Managing Stress

In this lesson, you will Learn About…

What stress is.

How your body responds to stress.

How you can manage stress.

Vocabulary Review

The Vocabulary terms in this lesson are:

Stress

Eustress

Distress

Stressor

Adrenaline

Fatigue

Stress: A Natural Part of Life

Stress is your body’s response to changes around you.

Ordinary events like forgetting a locker combination or taking a test, can cause stress.

Big changes, such as starting a new school, parents divorcing, or a friend moving away, may also create stress.

Stress: A Natural Part of Life

Sometimes, you may respond to stressful events with anxiety.

Anxiety is feeling uncertain or worried about what may happen.

Types of Stress

Positive stress Negative stress

Positive stress is called eustress and can help accomplish tasks, reach goals, and escape danger.

Distress or negative stress gets in your way and holds you back. Personal problems at home or at school can produce negative stress. Too much negative stress can be unhealthy.

Your Body’s Response to Stress

Stressors are objects, people, places, and events that trigger stress.

A stressor sets off a chain of events called the “fight-or-flight response.”

The Fight-or-Flight Response

4 The muscles tighten and become ready for action.

5 Breathing deepens and speeds up. Passages in the lungs widen to bring more oxygen into the body.

1 The stressor stimulates the brain.

2 The brain signals the adrenal glands to send out adrenaline.

3 The heart gets the message and beats faster. Blood vessels expand as more blood flows to the brain and muscles.

Other organs also help the body deal with the stressor. The stomach and intestines slow down their activities to save energy. Once the body has dealt with the stressor, it returns to normal.

6

Stress and Fatigue

Dealing with too much stress can cause fatigue, or extreme tiredness.

You can deal with stress-related fatigue by:

Removing the source of stress. Increasing your activity level. Learning ways to manage stress.

Ways to Manage Stress

To manage stress and anxiety:

Recognize stress. Manage your time. Set your priorities. Redirect your energy. Talk to someone. Relax. Put things in perspective. Increase your activity.

Ways to Manage Stress (cont’d.)

Redirecting your energy by being physically active is a good way to manage stress.

Reviewing Terms and Facts

1.Positive stress is called _______.eustress

Reviewing Terms and Facts

2. _____ is your body’s response to changes around you.Stress

Reviewing Terms and Facts

3.What is fatigue?

Fatigue is extreme tiredness. It can be caused by dealing with too much stress.

Chapter Review

1. The first and greatest influence on your self-concept when you are young is your _________________.parents/guardians

Reviewing Terms and Facts

2. __________ means not participating in health-risk behaviors.Abstinence

Reviewing Terms and Facts

Reviewing Terms and Facts

3. The hormone that prepares the body to respond to a stressor is called adrenaline.

A. TrueB. False

4. Explain how messages from parents and friends affect your self-concept.

Thinking Critically

Positive messages support or reinforce your self-concept.

5. List three objects, people, places, or events that act as stressors for you. Identify the effect that these stressors have on your individual health and the health of your family.

Thinking Critically

6. How might physical activity help reduce stress-related fatigue?

Thinking Critically

Becoming more active releases the physical energy that builds up when a person feels stress. Physical activity naturally calms the body, thereby reducing stress.

Vocabulary Review

Stress is your body’s response to changes around you.

Vocabulary Review

Positive stress is called eustress.

Vocabulary Review

Negative stress is called distress.

Vocabulary Review

Stressors are objects, people, places, and events that trigger stress.

Vocabulary Review

Adrenaline is a hormone that prepares the body to respond to a stressor.

Vocabulary Review

Fatigue is extreme tiredness.