Improving you Mental Focus

• Stress


  A condition characterized by symptoms of physical or emotional tension
• Stressors


  Demanding or threatening events that can cause stress, the organism's biological and behavioral response to the stressor
• Conceptualizations of stress

  • Stress as stimulus
  • Stress as response
  • Stress as relational
• Mental health


  A condition of being sound mentally and emotionally that is characterized by the absence of mental illness and by adequate adjustment especially as reflected in feeling comfortable about oneself
• Mental health indicators

  • Emotional well-being
  • Psychological well-being
  • Social well-being
• Causes of stress

  • Peers
  • Examinations
  • Making portfolios
  • Returning to study
  • Poor time management
  • Bullying
  • Overcrowding
  • Noise
  • Meeting deadlines
  • Difficulty in organizing work
  • Various tasks from each subject
  • Leaving assignments to the last minute
  • Adjusting to life as senior high school students
  • Parents or problems at home
  • Balancing between family and school
  • Difficulties with personal relationships (e.g. infatuation, crushes)
• Good stress


  The type of stress you feel when you are excited
• Good stress


  • Being promoted in the job
  • Having your first date
  • Becomes number one in your class or competitions
  • Receiving good commendations from family, friends, and relatives
  • Acquiring and possessing new gadgets
  • During holiday seasons
  • Passing in your examinations
  • Meeting your old closest friends
  • Starting a new business
  • Additional allowance
  • Having outdoor activities together with your classmates
  • Jamming/bonding
• Bad stress


  Stress that burdens you and puts you in a seemingly hopeless situation which hinders your problem-solving capability
• Bad stress

  • Death of family members
  • Losing a job
  • Failed to submit task on time
  • Hospitalization
  • Illness/sickness
  • Sleep problem
  • Abused/neglected
  • Bankruptcy/lack of finances
  • Separation of parents
  • Conflict with peers
  • Physical appearance
  • Being bullied
  • Sexual abuse
  • Traumatic experience
  • Dropping out of school
  • Lack of gadgets gadgets/poor gadgets
  • Left behind from trend
  • Emotional problems
  • Unhappy home/broken family
  • Receive reprimand from authority
• Ways to overcome stress

  • Looking for someone to talk with like friends, family and relatives and share your problems with them
  • Think positive that you can handle your stress
  • Take time to relax by exercising and having work out
  • Do things that are important one at a time
  • Get proper sleep
  • Train your mind by thinking that all things will get well
  • Face your fears
  • Work on your worst scenario and expect that something good will happen
  • Focus on what you can control and let go things that are incontrollable
  • Lower down your standard as long as it will not ruin your plans/ambitions
  • Have a break and engage in enjoyable activities
  • Accept yourself as you are because you are peculiar
  • Identify your unique strengths and focus much on them
  • Remember that you are made for a reason and you are part of the intricate plan of your creator
• Coping


  Mental and behavioral efforts that we use to deal with problems relating to stress, including its presumed cause and the unpleasant feelings and emotions it produces
• Approaches in coping with stress

  • Avoidance approach
  • Acceptance-action approach
• Ways to cope with stress physically

  • Simple exercise
  • Eat nutritious and healthy foods
  • Drink a lot of water
  • Take a bath daily
  • Proper Hygiene
  • Take a nap
  • Sleep at least 8 hours
  • Do sports you like
• Ways to cope with stress emotionally and socially

  • Listen to music
  • Do your favorite hobbies
  • Watch funny videos
  • Play relaxing games
  • Make a journal/blog
  • Release your emotions
  • Have a positive talk to yourself
  • Learn to forgive
  • Accept mistakes and learn from it
  • Support group
  • Talk to professionals like doctor and counselors
• Ways to cope with stress mentally and spiritually


  • Read books / Novel / Comics
  • Think Positive
  • Manage your Time - Plan ahead of your activities
  • Pray to God
  • Be thankful
  • Learn to say NO if needed
  • Know your value
• Things to be avoided when stressed


  • Tobacco and cigarette
  • Alcoholic beverages
  • Illegal Drugs
  • Too much coffee and soft drinks
  • Negative thoughts
• Ways to minimize stressful situations

  • Manage your time wisely
  • Work with others
  • Be positive
  • Trust God
• Brain


  One of the most complex organs in human body, which is part of the central nervous system including the spinal cord
• Main parts of the brain

  • Cerebrum
  • Cerebellum
  • Brainstem
• Frontal lobe


  • Personality, behavior, emotions
  • Judgment, planning, problem solving
  • Speech: speaking and writing (Broca's area)
  • Body movement (motor strip)
  • Intelligence, concentration, self awareness
• Parietal lobe


  • Interprets language, words
  • Sense of touch, pain, temperature (sensory strip)
  • Interprets signals from vision, hearing, motor, sensory and memory
  • Spatial and visual perception
• Occipital lobe


  • Interprets vision (color, light, movement)
• Temporal lobe


  • Understanding language (Wernicke's area)
  • Memory
  • Hearing
  • Sequencing and organization
• Cerebrum


  The largest part of the brain that regulates senses, memory, emotions, intellectual activities, and body movement
• Thalamus


  • Connected to all major parts of the brain including the cerebral cortex, receives information, organizes and then sends information to the cerebrum
• Hypothalamus


  • Located below the thalamus and above the brainstem, links the nervous system with the endocrine system that regulates the digestive processes and is also responsible for growth and development
• Limbic system


  • Composes parts of the cerebral cortex and hypothalamus, that regulate various types of emotions that affect blood temperature and blood pressure facilitated by the hypothalamus like eating behavior
• Cerebellum


  • Located below the cerebrum at the back of the head, functions directly with the cerebrum to receive information from the sensory system and the spinal cord to regulate balance, postures, and coordinate movement
• Brainstem


  • Located at the lower part of the brain, which leads to the spinal cord, connects the cerebrum and cerebellum to the spinal cord, composes nerve fibers that carry signals to and from all parts of the body, functions are for safety and survival such as breathing, consciousness, heart rate, body temperature, blood pressure, digestion, and wake and sleep cycles
• Cerebral cortex


  • The outermost layer of the cerebrum responsible for receiving and processing information also in initiating a response from the processed information in the brain
• Frontal lobe


  • Situated at the front part of the brain which controls memory, emotion, stress response, speech, decision making, and planning
• Parietal lobe


  • Situated near the back of the frontal lobe which regulates sensory perception
• Temporal lobe


  • Located at the side of the head which regulates comprehension memory, hearing, and
• Occipital lobe


  • Situated at the back of the head which regulates sight
• Ways to improve brain function for personal development

  • Exercise
  • Meditate
  • Sleep
  • Food intake
  • Sunlight
• How to improve mental focus

  • Good Relationship
  • Do not Smoke
  • Be creative
  • Classical music
  • Drink coffee
• Steps to improve mental focus

  • Assessment
  • Eliminate Distraction
  • Limit Focus
  • Live in the Moment
  • Practice Mindfulness
  • Take a short break
  • Build mental focus
  • Brainstorm
• Personal development plan


  A framework that required for senior high school students to work out with to track one's self improvement
• Characteristics of a good personal development plan


  • Provides focus
  • Lets you map out a plan towards your version of success
  • Allows you to make better decisions
  • Never permits you from taking backwards steps
  • Strategies should be on track when things go wrong