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Module 3:Booklet 1
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnpQrMq
DoqE (2:24)
1 in 4 Canadian workers described their day-today lives as highly stressful, according to Statistics
Canada!!!
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The non-specific response of the body
to any demand made upon it
The stress reaction lies in your body, not the
situation!
 Stress is not your child who won't go to bed or
the person who just scoped your parking space
 The stress reaction is what happens in your
body in response to those situations
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The stress reaction is neither good nor bad, it
depends on the circumstances
 Can spur great effectiveness and achievement in
some circumstances (ex. Job deadline)
Stress becomes a problem when there's too much,
when it lasts too long or it comes too often (i.e.
Chronic stress)
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Stress and the fight or flight
reaction were vital to survival
when confronted with
danger
The stress reaction was
meant to turn on for short
periods of time in situations
of real or anticipated danger
and then turn off when the
danger had passed
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Our stress reactions are activated far too often,
and by situations that are not physically dangerous
or life-threatening
We also react to ongoing situations
(work, family, money, etc...)
The result is that we switch on our stress
reactions much more often and for much longer
periods of time than nature intended
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Stressor: A stress-producing event or situation
An event that is a stressor for one person
may not be for another!
Distress: Stress that stems from acute (shortterm) anxiety or pressure
Can take a harsh toll on the mind and body
Eustess: Positive stress, which results from
motivating strivings and challenges
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Is the body's response to a
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Many responses to stress are
automatic
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The ways in which different people
react to stress vary considerably
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stressor
Your pattern of symptoms is
usually the same each time and
you can learn to spot it
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Stress shows up in four ways:
◦ Physically
◦ Mentally
◦ Emotionally
◦ Behaviourally
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Thoughts and emotions can produce physiological
changes in your body
Fight or flight response (designed to prepare
person for self-defense) is the body’s immediate
reaction to stress
Heart beats harder and faster, muscles
tense, breathing gets faster, mouth
goes dry, sweat, feel and a knot in the stomach are
all manifestations of acute stress (short-term)
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We cannot deal with most modern stressors in this
manner and physical responses to stress are
generally inappropriate
May develop psychosomatic symptoms (real,
physical symptoms that are caused by stress or
tension) as a result of stress
Headaches, dizziness, clenching the jaw or
grinding the teeth, tight or sore muscles in the
neck or shoulders, chest pains, indigestion,
nausea, cramps, constipation, diarrhea, back pain,
change in appetite & loss of interest in sex are
symptoms of chronic stress (long-term)
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Fatigue and trouble sleeping are the most common
symptoms of stress
Emotional stress is related to illnesses such as
peptic ulcers, hypertension, certain kinds of
arthritis, asthma and heart disease
Stress reduces resistance to infectious disease by
tampering with the immune defence system
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Difficulty concentrating, memory problems, trouble
making decisions, recurring thoughts, loss of
sense of humor, unjustified suspicion or distrust of
others are all example or mental (or cognitive)
symptoms
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Is common for stressed people to feel nervous,
anxious, tense, jittery, on–edge, restless or
agitated, frustrated, impatient or short tempered
Or they could find oneself slowing down, feeling
flat, apathetic (no interest in anything), depressed,
sad or blue
Overreacting to minor irritations, getting no joy
from daily pleasures, doubting one’s own abilities,
feeling tense, short-tempered and
more anxious are also common
symptoms
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Can have excessive stress energy that the body
tries to dissipate through muscular activity
Can fidget, pace, nail-bite, eat compulsively,
smoke , drinks, talk loudly, blame or swear
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Many short term behavioral changes result from
stress:
◦ Nervous habits
◦ Gulp meals
◦ Smoke or drink more
◦ Take drugs
◦ Feel tired for no reason
◦ Changes in posture
◦ May loose interest in eating, grooming, bathing,
sex, etc...
◦ Aggression (threatening behaviour or actions)
towards family members
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Stressful feelings have many causes:
◦ Physical or environmental
◦ Social
◦ Institutional
◦ Major life events
◦ Daily hassles
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Some people are bothered by certain
circumstances, while other are not
Our stress is triggered by different situations, and
what is comfortable to one person can be terrifying
to another
Americans regard noise as one of the
foremost irritants in their lives
Feeling crowded can be a stressor is the situation
is unpleasant
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One of the most common sources of stress is
interaction with other people!
