Stress Management
1. Definitions
• Stress: body’s response to any demand made upon it
• Stressor: thing that upsets/excites a person, whether ( or Θ
• Eustress: positive life stress (challenges one to grow & adapt)
• Distress: negative life stress (depletes/destroys energy)
2. Categories of Stressors
• Acute: e.g. parent’s death
• Sequential: e.g. series of lifetime changes after a baby’s birth
• Intermittent: e.g. monthly bills or weekly tests
• Chronic: e.g. living in a dangerous environment
3. Body’s Response to a Stressor
• Biological theory of stress: “General Adaptation Syndrome”: 3 stages
1-Alarm: stressor occurs => changes that temporarily ( resistance
2-Resistance: body mobilizes resources to sustain homeostasis
3-Exhaustion: if stress continues long enough ( risk of breakdown
• Response affected by
- Previous experiences, ( or Θ
- Person’s general outlook on life (optimistic/pessimistic)
- Number, frequency, time & setting in which changes occur
- Age & gender
- Social class & status
- Lifestyle & education
4. Students Stressors
- Tests & academic failure
higher incidence of colds & flu during finals (stress ( immunity)
upset stomachs, insomnia
difficulty studying or concentrating
may freeze up during tests even of they know the material
- Deadlines
- Future: concern about establishing careers after graduation
- Financial problems
- Friendship/ dating relationships
- Losses (breakup, death)
- Daily hassles:
societal stressors (traffic, physical/verbal violence, discrimination)
family stressors
5. Job stress
• Attitudes about work - not work itself – can be hazardous to health
• Workaholism
- Obsession by one’s work and career
- Often to mask/avoid painful feelings/difficulties in one’s life
- Cycle: overwork => stress => makes work harder => more stress
• Burnout
- Consequence of overwork: physical/mental/emotional exhaustion...