Learning To Be A Better Student PDF

# **Learning To Be A Better Student** ## **Lesson 1: Learning To Be A Better Student** ### Psychology, Toxic Feelings, Stress, and Coping Mechanisms - Psychology is the study of human emotions, behaviors, and personal reasoning. - It focuses on understanding the origins and impacts of toxic emo...

# **Learning To Be A Better Student** ## **Lesson 1: Learning To Be A Better Student** ### Psychology, Toxic Feelings, Stress, and Coping Mechanisms - Psychology is the study of human emotions, behaviors, and personal reasoning. - It focuses on understanding the origins and impacts of toxic emotions, the effects of stress on mental health, and coping mechanisms to manage these issues. - It also explores the psychological foundations of these emotions and their manifestations. - Stress is a universal human experience, affecting individuals of all ages and backgrounds. - Psychological factors, including coping strategies, can influence stress’ impact on physical, mental, and behavioral aspects. - **Coping Mechanisms** are like skills for managing stress or emotions. These can be harmful or beneficial to people. - They are influenced by our emotional conditions, and can help us to cope up with difficult situations in life. - Unhealthy coping mechanisms can lead to negative outcomes and are considered maladaptive because they can worsen an issue rather than providing a possible solution. - In adopting appropriate coping strategies – including talking to someone or engaging in soothing activities – is essential to managing our emotions in a healthy way. - Reducing stress and practicing mindfulness are essential components of well-being. - Mindfulness techniques, like meditation, can lower stress and improve emotional health. - Studies are showing that these techniques – mindfulness-based therapies – can strengthen psychological flexibility overall, develop self-awareness, and enhance emotional control. ### The Role of Social Support - Personal and emotional well-being necessitates both stress reduction and mindfulness practice. - Mindfulness practices, such as meditation, are gaining popularity because they help reduce stress and enhance emotional well-being. - These methods, also known as mindfulness-based therapies, can improve emotional regulation, increase psychological flexibility generally, and foster self-awareness. - As a result, the study of psychology is essential for navigating the complexities of stress, negative emotions, and coping techniques. - People can nurture emotional flexibility and improve their general well-being by realizing the extensive effects of stress on mental health, understanding the psychological foundations of negative emotions, and using useful coping mechanisms. - Despite the difficulties of the modern world, psychology continues to provide insightful analysis and evidence-based solutions to support people in leading happier, more balanced lives. ### Brain and Behavior #### Knowing the Stress Response: How Stress Affects our Brains and Bodies - Stress is an unavoidable aspect of life, and in order for our bodies to adapt to the various stresses we face, they have developed a sophisticated system. - The stress reaction is a basic survival strategy that prepares us to deal with obstacles and dangers. Numerous physiological and psychological changes are brought about by this process, which aids in our situational adaptation. #### Let’s take a closer look at the stress response and how it affects us: 1. **Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) Stimulation:** - The sympathetic nervous system is activated by stressors, whether they be psychological, emotional, or physical. - Stressors release stress hormones like adrenaline and noradrenaline, accelerating breathing, heart rate, and blood pressure, preparing the body for action and awareness. 2. **Fight-or-Flight Response:** - The SNS triggers the “fight-or-flight” reaction, preparing us to respond immediately to stressors by diverting blood flow from non-essential tasks to vital organs and muscles. 3. **Release of Cortisol:** - The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis of the brain regulates immune responses, control glucose levels, and metabolism. While, the pituitary gland produces adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) responsible for releasing cortisol, often referred to as the “stress hormone”. 4. **Cognitive Modification:** - Stress reactions modify brain cognitive processes, causing increased focus and attention to the stressor while temporarily neglecting cognitive processes like memory consolidation. 5. **Impacts on Immune Response:** - Short-term stress can strengthen the immune system's defense against illness or damage. - On the other hand, long-term or persistent stress may have the opposite impact – impairing immune function and making a person more vulnerable to disease. 