Chapter 17: Stress Management
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Self-Assessment 17: Identifying Signs
of Stress
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Lesson Objectives:
• Define stress and list its causes.
• Explain the three stages in the general adaptation
syndrome.
• Explain how eustress and distress differ.
• Discuss the effects of stress.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What is stress and what is a stressor?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
• Stress is how your body responds to demanding
situations.
• Stress can be positive or negative.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer (continued)
• A stressor is a name given to a specific event
that produces a reaction from you.
• A stressor can also be general long-term
feelings of worry, anger, or anxiety that can
cause your body to react in an unhealthy way.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer (continued)
• Stress (emotional or social stress) is a result of
how you think about events that happen to you.
• Your thoughts will determine how your body
responds.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
How are thoughts related to stress?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
• If you think positively, the stressful event can be
healthy.
• If you think negatively, the stressful event can be
unhealthy.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What is eustress?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
• Eustress is a term used for positive stress.
• If an event is very exciting or very challenging, it
puts you in a state of eustress.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What happens to you when an event is very
exciting or challenging?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
When you interpret events as exciting or
challenging:
• These thoughts cause your body to respond—
increasing your heart rate, sweating, and
alertness.
• This type of response—a positive stress
response to an event—is a state of eustress.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What are examples of events that produce feelings
of eustress?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
Events that produce feelings of eustress:
• Riding a roller coaster
• Skydiving
• Skiing
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What is distress?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
• Distress is negative stress.
• If an event is very demanding and you feel you
cannot control what is happening to you, it will
put you in a state of distress.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
How do your thoughts cause you to be distressed?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
When you interpret events as being uncontrollable,
demanding, and beyond your ability to cope,
• your body responds in a negative way that can
be harmful to your health, and
• this type of response—a negative stressful
response to an event—is a state of distress.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
How does your body respond negatively to
distress?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
Negative responses to stress include
• increasing anxiety,
• lack of sleep,
• decreased ability to concentrate,
• poor digestion, and
• tense muscles.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What are examples of events that produce feelings
of distress?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
Events that produce feelings of stress:
• Taking an exam in a difficult subject area
• Serious conflicts with family or friends
• Being in some type of accident
• Getting a sports injury
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What is the general adaptation syndrome?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
• A researcher, Hans Selye, helped us understand
the effects of stress.
• There are three stages:
– The alarm reaction—The body reacts to a
stressor.
– The stage of resistance—The body resists the
stressor.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer (continued)
– The stage of exhaustion—The body
succumbs to a stressor.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What are three types of stressors?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
There are three types of stressors:
• Physical
• Social
• Emotional
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What are characteristics of physical stressors?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
• Physical stressors are events that are stressful
to you, independent of your thought processes.
• In other words, no matter how positively you try
to think, physical stressors will still affect you in a
negative way.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What are examples of physical stressors?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
Examples of physical stressors:
• Exposure to heat or cold
• Hunger or thirst
• Lack of sleep
• Certain types of illnesses
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What is a social stressor?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
• A social stressor is any minor or major event that
might cause you stress (positive or negative).
• How you think about a social stressor (e.g.,
positively or negatively) can determine whether
you are in a state of eustress or distress.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What are examples of social stressors?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
Examples of social stressors:
• An important sports competition
• A major school exam
• Disagreements with friends
• A conflict with your parents
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What is an emotional stressor?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
• An emotional stressor is a general feeling of
worry, anxiety, or grief.
• You simply feel down and depressed, lacking
motivation for many things.
• These feelings can cause your body to react in
unhealthy ways.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What is competitive stress?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
• Often in high school, you may be involved in
sports teams, academic projects, etc.
• Competitive stress is what you feel when you
participate in competitive sports and other
competitive activities.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
What factors make these activities stressful?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
Competition is stressful because it features:
• Being evaluated by others
• Performing in front of a crowd
• Feeling that the outcome is important
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Question
How can you produce feelings of eustress (not
distress) in competitive activities?
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer
Feelings of eustress can arise if you
• simply try to do your best and accept the
outcome.
• understand that sometimes you will do very well
and other times there will be room for
improvement.
• keep things in perspective.
Lesson 17.1: Facts About Stress
Answer (continued)
• realize that the only thing you control is how
much effort you give.
• do not spend a lot of time worrying about
winning or losing because it could be beyond
your control.
Self-Assessment 17: Identifying Signs of Stress
Question
With a partner: How can you self-assess signs and
signals of stress?
Self-Assessment 17: Identifying Signs of Stress
Answer
Assessing stress:
• Lie on the floor, close your eyes, and try to relax.
• Have your partner count your pulse and your
breathing rate.
• Ask your partner to observe for irregular
breathing and unusual mannerisms.
Self-Assessment 17: Identifying Signs of Stress
Answer (continued)
• Then ask your partner to evaluate how tense
your muscles seem. Report “butterflies” or other
indicators of stress to your partner.
• Write your results on your record sheet. Have
your partner lie down while you record your
observations about him or her.
Self-Assessment 17: Identifying Signs of Stress
Answer (continued)
• When directed by your teacher, all members of
the class should write their names on a piece of
paper and place the papers in a hat or a box.
• The teacher will draw names until only three
remain in the container. The students whose
names remain must give 1-minute speeches
about the effects of stress.
Self-Assessment 17: Identifying Signs of Stress
Answer (continued)
• Observe your partner before and during the
name-drawing. Look for the signs and signals of
stress. Record your results on the record sheet.
• Also try to remember your feelings during the
drawing. Finally, observe the people who were
required to make the speech. Record this
information on the record sheet.
Self-Assessment 17: Identifying Signs of Stress
Answer (continued)
• Finally, walk or jog for 5 minutes after your
second stress assessment. Once again, work
with a partner to assess your signs of stress.
• Write them in the third column of the record
sheet. Notice that the exercise causes heart rate
and breathing rate to increase.
• However, it may help reduce earlier signs of the
emotional stress related to performing in front of
the class.
Self-Assessment 17: Identifying Signs of Stress
What are the signs of stress to look for?
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Is your heart rate higher than normal?
Are the muscles tighter than usual?
Are unusual mannerisms present?
Do you feel differently?
Is your breathing irregular, rapid, or shallow?