Coping with Stress in Middle and Late Adolescence PDF

Coping with stress in Middle and Late Adolescence  Objectives Defining Stress 01 Stress as Stimulus, Response, and Relational Healthy Stress Coping with Knowing your...

Coping with stress in Middle and Late Adolescence  Objectives Defining Stress 01 Stress as Stimulus, Response, and Relational Healthy Stress Coping with Knowing your 03 Stress 02 Stressors Brainstorming What is stress? Defining Stress Stress is a reaction of the mind and body to a stimulus that disturbs the well-being, state of calm, or equilibrium of a person. Did you know? There is a common belief that stress is unhealthy, but discussions among experts conclude that this is not entirely the case.  Why ? agreed that small and Psychologists have sporadic amounts of stress can be helpful and beneficial to individuals Excessive amounts of stress sustained over a lengthy period of time can be destructive to both physical and mental health. Stress as Stimulus, Response, and Relational Stress as Stimulus, Response, and Relational Aside from being a reaction (or response), stress is also a stimulus, as well as a relational condition between persons and the situations they are in (Feist & Rosenberg, 2012). Stress as Stimulus As a stimulus, stress is caused by situations that may be life-threatening or life-changing, such as separation, moving into a new home, or having a new job. These situations or events are often called stressors. Stress as Response Stress as a response is the way the body reacts to challenging situations. Involves the interactions between the hormones, glands, and nervous system where the adrenal gland drives the production of cortisol or better known as "stress hormone."  Stress as Response The production of cortisol enables a person's body to produce the energy it needs to gear it toward action. Another response of the body similar to the production of cortisol is the release of a substance called norepinephrine, which triggers the body's reaction, such as an increased heart rate, higher blood pressure, and respiration, to prepare the body for action.  Stress as Response The adolescent's physical response to stress is faster than that of an adult simply because the part of the adolescent's brain, the prefrontal cortex, that assesses danger and directs action during stress, is not yet fully developed. Prolonged or chronic situations that involve both cortisol and norepinephrine will eventually affect the body to wear down fast. This is the reason why prolonged or chronic stress often causes fatigue, aging, and illness caused by low immune system. Stress as Relational Stress as relational is when a person experiencing stress takes a step back to look at the situation that is causing the stress, and assesses it. Assessment here means that when the person allows reasoning to prevail and weigh the relevance or irrelevance of the situation. Stress as Relational If the relevance is positive, the person will look at the situation in a more positive light. If the relevance is negative, this will produce negative emotions that may lead to stress.  Stress as Relational Example situation: Flight Delay ~ A positive relevance to this will have the person thinking this is one situation he has no control of, and there may be a purpose or reason why it is happening. ~ A negative relevance will produce agitation and impatience, blaming the airline or whoever is responsible for the delay, which may result in lost opportunities. Healthy Stress Stress that can benefit a person. Is short and sporadic These types of stress can motivate, energize, and spur an individual into fruitful action. Example: Speaking in front of an audience; a healthy type of stress as it pushes the speaker to prepare and be an effective speaker. Other types of healthy stress would be competing in sports. Healthy stress can propel the competing individual to perform better Healthy Stress Bad stress can be transformed into good stress depending on how an individual assesses the situation. Knowing your Stressors  Knowing your Stressors The Mayo Clinic in the United States identified two types of stress, short term and long term, and two sources of stressors, internal and external (Stress Management, 2016). External stressors are those that come outside of you like situations, people, and experiences. Internal stressors are those coming from within you, like thoughts that you have that caused you to feel fearful, uncertainties about the future, lack of control over situations, and even your personal beliefs, which include your own expectations.  School Demands and Expectations Quizzes, homeworks, projects, oral recitation, exams, and grades, most especially, epitomize the kind of stressors adolescents have when it comes to studying. Although grades are not the only gauge of what one has learned, it is what the educational system relies on when trying to measure one's learning capacity. Graduating SHS students feel the stress more than any other year level. The question that lingers on their minds is whether one will graduate on time or not. Apparently, academic failure to most students is never an option.  Selecting a School, College Course, or Career An SHS student who just graduated faces more demanding challenges, and the first of these are the college entrance exams and the course that they will choose. Deciding on what course to take up in college is another stressor. Oftentimes, SHS graduates have gone through several aptitude tests conducted by their guidance offices to help them define what their interests are. Schools organize career talks to provide the graduating SHS student some ideas on the practical applications of what they learned in college and how these are relevant to their chosen career.  Selecting a School, College Course, or Career There is a need for more relevant information describing jobs and the kind of skills they entail to help senior high school graduates understand how their skills will be matched with their choice of work  Separation Anxiety SHS graduation, to some, means a temporary ending or separation from some of their friends. There is a possible scenario that a best friend might move to another place to study or move to another school. Technology might ease the pain of separation by simply going online, texting, or calling to get instant connection with someone who is sorely missed.  