Week 4

• Stress


  The process by which we consider and respond to a threatening or challenging event
• According to the World Health Organization, stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances
• You are stressed if


  • Physical Therapist (pinch your palm particularly in between the thumb and index finger and you get hurt)
  • Psychologist (close your hands together and check the position of your thumbs - and having decision making issue)
  • Doctors (when there is chest pain like your heart is racing, headaches, dizziness, shaking or high blood pressure)
• Stressor


  Any event, situation, or external stimulus that causes a stress response in the body
• Types of stressors


  • Catastrophes
  • Major life changes
  • Daily hassles
• Daily hassles or the things we do everyday, such as waiting in line, dealing with traffic, accomplishing school work and doing household chores, are also stressful, especially when they pile up
• Uplifts


  Regular events in our lives that make us feel good, such as having enough sleep, being able to rest, maintaining positive relations with others, accomplishing a task
• Uplifts seem to buffer the effects of daily hassles and contribute significantly to our well being. The more uplifts we experience, the lesser the strain produced by daily hassles
• Each individual responds to stressors distinctively, in that an activity may be stressful for one but is simply a routine for another
• Stress


  Lies in the beholder. The experience and perception of stress varies from individual to individual
• Stressors can also be ambient in that they may be imbedded in the environment, such as poverty, traffic, crowding, noise and air pollution
• Culture can also set the manner in which stress is experienced and appraised by people. Different forms of racial discrimination and adapting to a new culture or the process of acculturation are linked to psychological distress
• There seems to be a downward trend in having stress from early to late adolescence and that adolescent stress typically comes from life events, daily hassles and socio-cultural factors
• The most common stressor for adolescents lies in their relationships, particularly stressors that involve relationships with parents and at school, while romantic-related concerns showed the lowest
• Adolescent girls seem to be more affected by relationship-based stressors than their male counterparts
• The most common concerns among Filipino youth respondents were centered on intra- and interpersonal conflicts, and their lack of resources, which sometimes even included those that provide for their basic needs
• Older Filipino respondents revealed that their problems lie specifically in their peers as sources of negative influence, while the younger respondents expressed their concern about their parents' and older siblings' excessive drinking
• Filipino respondents living in urban areas encountered problems that are future-related, while those from the rural areas appeared to be more apprehensive about their day-to-day needs
• Other concerns of older Filipino respondents living in the city pointed toward rumor-mongering and unwanted pregnancies
• Common sources of stress


  • Frustration
  • Internal conflict
  • Change
  • Pressure
• When left unchecked, stress can undermine several facets of our lives, including impairment of task performance, interference in concentration, burnout, psychological problems and disorders, and physical illness
• Post-traumatic growth


  A positive personal change following a traumatic or undesirable event
• Stressful circumstances in our lives also quench our thirst for challenge and stimulation
• Exposure to stress prepares us to handle future stressors of similar nature, thereby augmenting our tolerance for stress
• Constructive coping


  Efforts to deal with stressful events that are judged to be healthful
• Appraisal-focused coping


  Changing the way we look at circumstances that we face
• 1. ABC sequence

  Altering irrational appraisals of events: Activating Event (Objective Situation) -> Belief (Irrational Appraisal) -> Consequence (Emotional and/or Behavioural Reaction)
• Our resilience is developed partly by learning how to dispute unrealistic beliefs and to replace them with more rational ones
• Problem-focused coping


  Squarely confronting and making an effort to solve stressful events
• Problem-focused coping strategies


  • Engaging in systematic problem solving
  • Seeking help from others
  • Enhancing time management skills
  • Learning to be more assertive
• Emotion-focused coping


  Handling and managing our emotions well in response to stressful events
• Emotion-focused coping strategies


  • Exercising
  • Doing relaxation exercises
  • Meditating
  • Releasing pent-up emotions
  • Enhancing emotional skills
  • Forgiving self and others
  • Redirecting attention to more productive endeavors
• Problem-focused coping seems to be more effective than emotion-focused coping on a long term basis
• Coping strategies that work well for adolescents


  • Thinking positively
  • Enhancing self-control
  • Seeking help from others
  • Consulting a counsellor or therapist
  • Using various coping strategies
• The most common coping strategy cited by Filipino youth respondents was through seeking help and support from family, friends and other significant people in their lives
• Older Filipino respondents and those living in urban areas were more inclined to ask help from their peers
• Filipino respondents also shared that amid the problems that beset them, they typically draw strength from internal attributes, such as confidence in oneself and one's competencies, and belief in God