Stress, Health, and Wellness
Chapter 14
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Living with Stress
• Most anything is capable of
producing stress –
– Stress is the physical and
emotional response to events that
threaten or challenge us
• 3 main types of stressors
– Cataclysmic events
– Personal stressors
– Daily hassles
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Stress
• Stress brings on physical
ramifications
– Heart beats faster
– Breathing becomes more rapid and
shallow
– Produce more sweat
– Our internal organs churn out a variety of
hormones
• These symptoms wear down our
immune system and leave us open
to disease
– Heart disease, headaches, strokes
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Handling Stress – Prepare
• Ready yourself physically
• The stronger your are physically, the
less toll stress will take on you
• Vigorous exercise produces
endorphins – providing a natural
feeling of happiness
– Runner’s High
– Exercise can help our bodies naturally
cope with stress
• Reduce caffeine intake
• Deal with obesity
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Handling Stress – Organize
• Identify your stressors
– School-related?
– Relationship-related?
– Work-related?
• Just listing them will give you a
sense of control and help you
devise strategies for dealing with
them
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Handling Stress – Work
• A variety of tactics can help you deal
with your stressors:
– Take charge of the situation
– Don’t try to change the unchangeable
• Try to improve the situation
– Look for the silver lining
– Use social support from friends and
family
– Relax
• Meditation
• Progressive relaxation
– Escaping is not coping and it does not
relieve stress
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Handling Stress – Evaluating
• How are your coping tactics
working?
• If one does not work, try another
• Do not become paralyzed and
unable to deal with the situation
• Find the right combination of
strategies to deal with the situation
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Handling Stress – Rethink
• Place stress in perspective
• Don’t sweat the small stuff
– Put your circumstances into
perspective
• Make peace with stress
– A life with no challenges would be
boring
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Depression and Suicide
• Usually, depression is a normal
reaction to distressing
circumstances
• For some, depression is more than
fleeting (longer than 2 weeks) and
can leave them feeling sad
hopeless, tired, and worthless
• Major depression can ultimately
lead to suicide
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Depression and Suicide
• Suicide warnings may include:
–
–
–
–
–
–
School problems
Self-destructive behavior
Change in appetite
Withdrawal from friends and peers
Sleeping problems
Signs of depression such as
tearfulness or psychological difficulties
such as hallucinations
– A preoccupation with death, an
afterlife, or what would happen “if I
die”
– Putting affairs in order
– An explicit announcement of suicidal
thoughts
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Responding to Death and Grief
• Death of a loved one is one of the
most stressful events in a person’s
life
• Our reactions usually follow a
typical pattern –
– Shock, denial, reality of the death,
enormous sadness, depression, and
yearning for the loved one that has
passed away
– In time, we return to our lives and can
even become as happy as we were
before
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Responding to Death and Grief
• How to maintain your mental
health and academic standing
when a loved one dies:
– Expect to feel intense grief and
sadness, but know that it will not last
forever
– Talk to others about your feelings
– Voice your recollections of the person
who has just died
– Let your college officials know of your
situation
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Keeping Well
• Eating Right
– Eat a variety of “whole” foods, including
fruits, vegetables, and grains
– Avoid processed foods
– Avoid foods high in sugar and salt
– Avoid high fat and high cholesterol foods
– Don’t eat until you are stuffed
– Schedule three regular meals a day
– Be sensitive to the various contents of
food
– Beware of eating disorders
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Keeping Well
• Make exercise a part of your life
–
–
–
–
Choose a type of exercise that you like
Incorporate exercise into your life
Make exercise a group activity
Vary your routine
• Get a good night’s sleep
– Exercise more
– Have a regular bedtime
– Use your bed for sleeping and not as an
all-purpose area
– Avoid caffeine after lunch
– Drink a glass of milk at bedtime
– Avoid sleeping pills
– Don’t try to force sleep upon yourself
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Drug Use and Abuse
• Nicotine
– People begin smoking for a variety of
reasons
– Quitting is difficult, but not impossible.
• Remain smoke-free one day at a time
• Visualize the consequences of
smoking
• Exercise
• Use nicotine patches or nicotine gum
• Avoid being around people that are
smoking
• Use social support
• Reward yourself
• Join a quit-smoking program
• Keep trying
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Drug Use and Abuse
• Alcohol
– Widely used on college campuses
– Is a depressant
– 50% of male students and 40% of
female students have engaged in
binge drinking
– Nearly 20 million people in the United
States are alcoholics
– Heavy drinking damages the liver and
the digestive system
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Drug Use and Abuse
• Illegal Drugs
– 1/3 of college students have admitted to
using illegal drugs in the past year
– Drug use has short and long-term health
risks
– Give thought to why you would want to
escape from reality and why you would use
drugs to do so
– Consider the legal consequences of drug
use
• Random drug tests are frequently a part of the
hiring process and of employment
– Addiction presents a serious problem of
always needing to obtain the drug to achieve
the next high
– Be observant of signs of addiction and seek
help
• College health services, counseling centers,
mental health centers, drug treatment centers,
government hotlines
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Sexual Health and Decision Making
• One in five people in the
United States is infected with
a sexually-transmitted
disease
• Avoid STIs by:
– Knowing your sexual partner
well
– Preventing the exchange of
bodily fluids
– Use condoms
– Be faithful to a single partner
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Sexual Health and Decision Making
• Avoiding Pregnancy
– Abstinence is only 100% effective if
you practice it 100% of the time
– Birth control methods include:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
McGraw-Hill
Birth control pill
Implants
Intrauterine device
Diaphragms and cervical caps
Condoms or a cervical sponge
Injections or polymer ring
Sterilization
Emergency contraception
Withdrawal or douching (ineffective)
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.
Sexual Health and Decision Making
• Date rape
– Forced sex in which the rapist is a
romantic acquaintance
– 1 out of 8 women on college campuses
report having been raped
– Rape is less about sex and more about
power
– Rohypnol, or “the date rape drug” is
sometimes used
– Date rape incidents can be reduced by
setting limits, being assertive,
understanding that no means no,
communicating, and understanding that
drugs and alcohol cloud judgment.
McGraw-Hill
© 2009 McGraw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved.