I FEEL YOU.

CHAPTER 5: COPING
WITH STRESS IN
MIDDLE AND LATE
ADOLESCENCE
STRESS
What is Stress?
• Is defined as a state of extreme difficulty,
pressure or strain

• Stress is unpleasant as it puts the mind and the

body in a dilemma where it is threatened or
challenged.
Types of Stress
• Eustress – Experienced by the body as an
unpleasant stimuli becomes a source of
motivation

• Distress – causes not only pain in the mind

but also in the body as it makes the
individual literally sick
LECTURE: COMMON
SOURCES OF STRESS
Stressors
• It is the term used to denote those which
cause stress.
• These are things, events, situations, or
thoughts that bring about stress
Common Stressors in the Lives of
Adolescents
• Physical appearance
• School/Academic pressure
• Family/Home
• Social/Peer pressure
• Loss
• Frustration
• Romantic Relationship
• Future
Daily Hassles

• Lack of sleep
• Unending work requirements
• Lack of money
• Traffic jams
• Discourteous people
 EMOTIONAL COGNITIVE

PHYSICAL MORAL

STRESS

EUSTRESS • DISTRESS
Physical Impact
• Increase in the rate and depth of breathing
• Blood becomes more concentrated
• Heart and pulse rate increases
• Senses become extremely keen
• ‘Butterflies in one’s stomach’
• ‘Goosebumps’
• Cold sweat
• Dry mouth
• Adrenaline rush
Health Problems
• Pain of any kind
• Heart disease
• Digestive problems
• Sleep problems
• Depression
• Weight problems
• Auto immune diseases
• Skin conditions (eczema)
Emotional Symptoms

• Moodiness
• Irritability or short temper
• Agitation, inability to relax
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Sense of loneliness and isolation
• Depression or general unhappiness
Cognitive Symptoms

• Memory problems
• Inability to concentrate
• Poor judgment
• Seeing only the negative
• Constant worrying
Behavioral Symptoms
• Eating more or less
• Sleeping too much or too little
• Isolating yourself from others
• Procrastinating or neglecting
responsibilities
• Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
• Nervous habits (nail biting, pacing)
STRESS RESPONSES
Stress Responses
• It is the body’s mechanism for protecting or
caring for the stressed individual
1. Fight or Flight Response /
Acute Stress Response

• Walter Cannon introduced the fight or flight

response, in 1920’s.
• It involves the occurrence of physiological
reactions when one is under stress or
pressure.
• The functional reactions activate the body’s
resources to deal with the threatening
situations.
2. General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

• Hans Selye (1936) developed the

concept of stress and the theory of
stress reaction known as “General
Adaptation Syndrome”
• General Adaptation Syndrome states
that a body under stress generally
undergoes response stages:

• Alarm
• Resistance
• Exhaustion
Alarm Phase
• when the people recognizes the threat
• when the person desires either to
confront the stressor known as “Fight”
or to run away from the stressor
“Flight”
• It activates stress hormones such as
adrenaline, nonadrenaline, and
cortisol.
Resistance Stage
• Secretion of additional hormones for
long term protection if the stress is too
much.
• The adrenal cortex produces
hormones called corticosteroids.
Exhaustion
• is where body’s resources will be
depleted
• The entry point of stress overload
or burnout.
• If not settled right away, it may
lead to serious health problems
3. Relaxation Response
• Dr. Herbert Benson, founder of Harvard’s
Mind/Body Medical Institute, coined the
term relaxation response.
• It is the body’s capacity to release
chemicals and brain signals that slow down
the movement of muscles and organs.
• It slows down the physiological responses,
and bringing back the body and mind into a
state of equilibrium.
REVIEW
1. It is unpleasant as it puts the mind
and the body in a dilemma where it
is threatened or challenged.
2. It states that a body under stress generally
undergoes response stages: Alarm, Resistance,
and Exhaustion.
3. He developed the concept of stress and
the theory of stress reaction known as
“GAS”
4. What are the two types of stress?
5. Give at least 2 common daily hassles you
experience.
6. Type of stress that causes not only pain in
the mind but also in the body as it makes the
individual literally sick.
7. A response to stress where body’s
resources will be depleted.
8. A type of stress that experienced by the body as
an unpleasant stimuli becomes a source of
motivation
9. A response to stress when the people
recognizes the threat.
10. Secretion of additional hormones for
long term protection if the stress is too
much.
Answers
1. STRESS
2. GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME
3. HANS SELYE
4. EUSTRESS / DISTRESS
5. Lack of sleep
Unending work requirements
Lack of money
Traffic jams
Discourteous people
6. DISTRESS
7. EXHAUSTION
8. EUSTRESS
9. ALARM
10. RESISTANCE
Handling Extreme Emotions and Stress
1. Social Engagement – we can think and feel clearly,
and the immune system continue to work uninterrupted.