6. **The Response to Relaxation:** - The parasympathetic nervous system's relaxation response reduces stress levels in blood pressure, heart rate, and stress hormones, helping the body return to a normal and balanced state. 7. **Long-Term Effect:** - Chronic stress can negatively impact our general health even if the stress response is essential for survival in emergency situations. - Chronic stress can lead to physical and mental health issues like anxiety, depression, digestive disorders, and cardiovascular problems due to insufficient recovery time. #### As a result, stress response is a critical system for efficient in handling of difficulties; however, chronic stress can produce a negatively impact to our well-being. - It emphasizes the importance of stress management and the search for positive coping strategies for overall flexibility and health. ### Meta-cognition, Study Strategy and Self-regulation #### Managing your learning: **Self-regulated learning** - What are the factors that you consider important in your learning? Is it the educator’s teaching style? The learning materials? The classroom? - Although it is true that the teacher, books, and classroom help facilitate learning, it is not the most important consideration in learning. - Your primary concern in learning should be “you”. Yes, “you” are the most important factor in your learning process. - Are you motivated to do your learning tasks? Are you confident in your ability to learn? Are you open to learning about ideas that challenge your preconceptions? - **Self-regulated learning** is the way in which students control their own feelings, thoughts, actions, and contextual elements while they are learning. - In order to attain a behavior or objective, self-regulation demands some degree of choice or conscious choosing of techniques. #### Self-Regulated Learners: 1. They are aware of their own strengths and weaknesses. 2. Utilize metacognitive strategies (for example, you question your learning, and you monitor your own learning as well as your approach to academic tasks) 3. Attribute any success or failure to factors within personal control. #### Controlling stress is vital for preserving overall well-being and preventing its negative effects on physical and mental health. - Here are some effective techniques to help manage and reduce stress: 1. **Inhaling Deeply:** - Engage in deep breathing techniques such as box breathing or diaphragmatic breathing. - By calming the mind and generating the body’s relaxation response, these methods can help to lower stress and anxiety levels. - **Diaphragmatic breathing**, also known as belly breathing, involves the following steps: - Choose a comfortable position to sit or lie down. - Put your hands on your abdomen and your chest respectively. - Breathe deeply through your nose by allowing your abdomen to rise and your chest to remain relatively motionless. - Feel your belly drop as you gently release the air through your mouth or nose. - For several breaths and repeat this technique by paying attention to how your abdomen rises and falls. - **Box breathing,** a technique used to manage stress and anxiety, involves four equal parts: - Take four deep breaths. - For four counts just hold your breath. - Breath out four times. - Once more just hold your breath for four counts. - For a few minutes just keeps repeating this cycle while focusing on your breathing and counting. 2. **Meditation and Mindfulness:** - Regular meditation can promote emotional health by reducing stress and improving focus by enhancing over-all well-being and by promoting relaxed awareness of thoughts and feelings. 3. **Exercise Regularly:** - Physical activities such as yoga, dancing, jogging, or walking can reduce stress by lowering your stress hormones and releasing endorphins (mood enhancers). 4. **Time Organization:** - Sort your everyday responsibilities and rank them in order of importance. - Recognize when to say no and try not to overcommit yourself. - You might feel more in control of your schedule and experience less overwhelm when you practice effective time management. 5. **Social Support:** - Engage in social support with loved ones, friends, or networks to address your concerns and alleviate the negative effects of stress. 6. **Reduce Stressors:** - To reduce stress, consider adjusting your lifestyle and avoiding stressful situations, or setting boundaries to regulate and manage stressors in your life. 7. **Exercise Gratitude:** - Practice being grateful by consistently recognizing and appreciating the good things in your life. - Giving thanks helps to refocus your attention from problems to the positive things in your life. 8. **Creative Channels:** - Engaging creative activities such as writing, drawing, playing an instrument or, gardening can provide a relaxing and self-expression outlet. 