College Life The prospect of being by themselves in a new school in college and meeting and adjusting to new people is another cause of stress for graduating senior high school students. The unfamiliarity of a new environment can bring stress to adolescents as they set foot in college.  Romantic Relationships or the Lack of it Adolescents have a tendency to feel awkward when they are not in a special relationship with someone. Somehow, being in a romantic relationship is perceived as an affirmation of one's attractiveness. This perception can bring unwanted pressure and stress on an adolescent who has a need to prove that he or she is worthy enough to belong to someone. Family Demands and Expectations To some adolescents, family ties can be a stressor. The adolescent is still learning and yearning for independence and autonomy, but parents may not be ready to relinquish control over their "baby." This is why conflict sets in. Family Demands and Expectations There is also rebellion in the mind of adolescents, to go against the norm and to set their own norms that may not be agreeable to the parents. There are still some parents who think they know better than their children and so they decide for them on critical issues. An example is what course to take in college. Parents who believe that there is no future in music or designing career can discourage a highly creative and sensitive adolescent who may wish to take up music or designing arts. Encouraging an adolescent to take up another course, like the one that may be similar to one or both parents, for example, medicine, usually happens.  Demands of Social Life There is a common thinking among adolescents that it is embarrassing to be alone. That is why the need to belong is important for adolescents. Forming groups or joining one makes an adolescent feel safe and secure because to belong to a social group is an affirmation that they are "okay," and therefore acceptable to others. In order to become part of a group, the individual has to have common interests with the other members of the group. Stressful group pressure sets in when an individual is faced with the challenge to belong by going through some form of ritual, like experimenting with drugs or alcohol, or even with sex. An adolescent with a strong self-concept and self-esteem could discern what is good for them when selecting their social groups.  Bullying Being bullied in school can be very stressful and may cause emotional and psychological trauma to the individual experiencing it. Many schools are aware of the presence of bullying and have policies dealing with it. If you are being bullied, either physically or verbally, report this to your teacher, the school principal, and your parents. Some individuals learn to deal with bullying by fighting back with the right attitude and the right words. Bullies are around because it is often believed that they have problems either at home or with themselves, and also need empathy and understanding. Coping with Stress Coping with Stress Coping is a very important mechanism in dealing with stress. It can help in avoiding the damages that may be brought about by severe or chronic stress to your health and well-being. Coping can be problem- focused, when remedies or solutions are thought of to change the situation to lessen the stress, or emotion- focused, when the objective is to lessen the emotional impact caused by the stressful situation (Feist & Rosenberg, 2012). Coping with Stress Coping may also be a combination of both problem-focused and emotion-focused remedies. Here are some examples:  Conduct creative imagery of the problem - look at the stressor as a relational situation where you can assess and change the way you look at the stressful situation. For example, if you worry about passing a test or exam, rather than fret or worry about it, you should study well. Then imagine yourself being able to answer correctly all the questions and challenges during the test or exam. Seek group or social support - talk to people you know and trust, surround yourself with friends who can offer you sincere understanding and empathy. Talk to an adult and share your thoughts and feelings.  Get into relaxation activities like breathing exercises, regular physical exercise, meditation, yoga, self-hypnosis, reading a good book, or listening to relaxing music. Create a situation where you can feel more relaxed like a quiet environment or a comfortable position, and project a passive attitude toward the stressor like telling your stressor, which may be a person or a situation, that you are confident you are more powerful and can calmly overcome it.  Learn to manage your time - analyze how much time you are spending for studying, for being online, for texting or calling, for watching TV, and see where you are spending more time. Setting your priorities is important when managing time. As a student, your priority is your studies. Seek spiritual growth through prayer and meditation. Be mindful of the presence of the Divine in your life, and interpret the events and people in it as part of a bigger plan not even you can comprehend for now. RECAP TIME! RECAP! Stress may be both good and bad, depending on the acuteness and length of time it persists. Coping is the human organism's way of bringing itself back to a state of equilibrium, which is the healthy state. 3 views in understanding stress: As Stimulus, As Response, and As Relational. RECAP! As stimulus, stress may be the events or situations that are life-changing and very challenging. As a response, stress causes the body and the brain to secrete hormones and chemicals that are manifested physically, and which may drive a person to a certain behavior in dealing with the stress. RECAP! As relational, stress is seen as a situation that a person interacts with. The person can assess whether the situation is relevant or not, and if the relevance is positive or negative. If it is positive, the person will see the stress as a challenge, change the effect of the situation, and then take the necessary course of action to lessen the stress. If it is negative, the person will develop negative emotions, which will aggravate the stressful situation even more. RECAP! Coping is a way for a person to deal with stress in a healthy, acceptable manner. Coping is necessary to avoid psychological trauma and mental diseases. It can be problem-focused, by dealing with the problem and finding ways to solve it or avert further stress; or emotion-focused, by lessening the emotional impact of stress through positive imagery or thoughts.  Any More Questions? Thank you!