Can be particular individuals who appear to raise
stress level or sometimes one can react to an
individual’s characteristics
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The rules and regulations of
organizations of society at
large (arbitrary (random)
restrictions, bureaucratic red
tape, deadlines, expectations
of immediate response, chains
of command and pointless
formalities are all examples)
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Changes in life circumstances (ex. Death in the
family, loosing a job, moving, divorce, being a
victim of a crime or being in a car accident)
Can be stressful even when they are positive
(ex. getting married)
Effects from different events are
cumulative (build up over time)
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Relative small or repeated situation in day-to-day
living
These often are a better predictor
of stress reactions and health
problems than major life events
Small, positive events (uplifts) can protect against
stress and protect a person’s health
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Personality may make one more vulnerable to
stress
It has been suggested that people who exhibit a
behaviour pattern called “Type A” are very likely to
have coronary heart disease, often followed by
heart attacks , in their thirties & forties
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“Type A” people are always prepared for fight or
fight
(“Type B” people are generally more relaxed,
patient & do not easily become angry)
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Emotional expressiveness can affect the strength
of a stress reaction
It is suggested that people who neither express nor
admit to strong feelings of despair, depression,
and anger are more likely to develop cancer than
those who can vent to their frustrations
People who deny their negative emotions tend to
express feelings less freely, show a high tendency
towards social conformity (doing and thinking as
others), and have a greater risk of getting cancer
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Physical disorders are more likely when we do not
have control over stressors
Feedback is also important and people are more
likely to develop ulcers when they have to make a
large number of responses but receive no feedback
about their effectiveness
People prefer to have
predictable stress over
unpredictable stress
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Physical and psychological well-being is
profoundly (greatly) influenced by the degree to
which we feel a sense of control over our lives
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Is information that leads someone to believe that
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Can buffer an individual from the effects of stress
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he or she is cared for, loved, respected, and part of
a network of communication and mutual obligation
Can reduce both the likelihood and the severity of
stress-related diseases
Social groups can offer at least four kind of
support:
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Emotional Support
◦ Involves concerned listening, which forms a basis
for offering affection and concern and bolstering
the stressed person's self-confidence
Appraisal Support
◦ Interactive  the listener feeds back information
and probing questions to the stressed person as
and aid in sorting out and
understanding the sources
of the stress
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Information support
◦ Emerges from appraisal support  the stressed
person responds to what he or she has learned
and evaluates the manner in which he or she is
dealing with stressors
Instrumental support
◦ Represents active, positive support in the form of
direct help such as money
or living quarters
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An attempt to gain control over a part of one’s life
An attempt to master, control, reduce and tolerate
the stressors in one's life
People cope with stress in many ways, there is not
just one way that is best for al people in all
situations
Some coping strategies may not always be healthy
ways to adapt (ex. binge drinking)
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It is our interpreting or evaluation
of an event (cognitive appraisal)
that helps determine its stress
impact
Drugs can affect the cognitive
appraisal (ex. Drinking may help
convince a man who has been
fired that his troubles are not
serious)
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We can try to influence our cognitive appraisal by
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Can prevent physical reactions to stress
means of defensive coping strategies, and stress
reactions are more likely to occur when these
strategies fail
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Common defensive mechanisms are:
◦ Denial
 A person decides that the event is not really a
stressor
◦ Intellectualization
 The person analyzes a
situation from an emotionally
detached viewpoint
 ie: Avoid uncomfortable emotions
by focusing on facts and logic.
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Involves appraising a situation as a challenge and
not a threat
Involves changing our environment or modifying a
situation to remove the stressors or reduce the
level of stress
Examples include...
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Refers to personality traits of control (feeling that
we have the ability to affect the outcome of the
situation), commitment(establishing and pursuing
our goals), and challenge (actively confront and
solve problems instead of feeling threatened and
powerless by them) that help us reduce the stress
we feel
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Can include escape and withdrawal or to space out
stress-producing events
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Involves confronting the matter head-on
The situation becomes a positive challenge rather
than a negative setback
Involves a rational analysis or the situation that will
lead to an appropriate decision
Tends to sharpen insights and attention to detail
and develop flexibility
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Involves being an optimist
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This means “putting the best face on any set of
events”
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Progressive relaxation
◦ Why? To reduce muscle tension
◦ Person lies down comfortably and tenses and
releases the tension in each major muscle group
in turn
Mediation
◦ Focusing of attention with the
goal of clearing one's mind and
producing an “inner peace”
◦ Has been shown to counteract both physical and
psychological responses to stress!
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Involves the process of learning to control bodily
states with the help of machines that produce
feedback
Technique for bringing specific body processes
under a person's conscious control (ex. Blood
pressure or muscle tension)
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Expert advise clients to try to
maintain a sense of humor
during difficult situations
Why ? Laughing releases the
tension of pent-up feelings
and can help keep a proper
perspective of the situation
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Stimulates and provides an outlet for physical
arousal
May burn off stress hormones
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Groups that operate beyond ordinary personal
networks (including, Alcoholics Anonymous and
Weight Watchers) can help people with specific
stress-related problems
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Involves exposure to moderate stressors in a
relatively safe but challenging environment which
allows a person to gain experience and confidence
in coping with stress
(ex. A person who is nervous about going to a
friend‘s gym to play tennis might take a few tennis
lessons first)
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Much of the stress we undergo results from
interpersonal stress
Developing skills in dealing with others is one of
the best ways to manage stress!
Stress Management Strategies: Ways to
Unwind
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What is the youngest age a person can have stress?
Newborn (signs: Avoiding eye contact and arching the
back)
What is happening in the brain during stress?
Stressful experiences lead to dysfunctions of the prefrontal cortex, critical areas regulating judgment,
planning, decision making, moral reasoning, and sense
of self.Over time, this response can lead to impulsive,
short-sighted, even violent behavior; increased anxiety,
depression, alcohol and drug abuse, learning disorders,
and increased stress-related diseases.
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What are the various disorders related to stress ?
Acute stress disorder, Panic Anxiety, Post-traumatic
Stress disorders (PTSD), Stress ulceration
Do men and women hand stress differently ?
YES!!! One of the most important reasons why men and
women react differently to stress is hormones. Three
play a crucial role: cortisol, epinephrine, and oxytocin.
When stress strikes, hormones called cortisol and
epinephrine together raise a person's blood pressure
and circulating blood sugar level, and cortisol alone
lowers the effectiveness of the immune system.
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What are the leading causes of stress ?
1. Financial Problems – This is the number one
source of stress these days.
2. Workplace Stress
3. Personal Relationships
4. Health
5. Irritants (in daily life)
Do animals stress ?
Yes, domestic cats –unfriendly relationships with
other cats in the house & dogs in shelters get
majorly stressed out by the excessive barking of
the other dogs there

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJR8AT_kh
Bs&feature=relmfu (Part 1 13:50)
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEhgm3Q
qA9U&feature=relmfu (Part 2 13:45)
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NO LONGER UP (FEB ’14 )