9. **Gradual Relaxation of the Muscle:** - This technique is very useful for relaxation and stress relief, relieving the physical strain. 10. **Cut Back on Alcohol and Caffeine:** - Stress and anxiety can worsen with excessive consumption of alcohol and caffeine. 11. **Laugh and Enjoy Yourself:** - Laugh and enjoy yourself by doing things that make you happy, such as watching a humorous film or spending time with friends who make you laugh. 12. **Obtain Enough Rest:** - Sleep improves your ability to handle stress and is necessary for both physical and mental awareness. #### Note: - Remember that everyone is different, so it’s essential to find the techniques that work best for you. - Incorporate these stress management strategies into your daily routine to build resilience and lead a healthier, more balanced life. - If stress becomes overwhelming or persistent, consider seeking support from a mental health professional. ## **Lesson 2: Self-Care** - Self-care involves a holistic approach for preserving physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being, and incorporating techniques such as self-compassion, mindfulness, healthy lifestyle choices, and setting boundaries. - This process enhances flexibility, self-awareness, healthy relationships in seeking help when needed and participating in pursuits for personal growth and fulfillment. - Ultimately, self-care is the lifelong journey to self-discovery and essential for leading a happy, healthy, and meaningful life. ### Learning Objectives After completing your study of this lesson as a student, you should be able to: 1. Understand the diverse range of human emotions and their impact on one's social, psychological, and biological aspects of self; 2. Examine various coping techniques and styles including problem-solving, emotion-focused coping, and seeking help are employed to manage stress in difficult situations; and 3. Reflect on personal experiences and insights to promote self-awareness, self-compassion, and a proactive approach to self-care. ### Assignment Before proceeding with the topics of this lesson, you are required to read and present your own understanding of the standard definitions of the following words by consulting with the dictionary or any reliable references for a better comprehension of the lesson. - Stress - Self-efficacy - Coping Mechanism - Toxic emotions - Anxiety - Self-care - Compassion - Self - Care - Cognition ### Bandura’s Self-Efficacy #### Stress and Self-Efficacy - Stress is a mental or emotional strain caused by demanding events, in a shared experience among humans. - Effective handling of stress including negative emotions and toxic feelings, is crucial, especially in situations such as home, school, and work-related stress. - Thus, it is crucial to explore and address the actual issue rather than focusing on the emotional baggage that may overburden your inner self, which needs to avoid the unpleasant emotions. - However, stress is beneficial for human being as it that helps to maintain general health by stimulating the mind, body, and soul that ensuring optimal functioning of feelings and emotions while maintaining physiological balance. - But how is stress beneficial? Stress is deemed advantageous when it motivates one to engage in constructive tasks. - It becomes detrimental when it exceeds its ideal threshold. - The target that an action of people is oriented toward typically within a given time frame which is called a goal. - Self-efficacy is the belief that one’s ability to accomplish particular objectives (Bandura, 1977, 1986, 1997, 1999). - Thus, it involves the essential methods such as problem-focused, emotion-focused, and cognitive-focused coping mechanisms when managing stress. - Also, people can effectively manage stress by adopting a positive outlook in life, finding their inner strength, and celebrating their accomplishments while always aiming for perfection. - Therefore, it is critical to keep in mind your flexibility because it can be a source of inspiration and strength, particularly during uncertain times. - Thus, you have to embrace the tests in life, embrace the successes, and continue to mold your future with the strong spirit that brought you as a person. - Always remember to take care of your well-being. - The pressures of home, school, and work can sometimes be overwhelming, but it is crucial to prioritize your mental health and physical health. - Seek support when needed, practice self-care, and remember that asking for help is a sign of strength, not weakness. #### How to Deal with Toxic Feelings: My Choice and Decisions ##### Human Emotions, Stress, Coping Mechanism And Self-Care - Negative emotional states, as viewed through Sigmund Freud's psychoanalytic theory, emphasize on how toxic emotions such suppression, guilt, and anxiety are shaped by unresolved conflicts from early life events and the unconscious mind, while Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs highlights