2. Mobilization – known as fight or flight response. It

releases chemicals to provide the energy you need to
protect yourself. Digestive and immune system stop
working.

3. Immobilization – you find yourself traumatized or

“stuck” in an angry, panic-stricken or dysfunctional state.
The nervous system may not be unable to return to pre-
stress state of balance.
COMMON COPING
STRATEGIES
Problem-focused approach
• This involves focusing on the source of the
stress.
• It include trying to analyzed the situation
and making extra effort or working harder to
solve the problem.
Emotion-focused strategy
• This encompasses concentrating on ones
feeling or emotion brought about by the
stress instead of facing the actual source of
stress
OTHER TIPS ON COPING
WITH STRESS
Coping with stress
1. Engaging in physical activities
2. Doing activities that are relaxing
3. Acquiring social support
4. Getting ample rest and sleep
5. Doing realistic
6. Thinking positively
7. Learning the art of resilience
WAYS OF COPING
The Role of Self Esteem in Coping
Self Esteem is a regard of the self and its worth.

GREATER CONFIDENCE
BELIEVING IN ONE’S AND HIGHER ABILITY
SELF TO COPE WITH
STRESSORS

UNDERSTANDING AND HIGHER DEGREE OF

APPRECIATION OF CONFIDENCE TO THE
THE ‘SELF’ INDIVIDUAL
• Self Esteem equips one to confront efficiently the
pressing realities of life.

• It allows one to develop a ‘hardy’ personality that

can withstand the greatest pressure in one’s life
 Signs of High and Low Self-Esteem
HIGH SELF-ESTEEM

Trusts own perception

Accepting one’s uniqueness LOW SELF-ESTEEM
Responsible for one’s action
Open-minded
Allow others to make
Pro-active
decision
Competent in varied areas
Insecure
Accepts mistakes
Reactive
Has respect for one’s self
Close-minded
Worried and anxious
Developing High Self-Esteem
1. Develop Hardiness
2. Be Positive
3. Be Grateful
4. Use Mantra
5. Be Humorous
6. Be Productive
7. Be Empowered
MNEMONICS (Willingham, 2013)
a) Peg Word – useful for memorizing lists of unrelated
words in order by creating a visual image with a ‘peg’
word
Example: ‘one is bun’ or ‘two is a shoe’
If you need to remember to call someone and to
return a book, relate the ‘bun with someone’ and the ‘book
with a shoe’

b) Method of Loci – useful for memorizing lists of unrelated

items in order by creating a ‘mental walk’ to memory
and creating a visual image.
Example: Associate the chair with someone and the
fence with a book which you find outside your house.
c) Acronym – By using the first letter of each item that you
desire to remember
Example: R for ‘Review’; T for ‘Thesis’

d) Acrostic – creating an easy-to-remember statement to

which you can associate the first letter of each word
Example: PEMDAS – Parenthesis, Exponent,
Multiplication, Division, Addition

e) Music/Rhymes – The to-be remembered items is set to

a familiar tune, set to a rhythm or made in to a rhyme
Example: King Phillip Came Over For Good
Spaghetti (Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus,
Specie)
f) Mnemonic Associations – The material is associated
with the features of the material that is hard to
remember
Example: “stalactites grow from the ceiling”
“stalagmites grow from the ground

g) Keyword – Most of the time used for foreign word by

associating it to a close English word then creating a
visual image to connect it.
Example: “champinones” means mushroom
“champion”