPORT
• EMOTIONAL
• APPRAISAL
• INFORMATIONAL
• INSTRUMENTAL
EMOTIONAL SUPPORT
expressions of affection, interest, and concern that tell people
they’re appreciated

LISTENING SYMPATHETICALLY TO ONE’S PROBLEM BOLTERS

APPRAISAL SUPPORT helping people to
evaluate and make
sense of their troubles
and problems

… CLARIFY the nature of the problem and PROVIDE FEEDBACK about its significance.
INFORMATIONAL SUPPORT

DISCUSSING POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS AND THE RELATIVE MERITS OF ALTERNATIVE COPING

INSTRUMENTAL SUPPORT
providing material aid
and services 

• providing shelter
• lending money
• going along to a social service agency
• helping to assume work or family
responsibilities
FACTORS MODERATING THE IMPACT OF STRESS

SOCIAL SUPPORT

PERSONALITY
• BEHAVIORAL PATTERN
• HARDINESS
• OPTIMISM
BEHAVIORAL PATTERN

Type A
• Ambitious
• Aggressive Type B
• Competitive • calmer
• Impatient • experience life in a more laid
back, less intense way

Researches have shown that people with Type A personality pattern are more
prone to stress than Type B people
HARDINESS
characterized by:
• a sense of COMMITMENT rather than
alienation
• CONTROL rather than powerlessness
• perception of problems as CHALLENGES
rather than threats
OPTIMISM
a general tendency to expect good outcomes

• Optimists are likely to engage in ACTION-

ORIENTED, PROBLEM- FOCUSED
COPING- more willing to seek social support

• pessimists are likely to deal with stress by

giving up or engaging in denial
 
FACTORS MODERATING THE IMPACT OF STRESS
SOCIAL SUPPORT
PERSONALITY

PSYCHOLOGICAL
CONTROL
PSYCHOLOGICAL CONTROL
People who have a sense of
control, who have more
control of their lives are
LESS PRONE TO
ILLNESS and stress
than those who are under
the control of other people
or institutions
COPING
STRATEGIES
• ACTIVE-
COGNITIVE
• ACTIVE-
BEHAVIORAL
ACTIVE-COGNITIVE STRATEGIES
actively think about the
situation in an effort to
MAKE
THINGS
BETTER
ACTIVE-BEHAVIORAL
STRATEGIES

take some action to

IMPROVE
THE SITUATION
 AVOIDANCE STRATEGIES

employed by people
who keep the stress-
provoking situation
OUT of their
awareness
DEFENSE MECHANISMS
UNCONSCIOUS
strategies that maintain a
person’s sense of control and self-
worth by DISTORTING or
DENYING the actual nature
of the situation
TYPES
OF DEFENSE MECHANISMS
• DISPLACEMENT
• RATIONALIZATION
• INTELLECTUALIZATION
• COMPENSATION
• SUBLIMATION
• PROJECTION
• REACTION FORMATION
• REPRESSION
• REGRESSION
• NOMADISM
• DENIAL
• IDENTIFICATION
• FANTASY
RATIONALIZATION

GIVING LOGICAL BUT FALSE REASONS IN ORDER TO

COVER UP THE REAL CAUSE OF FAILURE
RATIONALIZATION

PRETENDING TO
PRETENDING TO LIKE WHAT YOU DISLIKE
DISLIKE WHAT YOU
REALLY LIKE
SUBLIMATION

UNACCEPTABLE DESIRES ARE DIRECTED INTO SOCIAL

ACTIVITIES THAT HAVE STRONG SOCIAL APPROVAL
 PROJECTION

ATTRIBUTES UNACCEPTABLE THOUGHTS TO OTHERS

 REACTION FORMATION

DOES THE DIRECT OPPOSITE OF WHAT S/HE FEELS

REGRESSION
 NOMADISM

WANDERS FROM ONE SITUATION TO ANOTHER TO ESCAPE FROM

FRUSTRATION
 DISSOCIATION

DOESN'T WANT TO DEAL WITH A SITUATION

DENIAL

IGNORING THE PRESENCE OF A THREATENING SITUATION

 FANTASY
AUTISTIC FANTASY
SUBSTITUTES EXCESSIVE DAY DREAMING FOR THE PURSUIT OF SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS.
SOAP OPERAS REALLY FEED THIS NEED IN PEOPLE
 IDENTIFICATION

ENHANCES FEELING OF IMPORTANCE BY IMITATING THE TRAITS OF A

PERSON WHOM YOU ADMIRE
 ACTING OUT
ACTS WITHOUT REGARD FOR
NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES

DON'T CARE WHAT THE CONSEQUENCES ARE

INTELLECTUALIZATION

EXCESSIVE ABSTRACT THINKING TO AVOID REALITY OR

EXPERIENCING SOME VERY DISTURBING FEELINGS ABOUT SELF
SUPPRESSION
INTENTIONALLY
AVOIDS THINKING
ABOUT DISTURBING THOUGHTS,
PROBLEMS, EXPERIENCES, OR
FEELINGS.
REPRESSION
UNABLE TO REMEMBER OR
TO BE AWARE OF DISTURBING
LUSTS, WISHES, FEELINGS,
THOUGHTS, OR EXPERIENCES
RELATED TO SIN
DISPLACEMENT
DIRECT ATTACK

ANGER IS USED AS A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEMS AND FRUSTRATIONS OF LIFE

COMPENSATION
• Job issues or retirement
CAUSES OF STRESS Nordqvist (2018)
• Lack of time or money
• Bereavement
• Family problems
• Illness
• Moving home
• Relationships, marriage, and divorce
• Abortion or miscarriage
• Driving in heavy traffic
• Fear of an accident
• Fear of crime
• Problems with neighbours
• Pregnancy and becoming a parent
• Excessive noise, overcrowding, and pollution
• Uncertainty or waiting for an important outcome
 TOP FIVE OVERALL STRESSORS
OF THE FILIPINO COLLEGE STUDENTS
Dy, Espiritu-Santo, Ferido, & Sanchez (2017)
• ACADEMIC DIFFICULTY OF SUBJECT MATTER
• WORKLOAD DUE TO SUBJECTS
• TIME MANAGEMENT BECAUSE OF SUBJECTS
• RESPONSIBILITIES DUE TO BEING ON ONE'S
OWN
• TIME MANAGEMENT BECAUSE OF BOTH
SUBJECTS AND ORGANIZATIONS

• there was a STRONG ASSOCIATION between symptoms of MENTAL DISTRESS,

ACADEMIC SELF-EFFICACY and STUDY PROGRESS (Grøtan, Sund, & Bjerkeset, 2019)
 HEALTH PROBLEMS
DUE TO CHRONIC STRESS
McEwen & Sapolsky, 2006

• LOSS OF SLEEP
• STOMACH ACHE • LACK OF INTEREST IN PHYSICAL
• DIARRHEA ACTIVITY
• OBESITY • INCREASE IN
• WEAKENING OF IMMUNE • BLOOD PRESSURE
SYSTEM • HEART RATE
• ANXIETY • BLOOD FATS
• DEPRESSION • BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS
EFFECTS OF STRESS
ON BODY FUNCTIONS
Yaribeygi, Panahi, Sahraei, Johnston, & Sahebkar (2017)

• DECLARATIVE MEMORY DISORDERS

• REDUCTION IN SPATIAL MEMORY
• WEAKENING IN VERBAL MEMORY
• BEHAVIORAL, COGNITIVE AND MOOD
DISORDERS
• DECREASE IN REACTION TIME
 WAYS OF COPING MECHANISM Lazarus, et al., (1986)

PROBLEM
FOCUSED COPING EMOTION
FOCUSED COPING
• CONFRONTATIVE COPING • SELF-CONTROL
• SEEKING SOCIAL SUPPORT • SEEKING SOCIAL SUPPORT
• PLAN FULL PROBLEM-SOLVING • DISTANCING
• POSITIVE APPRAISAL
• ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY
• ESCPE/AVOIDANCE
 WAYS OF COPING MECHANISM Carver et al., (1989)

