Health

• Stress


  A physical and emotional response to a significant or unexpected change or disruption in one's life
• Stressors


  Things that cause an individual to be stressed
• Two kinds of stress

  • Eustress (healthy and positive response)
  • Distress (negative reaction)
• Eustress


  A healthy and positive response of the body from a stressor, makes a good impact on a person's well-being
• Eustress


  • A person who studied for long hours and got an excellent grade in the exam, may feel happiness and enjoyment
• Distress


  Relates to a negative reaction of the body to a given stressor, can cause health problems, impair mood and emotion and affect a person's way of thinking
• Distress


  • When a person woke up late for work, he/she may feel frustration and disappointment
• Anxiety


  A feeling of fear, worry, or unease, could be a reaction to stress or happen to anyone unable to identify particular stressors
• Anxiety is a normal emotion, but when a person continually feels uneven levels of anxiety, it can lead to a serious mental disorder
• Stress and anxiety are not always bad, in the short period of time they can help you overcome a challenge or dangerous situation
• Everyday stress and anxiety


  • Feeling nervous before a major exam or being embarrassed in some social situation
• If we did not experience some anxiety, we might not be motivated to do things that we need to do
• Good mental health


  Definition of the absence of mental illness, allows the person to enjoy life and have a positive insight into life even with obstacles
• Difficulties are ways to have good mental health because they made us who we are now, the most important thing is to handle our stress and anxiety by looking at the bright side of life
• General Adaptation Syndrome


  1. Alarm stage (body prepares to attack)

  2. Resistance stage (body responds to stressor)

  3. Exhaustion stage (person loses energy to manage stress)
• General Adaptation Syndrome


  1. Alarm stage

  2. Resistance stage

  3. Exhaustion stage
• Example of distressful situation

  • Flood
• When a flood starts to arise

  Person feels very alarmed, energy suddenly raised up, begins to carry heavy things and place them on higher part of house
• Person was able to escape safely and secure things


  Still felt very stressed because thought about important things that may have been forgotten to save
• When the flood subsides

  Person was not able to move on, may feel extreme sadness and loss, began to feel health problems
• Alarm stage


  Initial stage wherein the body prepares to attack either psychological or physical
• Resistance stage


  Stage when the body has already responded to the stressor, person is "stressed" in this stage but the strong feeling is less than the previous stage, the body uses a great amount of energy to prepare for the stressor
• Exhaustion stage


  Stage when a person slowly loses energy to manage stress, also known as the "gate toward burnout or stress overload"
• The body's response to stress

  • Alarm stage: Heart rate increases, breathing increases, muscle tense
  • Resistance stage: Pulse and breathing return to normal, muscle relax, sometimes feels irritability, frustration and poor concentration
  • Exhaustion stage: Body fatigues from overworked, burnout, depression and anxiety
• Symptoms of excess stress

  • Physical symptoms: Dry mouth, excessive perspiration, frequent illnesses, gastrointestinal problems, grinding of teeth, headaches, high blood pressure, pounding heart, stiff neck or aching lower
  • Emotional symptoms: Anger, anxiety or edginess, depression, hypervigilance, impulsiveness, inability to concentrate, irritability, trouble with memory
  • Behavioral symptoms: Crying, disrupted eating habits, disruptive sleeping pattern, harsh treatment of others, increased use of tobacco and other drugs, problem communicating, social isolation, sexual problems
• Stress management


  The action we do when experiencing stress, anxiety, problems, or any uncomfortable situation or emotion
• Two actions in managing/coping with stress

  • Healthy coping strategies: Don't always feel good at the moment, but contribute to long-lasting positive outcomes, can either change the situation or change your reaction
  • Unhealthy coping strategies: Often provide instant satisfaction or may temporarily reduce stress, but cause more damage in the long run and have negative consequences
• Healthy coping strategies - The four A's

  • Avoid: Avoid people/things that make you feel stressed, learn to say no, think of the things that are right and important
  • Alter: If something or someone causes you to stress, communicate it
  • Adapt: If you cannot avoid or alter what stresses you, change your expectations and attitude, try to look on the brighter side, consider readjusting your standard
  • Accept: Try not to worry about things you have no control over
• Example of healthy coping strategies


  • Breathe (the right way), call a good friend, exercise, play with a pet, meditate, listening to music, take time off work, watch a comedy, spend time with nature, get a massage
• Example of unhealthy coping strategies


  • Smoking, procrastination, drinking too much alcohol, taking out your stress on others, over eating or under eating, turning attention into things that can help avoid facing problems, sleeping too much, hour long breakdown in front of the TV or computer