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Chapter 4
Stress and Stress Management
Sect. 1 Stressors and Stress
• Stress - physical and psychological demands on
a person.
 Eustress - Good stress
 Distress - bad stress
• Chronic stress - unrelieved stress that continues
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to tax a person’s resources to the point of
exhaustion; is damaging to your health.
Acute stress - temporary bout of stress that may
bring you new energy.
Stressor - anything that requires you to cope
with, or adapt to, a situation.
Physical Signs of Stress
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Pounding of the Heart
Rapid, shallow breathing
Trembling
Raised body temperature
High-pitched, nervous laughter
Blushing; hot face
Need to urinate frequently
Psychological Signs of Stress
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Irritability, tension or depression
Impulsive behavior and emotional instability
Lowered self-esteem
Feelings of isolation
Avoidance of activities
Inability to concentrate
Nightmares
Sect. 2 Stress and the Body’s
Systems
• Three systems that are effected by stress
 Nervous System
 Hormonal System
 Immune System
Nervous System
• Produces a set of reactions to restore
normal conditions inside the body.
 Example: when the body is cold the nervous
system will raise the hairs on the body to
create a layer of insulation.
Hormonal System
• Will releases chemicals to help the body
restore itself back to normal.
 Epinephrine - (adrenaline) energy booster for
the body.
 Norepinephrine - (noradrenaline) increases
the heart rate. Responsible for the fight or
flight response.
Immune System
• Produces white blood cells to fight infection
• Immune system includes:
 Bone marrow
 Thymus gland
 Spleen
Sect. 3 Stress and Too Much
Stress
• Three phases of stress response
 Alarm (1st phase) occurs when you think you are
facing a challenge.
 Resistance (2nd phase) state of speeded-up
functioning.
 Recovery or Exhaustion (3rd phase) the body returns
to normal.
• Fight or Flight reaction
 Body will either mount an aggressive response against
the danger, or run away.
Sect. 4 Dealing with Stress
• Exercise
 Keeps your body strong
 Strengthens your stress resistance
 Gets blood moving so it does not build up and
damage the heart
• Attitude Control
 Change the way you react to events so that
the events aren’t so stressful
Sect. 4 Dealing with Stress
• Time Management
 Effective time management can also help to minimize
stress.
• Coping Devices and Defense Mechanisms
 Human mind has some temporary measures it can
use to get through tough times called coping devices
• Displacement - channeling the energy of suffering into
something else.
• Ventilation - act of verbally venting one’s feelings
Defense Mechanisms
• Are self-destructive, though, and are best used
only for short periods, if at all.
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Denial - repression
Fantasy - imagining something positive instead
Projection - blaming others
Rationalization - justifying the action or attitude
Regression - acting in childish ways
Selective forgetting - memory lapse about experience
Withdrawal - drawing away from people
Willed Relaxation
• Relaxation response - opposite of stress
response
• Components of Willed Relaxation
 A comfortable position
 A quiet, calm mind
 A passive attitude toward mental thoughts