how negative emotions like envy, guilt, and resentment can stem from unfulfilled wishes or needs like a sense of belonging and self-worth not met. - This dual exploration sheds light on the complex interplay between unconscious desires and the pursuit for self-actualization it simplifies the inquiry into how to manage harmful emotions to achieve positive well-being and personal development. ##### EMOTIONAL illness causes PHYSICAL stress - Most of our complaints signal our physical body that something is wrong with our feelings, thinking, and behavior. This is why some people get sick because emotional stress affects mental health. - Many illnesses have emotional roots like: - Anger, sets off the body’s "fight or flight reaction, which can lead to physical stress, headaches, stomach problems (such as diarrhea), and trouble breathing. - Long-lasting reactions linked to mental health problems and cardiovascular symptoms among other chronic problems. - Insomnia, a common sleep problem called sleep apnea are characterized by poor quality of sleep, with physical symptoms and an increase of risk of sickness. - It is also commonly related with anxiety, irritability, and even melancholy. - Conflict, disagreements escalated with conflict which can lead to personal tension associated with physical symptoms and chronic stress with connections to weaken the immune system that cause cardiovascular problems and mental health disorders. - Anxiety, which can vary in intensity in a different life experience, can be marked by uneasiness, concern, or fear. - This can improve performance and awareness but to the point that more serious problems may arise. ##### Injured Feelings and Emotions - Emotions can appear consciously or subconsciously, but feelings are emotions consciously experienced by people that are often connected to love and commitment. - Perhaps to effectively cross each emotion, it is essential to recognize in people and completely experience it with understanding and possibly acknowledges their feelings of grief, anxiety, and rage, avoiding self-pity becomes crucial because it can eventually turn toxic. 1. **Feelings are our teachers:** - Emotional control is important for decision-making and success in life by remain optimistic, find courage, and acknowledge your achievements by facing any challenges in life and uncertainty. 2. **Feelings are our Healers:** - Actual SELF-AWARENESS and LOVE needs us to allow our personal sorrow and sadness because it makes us more aware of and become compassionate toward to ourselves and others. #### Stress - Stress is a natural phenomenon, a mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from opposing or demanding environmental settings. - Stress brings about physical and psychological or mental effects that could obstruct you from grasping your full potential. - Stressful events in our life produce a large percentage of our day-to-day conversation that we are primarily focusing on, and others: problems at school or work, accidents, illnesses (major or minor), and every day “hassles" that indeed form catharsis in life. - It may be more comfortable for others to express anger than to confront our emotions directly. - Stress activates emotions that affect our biological system and health (Aldwin et al., 2009) #### Kinds of Stress 1. **Eustress:** - It is a positive stress that is healthy, improves your well-being, and results in satisfaction (meditation). - Its counterpart is distress which has all of the negative effects of stress we hear about, like physical and mental illness. - A result from a situation or activity that you find motivating or inspiring (like improving grades, going on a holiday or vacation). 2. **Neustress (Neutral Stress):** - An occurrence that has no direct, consequential effect on the person or any situation or activity that you do not find threatening yet not enjoyable (like incidents you hear in the news). 3. **Distress:** - Situations or activities that you consider negative, harmful, and threatening.   - Psychological suffering brings them into difficulties in life. #### What are stressors? - Any misfortune that comes across biological, psychological, and social, or it is a chemical element that causes physical or emotional tension and maybe a facet in the origin of a certain disease. - A stressor can also be defined as anything that disturbs allostatic (adaptive processes that maintain homeostasis), and a stress response is the body’s attempt to reestablish balance. - Good stressors can make you feel both tense and excited at the same time. - The various types of stressors are: - **Internal Stressors** like individual thoughts, beliefs, and attitudes, - **External Stressors** can be tragedy and loss. #### What are the signs and symptoms of stress? - Stress is the body's response to any change that requires a modification or an answer. - The body responds to these changes with