Understanding Stress
Chapter 4 Lesson 1
 What is stress?
 Stress is the reaction of the body and mind to
everyday challenges and demands
 What is a stressor?
 Anything that causes stress
 Examples: people, objects, places, events, and
situations
Perception
 Define perception
 The act of becoming aware through the senses
 How is perception related to stress?
 The level of stress you experience depends on the
way you think about a challenge or perceive an
event
Five stressors that teens tend
to experience
a. Life situations (School demands, peer pressure,
family problems, etc)
b. Environmental (unsafe neighborhood, natural
disasters, war,)
c. Biological (illness, injury, changes in body)
d. Cognitive (poor self-esteem, personal
appearance, not fitting in)
e.
Personal behavior (busy schedule, relationship
issues, smoking)
Three stages the body go
through in response to stress
 Alarm
 Prepares your body to either defend itself or flee from threat
 Physical symptoms: increase in perspiration, faster heart rate
and pulse, rise in blood pressure, faster respiration, narrowing of
arteries, increase muscle tension, dilated pupils, etc
 Resistance
 allows the body to perform at a higher level and with more
endurance
 Your body adapts and reacts to stressor
 Fatigue
 You start to feel tired and lose ability to handle other stressors.
 Your body loses its ability to adapt
List five effects of prolonged
stress on your health.
 Headaches
 a weakened immune system (you become more
prone to acquiring illnesses such as the common
cold, flu, etc)
 high blood pressure
 bruxism, clenching the jaw or grinding the teeth
 digestive disorders
What is eustress?
 Positive stress (short term, feels exciting, improves
performance)
 Based on perception
 Example: bungee jumping ride may be eustress for
some people but may cause distress in others
What is distress?
 Negative stress (short or long term, decreases
performance, feels unpleasant, causes anxiety or
concern)
Stress Management
Techniques
 Avoiding and limiting stress
1.
2.
3.
4.
Use refusal skills
Plan ahead
Think positively
Avoid tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs
 Handling stress and reducing its effects
1. Practice relaxation techniques
2. Redirect your energy
3. Seek support
 Staying healthy and building resiliency
1. Get adequate rest
2. Get regular physical activity
3. Eat nutritious foods
All about Stress presentation
 Get into groups of 3
 Use your notes to create a song, poem or rap that is
at least 12 lines long to teach someone about stress.
 Use humor and even a catchy tune/familiar song/etc
 Pick a topic and title your song, poem/slam poem, or
rap: “Relaxation Techniques”, “Eustress versus
Distress”, “Stages of Stress”, “How Stress Affects the
Body”, etc.
Relaxation techniques
 Deep breathing
 Stretching
 Getting a massage
 Taking a warm bath
 Progressive muscle relaxation
 Laughter
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rX87ipNTiIY