PROBLEM-FOCUSED
COPING
•
•
active coping
planning
EMOTION-FOCUSED
COPING
• suppression of competing activities • Seeking social support for emotional reasons
• restraint coping • Positive reinforcement and growth
• seeking social support for • Acceptance
instrumental reasons • Turning to religion
• humor

DYSFUNCTIONAL
• Focus on venting of emotions COPING
• Behavioral disengagement
• Mental disengagement
• Alcohol-drug use
• denial
PRACTICAL WAYS
TO COPE WITH STRESS
• Get plenty of sleep Cohen
• Think positive
• Have a stress “outlet”
• Engage in relaxation techniques
• Talk to someone
• Avail of the free counseling services in your school
• Manage your eating habits
• Approach the people who can help you with your concern
(e.g. teachers, financial advisors, student affairs office etc.)
• Get all the information you can
• Enlist help
• Have a good cry
• Make plans
• Find a spiritual advisor
 
STRESS
AND THE
FILIPINO
by Dr. Tan
 STRESS AND THE FILIPINO Dr. Tan

• Utilize community health workers for mental health

• Cognitive restructuring
• Taking control of one’s own body, and the failing spirit
• Aromatherapy
• Hilot (traditional/village masseur-healer)
• Community action
 STRESS AND THE FILIPINO
Dr. Tan

UTILIZE COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS FOR MENTAL

HEALTH

Given some training, they can learn to help their barangay residents with stress. That includes essentials
about counseling, for example, not resorting to that notorious “sulsol”.
 STRESS AND THE FILIPINO
Dr. Tan

COGNITIVE RESTRUCTURING
Help patients to take
on new lenses as they
revisit their
problems… to regain
some SENSE OF
CONTROL
 STRESS AND THE FILIPINO
Dr. Tan

TAKING CONTROL OF ONE’S OWN BODY, AND THE FAILING SPIRIT

We have that in our folk therapies — note how, in bangungot (can be very loosely translated to sleep or better yet, nightmare that results
to death), we’re supposed to try to move a finger, a toe, any part of the body. It’s not a symbolic act; it actually means taking control. It’s
a powerful metaphor that can be used to explain other stress-related ailments and syndromes
 STRESS AND THE FILIPINO
Dr. Tan

AROMATHERAPY

Dr. Tan describes Filipinos as “a very olfactory people”. Since most imported aromatic oils are expensive, it’s best to use
local plants. Some of the most expensive aromatic oils are extracted from local plants we take for granted, like ylang-
ylang. 
 STRESS AND THE FILIPINO
Dr. Tan

HILOT
TRADITIONAL/VILLAGE MASSEUR-HEALER

Many traditional therapies can be channeled toward stress management. The manghihilot can be “reinvented” so his or
her skills with therapeutic massage can be applied not just for sprains, but also for broken hearts and weary spirits. 
 STRESS AND THE FILIPINO
Dr. Tan

COMMUNITY ACTION
Communities should be urged to create their own safe
spaces where people can seek some refuge. Filipino-
style, such spaces need not be totally quiet, but they do
need to give some sense of safety, of sanity in a mad
world. Filipino-style, too, we need to think of how these
therapeutic spaces might work out as places where
people can engage in social activities, without
becoming more agitated. Alternatives could be offered:
gardening, cross-stitching, bingo…anything that calms
the mind. You don’t need to be in the lotus position to
meditate.
 
The World Health Organization statistics show that..
half of the people with mental disorders
ANXIETY
DEPRESSION
MOOD, & THOUGHT
PROBLEMS

develop at age 14
MENTAL ILLNESS
is the 3rd most
common form of
DISABILITY
in the country
(De Guzman, 2018)
• to establish a national mental health policy directed towards
improving the health of the population in schools,
workplaces and communities, underscoring the basic right of
all Filipinos to mental health

• highlights the balanced delivery of mental health services (community-

based and hospital-based) with more focus on persons with psychiatric,
neurologic, and psychosocial health needs, and overcoming society’s
attitudinal challenges that they may live free from stigma and
discrimination.
 "In the Philippines, 3.3 million
Filipinos suffer from depressive
disorders, with suicide rates in 2.5
males and 1.7 males per 100,000."
We need to start talking about
depression to end the stigma
surrounding mental health because,
when left unattended, it can lead to
suicide.”
De Santos (2019)
“Maybe you have
to know the
darkness before
you can
appreciate the
light.”
Madeline L’Engle
ANXIE
an emotion characterized by

TY
feelings of tension, worried
thoughts and physical changes like
increased blood pressure.
ANXIETY
… lingering apprehension, a chronic
sense of worry, tension or dread, the
sources of which may be unclear.