physical, mental, and emotional responses. - People handle stress differently. - Psychological, Emotional Symptoms of stress can be diverse. - Note: In general, signs and symptoms of stress fall under any of these three categories: ##### Categories | **Categories** | **Symptoms** | |-----------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Physical** | Low energy headaches, upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea, aches, pains, and tense muscles, chest pain and rapid heartbeat, Insomnia, Frequent colds and infections, Nervousness and shaking, ringing in the ear, Loss of sexual desire and/or ability, Cold or sweaty hands and feet, excess sweating, Dry mouth and difficulty in swallowing, Clenched jaw and grinding teeth | | **Cognitive/Perceptual** | Forgetfulness, Blocking eros in judging distance, Reduce creativity, Preoccupation, Lack of concentration, Lack of attention to details, orientation to the past, Attention deficit, Disorganized of thought, Negative self-statement and negative evaluation of experience | | **Emotional** | Depression or general unhappiness, Anxiety and agitation, Moodness, irritability, or anger, Feeling overwhelmed, Loneliness and isolation, Any other mental or emotional health problems | #### The social and cultural dimensions of stress ##### What is social stress? - A state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances arising from the person’s social environment relationships (Sattler & Kirsch, 2014). - There are several sources of social stress, and they can affect almost every area in your life. - Social stress gets aggravated when you have little capability to change your circumstances. ##### What are the sources of social stress? - The sources of social stress include (but are not limited to): - Problems with work or earning an income - Parenting - Education - Sex and socialization - Immigration status or language - Personal, physical, and psychological health - Peer pressure - Social marginalization #### Stress and the Sociological Perspective - Emile Durkheim’s book "Suicide" shows how social organization of groups influences the individual behavior of their members. - Durkheim hypothesizes that the extent to which an individual is integrated within a group affects the likelihood of suicide. - Three primary types of suicide (Durkheim, translated 1951): - **Egoistic suicide** – occurs when a person feels he or she is not accepted by or does not belong to society. The social bond is very weak. - **Altruistic suicide** – occurs when a person ends his or her life for others. - **Anomic suicide** – is linked to disillusionment and disappointment. - Two major types of stressors (Aneshensel, 1992): - **Life Events** important, specific experiences interrupt an individual's usual activity/routine that he/she needs to adjust to. - **Chronic Strains** – problems that have been occurring for some time; the person’s social role is strained and threatened. - Common types of role strains (Copelton, 2000): - **Role Overload:** The role demands on an individual exceeds his or her capacity to handle. - **Interpersonal Conflicts within Role Sets:** These are problems and difficulties that arise in a relationship (i.e., wife-husband, parent-child, and worker-supervisor). - **Inter-role Conflict:** The demands of two or more roles held by a person are incompatible, and the demands cannot simultaneously be met. - For example, as a working student, your work shift suddenly changed and this ran in conflict with your class schedule. - **Role Restructuring:** Long-established patterns undergo considerable change and the person needs to adapt/adjust. #### The Social and Cultural Dimension of Stress ##### The Role of Social Class, Race, and Gender in Social Stress 1. **Social Class:** - Those who are in the lower social class have higher mental and emotional stress than those who are affluent. - Three common factors are: - Inadequate financial resources, - Greater use of ineffective coping strategies, and - Less access to social support. 2. **Race:** - A person’s ethnicity is relevant to his/her stress response. 3. **Gender:** - Women were found to have higher rates of psychological distress and depression compared to men. - Women tend to be delegated to the caregiver role more than men. - Women are more inclined to be emotionally involved in the lives of the people around them. - Women introject rather than express anger. - Introjection is a person's ability to take in the expectations and projections of others and take these as the person's own. #### Mediators of Stress: Coping and Social Support ##### Coping with Stress - Coping refers to strategies to deal with real or conceptual problems to shield yourself against negative emotions and feelings. ##### Types of Coping | **Types of Coping** | **Strategies** | |----------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | **Problem-Focused