Stress

What is Stress?

The process by which a person both asses and responds to events that are challenging or threatening. Anevent or a situation that a person finds challenging is called a stressor.

COPING WITH STRESS

Seek help from a professional.
Seek help from a friend or from family.
If religious, pray.
Recognize signs of body’s response to stress.
Set priorities, andaccomplish small goals.
Don’t concentrate on the bad.

Significant life events

- Marriage

Daily hassles

- Traffic

Environmental factors

- Pollution

Catastrophes

- Earthquake

Work

- Conflict with coworkers

Sociocultural factors

- Poverty

What is a stressors:

Brain and Stress

Stress effects three parts of the brain which are amygdala, hippocampus, and prefrontal cortex. Stress can shrink your brain, kill brain cells, disrupt memory by triggering the brain’s treat response, and suppresses a person’s ability to think.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

Body responds to stress in three stages: Alarm, Resistance, and exhaustion. Alarm: Fight or flight response. Resistance: Physiological arousal remains high as the body tires to adapt to the emergency by replenishing adrenal hormones. Exhaustion: The body’s energy reserves are worn-out.

How to Measure Stress

Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA): A method of measuring stress that involves repeated sampling of people’s behaviors and experiences in real time, and in their natural environment.

Every day tasks that can help you avoid stress:

Take care of yourself.

•Eat healthy, well-balanced meals

•Exercise on a regular basis

•Get plenty of sleep

•Give yourself a break if you feel stressed out

Talk to others. Share your problems and how you are feeling and coping with a parent, friend, counselor, doctor, or pastor.

Avoid drugs and alcohol. Drugs and alcohol may seem to help with the stress. In the long run, they create additional problems and increase the stress you are already feeling.

Take a break. If your stress is caused by a national or local event, take breaks from listening to the news stories, which can increase your stress.

Recognize when you need more help. If problems continue or you are thinking about suicide, talk to a psychologist, social worker, or professional counselor.

Cognative Appraisal

 Primary Appraisal: A person determines if the situation or event is threatening or not.  Secondary Appraisal: Then the person looks around and sees if they have enough resources to get through the threat or challenge or they come up with a strategy.  Cognitive Reappraisal: Then the person sees if his or her strategy is working.