… a vague, unpleasant emotion

experienced in anticipation of some ill-
defined misfortune.
Swift, Cyhlarova, Golie, & O'Sullivan (2014)
COMMON SIGNS OF ANXIETY:
• Feeling nervous, restless or tense
• Having a sense of impending danger, panic or doom
• Having an increased heart rate
• Breathing rapidly (hyperventilation)
• Sweating
• Trembling
• Feeling weak or tired
• Trouble concentrating or thinking about anything other
than the present worry
• Having trouble sleeping
• Experiencing gastrointestinal (GI) problems
• Having difficulty controlling worry
• Having the urge to avoid things that trigger anxiety
“Depression is
being color blind,
and constantly
told how colorful
the world is.”
ATTICUS
 DEPRESSION
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION

is more than just sadness

DEPRESSION
AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION
The PHILIPPINES has the HIGHEST
NUMBER OF DEPRESSED PEOPLE
in SOUTHEAST ASIA, and that
records show a high number of cases
among the YOUTH.
De Guzman, 2018
FACTORS THAT INCREASE DEPRESSIVE TENDENCIES
AMONG UNIVERSITY STUDENTS:
Lee, Sta. Maria, Estanislao, & Rodriguez (2013)

• frequency of smoking
• frequency of drinking
• not living with biological parents
• dissatisfaction with one's financial condition
• level of closeness with parents
• level of closeness with peers
MAJOR SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-V)

• Hopelessness
• Inability to concentrate
• Unexplained aches and pains
• Lack of interest and pleasure in things you liked to do
• Alcohol or drug abuse
• Changes in sleep habits
• Changes in appetite and eating
• Irritability, agitation, and moodiness
• Feelings of worthlessness and guilt
• Thoughts of death, suicide, or self-harm
YOU SHOULD SEEK HELP IF SOME OR ALL THE SYMPTOMS HAVE BEEN PRESENT
FOR A PERIOD OF TWO WEEKS OR LONGER
“Having compassion
starts and ends with
having compassion for
all those unwanted
parts of ourselves.”
Pema Chodron
SELF- COMPASSION Dr. Kristin Neff
ACTING THE SAME WAY TOWARDS
YOURSELF WHEN YOU ARE HAVING
A DIFFICULT TIME, FAIL, OR NOTICE
SOMETHING YOU DON’T LIKE
ABOUT YOURSELF.
THREE MAIN COMPONENTS
OF SELF- COMPASSION
Dr. Kristin Neff

SELF-KINDNESS
being kind and understanding toward oneself in instances of
pain or failure rather than being harshly self-critical

COMMON HUMANITY
perceiving one's experiences as part of the larger human experience
rather than seeing them as separating and isolating,

MINDFULNESS
holding painful thoughts and feelings in balanced awareness rather
than over-identifying with them. 
 
Tips on how to practice
SELF- COMPASSION Dr. Kristin Neff

• Learn formal meditation practices such as Affectionate Breathing

• Allow yourself to be a slow learner in practicing self-compassion
• Mindfully accept that the moment is painful
• Embrace yourself with kindness and care
• If you are overwhelmed by difficult emotions, you may pull back temporarily
• Engage in ordinary acts such as having a cup of tea
• Give yourself what you need in the moment
 
 Tips on how to practice
In relation to depression

SELF- COMPASSION TARTAKOVSKY (2018)

• Start small. Actions such as breathing slowly or simple acts of self-care are small
steps in practicing self-compassion.
• Bring awareness to your experience without judgment.
• Get curious. You may start by journaling.
• Interrupt rumination by refocusing.
• Explore exceptions. Avoid using extreme terms such as “always” or “never”.
• Focus on self-compassionate statements.
• Write a letter.
• Remember that you are not alone.
• Practice loving-kindness meditation.