Coping** | It targets controlling or changing the source of stress. It tackles the source in a practical manner. Strategies include employing problem-solving techniques; time management; getting relevant social support | | **Emotion-Focused Coping** | It involves lowering, if not eliminating, negative emotional responses (i.e., embarrassment). It is an option when the source of stress is external and beyond the person’s control. Strategies include distraction, talking out or verbalizing your problem, prayer and meditation. | | **Cognitive-Focused Coping**| It involves a conscious intellectual activity of managing stressful situations. You use your mind to combat stress-inducing thoughts. | ##### Three basic objectives of coping (Weiss & Lonnquist, 2015): 1. Eliminate or modify the stressful situation so that it will not be a continuing problem. 2. Control the meaning of the problem by “cognitively neutralizing” the situation. 3. Control the stress created by the situation (e.g., through stress-management techniques). #### Motivated by Unmet Need Cause Stress - Maslow’s theory holds that human beings are motivated by unsatisfied needs. - Thus, lower needs take precedence over higher needs, and they must be satisfied first. - If a need is unmet, the person feels agitated, and become stressed (emotional, psychological, and even physical) by attending to those needs; ##### Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs | **Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs** | **If Unmet Needs** | |-------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Physiological Needs** (Basic Needs- daily needs) | Feel sick, irritated, uncomfortable. If pathological, we can eat, drink too much or engage in hoarding behaviors. Will cause death. Can affect our perception, e.g., paranoia. Will cause death. Can affect our perception, e.g., paranoia. | | **Safety Needs** | Can lead to neurosis, insecurity. If pathological, can develop phobias, such as agoraphobia. | | **Love and Belonging Needs** | Become increasingly susceptible to loneliness and social anxieties. If pathological, can lead to antisocial behavior. | | **Esteem Needs** | Low self-esteem. Inferiority complex. If pathological, can lead to depression. | | **Self-Actualization** | Can cause feelings of lack of meaning in life If pathological, Meta pathologies, such as boredom, cynicism, alienation (feeling isolated, detached, lack of sympathy, estrangement. |   #### SELF-CARE: What is it, and why is it important? - Self-care as described by the University of Kentucky, entails taking deliberate acts of looking after your mental, emotional, and physical health. - The notion of self-care is oversimplified. - Proper self-care is making a very active and powerful choice to engage in activities that will result in acquiring or maintaining optimal health that cover the physical, psychological, emotional, social, and spiritual components. - Self-care is vital for managing daily stressors and challenges in life, as well as a person’s overall health and wellness. - Self-care is neither overindulging nor unnecessarily depriving yourself. - The keyword to self-care is balance; being good to yourself will enhance the likelihood of living to the fullest. #### COMPASSION: Neutral or learned? - According to scientific research, humans are wired for compassion rather than self-interest. - Compassion, framed as an emotion, is the response to perceiving suffering that involves an authentic desire to ease distress. - It is a kind, caring, emotional response to perceived suffering that acknowledges the shared human experience of imperfection and involves an authentic desire to help (Seppala, E. 2013). #### Compassion's Surprising Benefits for Physical and Psychological Health - Research suggests that compassion may have ensured our survival because of its tremendous benefits for physical and mental health and overall well-being. - It is suggested that connecting with others meaningfully helps us enjoy better mental and physical health, speeds up recovery from disease (Diener & Seligman, 2013), and even lengthens our lifespans (Brown & Konrath, 2013). - The possible reason for such benefits in psychological well-being is that giving results in a pleasurable feeling, as evidenced by a brain-imaging study. - The parts of the brain that are active when a person experiences pleasure, such as eating favorite desserts or receiving money, were found to be equally active when the person is doing acts of kindness, such as giving food to a homeless person or donating to a charity (Seppala, E. 2013; National Institutes of Health, 2013). **Please note**: This document is quite long, and for the sake of conciseness, I have focused on the most important information. This is just a starting point for you to use in your own learning. You can always add more detail to this, or use it as a jumping off point for further research.