Unit II:

Aspects of Personal
Development
Module 5:

Coping with Stress in Middle

and Late Adolescence
Objectives:

1. Discuss that understanding stress and its

sources during adolescence.
2. Identify sources of your stress and
illustrate the effect of stress on your
system.
3 Demonstrate personal ways of coping
Let's do this Activity:

STRESS BINGO

I'll give you a bingo card then find someone

who regularly participates in one of these activities.
Ask him/her to sign his/her name in the appropriate
box. Find a different person for each box. Wait for
your teacher to call out the type of BINGO activity.
Reading: Stress Management
 Dictionary definitions do not quite capture the meaning
of stress as it is seen and experienced in the world of
work.
 One of the Webster's definitions describes it as an
“...emotional factor that causes bodily or mental tension.”
 A practical way of defining stress is the feeling one gets
from prolonged, pent-up emotions.
 If the emotions you experience are pleasant and
desirable- joy, elation, ecstacy, delight- you usually feel
free to let them show.
 Therefore, positive emotions do not usually cause
stress. Negative emotions, on the other hand, are
more often held inside. They are hidden. You
suffer quietly and you experience stress.
 Do not cobfuse positive situations with positive
emotions. A wedding, for example, is a
positive situation that often brings about the
negative emotions of anxiety and tension.
 So stress can exist in great situations.
Causes and Effects of Stress
Just as there is great variety in the
range of emotions you might experience,
there are many possible manifestations of
stress- in your private life and in your
working life. Here are some words that
describe the emotions associated (as
cause and effect) with stress.
Anxiety Pressure

is your body's natural response to

stress. It's a feeling of fear or the use of persuasion,
apprehension about what's to come. influence, or intimidation to
The first day of school, going to a make someone do
job interview, or giving a speech
may cause most people to feel something.
fearful and nervous.
Misery Strain

a state or feeling of a severe or excessive

great distress or demand on the
discomfort of mind strength, resources, or
abilities of someone or
or body.
something.
Desperation Tension

a state of despair, mental or emotional

typically one which strain.
results in rash or "a mind that is affected
extreme behavior by stress or tension
cannot think as clearly"
Anger Panic

a state of despair, sudden uncontrollable

typically one which fear or anxiety, often
results in rash or causing wildly
extreme behavior unthinking behavior.
Dejection Prolongoed stress can be
devastating; burnout, breakdown,
and depression are some of the
potential results of long- term,
unmanaged stress. By wearing a
mask, you may expect to hide
stress caused by problems in your
personal life and not let them
a sad and influence your performance on the
job. This will probably not work.
depressed state; The more you try to hold your
low spirits. emotions in, the greater the
pressure build- up will be.
Everyday Frustrations Cause a sress Build-
Up
 From the time you wake up until you go to
sleep, you may be confronted with a
succession of stressful situations.
 A series of stressful and frustrating
experiences throughout the day can cause
you to lie awake at night in an emotional
turmoil- unable to get needed rest.
Problems in our Personal Life can be
Devastating

 More serious stressful circumstances

may include separation from loved ones,
personal illness, or illness of a loved
one, death of someone you care about,
or conflict with a spouse or close friend.
Other Major Causes of Stress
Problems with drug and alcohol abuse
Domestic Violence
Care of Children and Elderly Relatives
Chronic Mental Illness finances can be another stressful
Managing your personal

Injury experience. This can be a poblem no

matter what your income level, but it is
especially difficult if you must support a
Physical handicaps family and do not earn enough to live
comfortably. Unpaid Bills, unwise use of
Moving to new home credit, and budget limitations can make
life difficult.
Let's do these
Activities!
Reading: Stress Response
 Your stress response is the collection
of physiological changes that occur
when you fce a perceived threat- when
you face situations where you feel the
demands outweigh your resources to
successfully cope. These situations are
known as stressors.
When your stress response is triggered, a
series of changes occur within your body.
They include:
• Redirection of blood away from extremities and
instead to major organs.
• The release of cortisol and other hormones,
which bring other short and long term changes.
• The stress response is intended to give you a
burst of energy so you're able to fight off
attackers or run away from them effectively.
Reading: Keep Stress Under Control
 You can manage your life so that you
survive the emotional down times
without allowing stress to engulf you.
 You can work to eliminate controllable
stress factors, such as running late or
not getting enough sleep.
When stress is constant or
too great, your wisest option
is to find ways to reduce or
control it.
Stress can be successfully
managed.
Here are some suggestions that stress can be
successfully managed:
 Understand the Causes of Stress
it requires deliberate, conscious effort to
pause and simply ponder your situation.
 Analyze your Stress Factors and Write Them
Down
analyze stress response and
consequences, and consider each item, and ask
why.
Deal with the Stressors
-develop techniques to deal with the causes
of stress. The longer you avoid dealing with the
stress factors, the more the stress will build up.

-if tension comes because you have put off

an unfinished task, restructure your priorities so
you can get the task that you have been
avoiding out of the way and off your mind.
Learn to Work under Pressure or Unusual
Conditions
-when you can't reduce the stressors,
you need to manage your stress response.
Almost everyone, at least at some point, has to
meet deadlines, keep several jobs going at once,
resolve problems that come up, and do extra
work when necessary. Relaxation is key- but
most people must train themselves to relax when
the pressure is on.
Some Tips to relax when under pressure
are the following:
 Stop for a moment (especially when you
feel your muscles tightening up) and take a
few deep breaths.
 Do a relaxing exercise. Swing your hands at
your sides and stretch.
 Take a “power nap”. Lie down and totally
relax for a few minutes.
 Find time to do the things you enjoy.
 Leave your study area for a while to take a brisk walk.
 Find a quiet place to read a magazine or novel during
break or at lunch.
 If possible, look at some peaceful images such as
forests, beaches, etc. These images can initiate a
relaxation response.
 Look up.
 Keep something humorous on hand, such as a book
of jokes.
Answer the following questions:

1. What is stress?
2. What are stressors?
3. What is stress response?
4. Give 3 tips for you to control/manage stress,
explain.
5. Give one stress factor that you consider as the
biggest stress in your life? Explain.