Download MENTAL HEALTH: Stress and Its Effects on You

MENTAL HEALTH:
Stress and Its Effects on You
Ms. Mai
Lawndale High School
Stress

Everyone experiences stress everyday
Stress is a natural and inescapable part
of life
 Eustress can add enjoyment to your life,
while distress can lead to physical illness
or even suicide


Your response to stressors depends
upon your personality and how well you
learn to manage your stress
Personality Types

Some people thrive on challenges,
while others take life more easily. Some
people reach their high goals eagerly,
while others are satisfied with low goals

Scientists have studies and found that
there are two primary personality types
based upon how people handle stress
Personality Types
(you will see a similar chart on your mental health test)
TYPE A
TYPE B
Unable to Relax
Relaxed and Carefree
Competitive
Cooperative
Concerned about time
and achieving
Strive for perfection
Less Productive
Satisfied with lower
output
Stress and Your Health

Your personality type influences how
you deal with tasks in your life

How you deal with tasks is determined
by the amount of stress you feel

Severe prolonged distress can result in a
number of physical health problems such
as psychosomatic reactions, reduced
immune system, or heart disease
Psychosomatic Reaction
Physical disorders that result from
stress are called psychosomatic
 Psychosomatic reactions include
Sleep Disorder
Skin Disorders - cold sore, acne
Digestive Problems - nausea,
vomiting, constipation, ulcers
Headaches – tension, migraine
Body – cold, infectious diseases

Immune System

There is a connection between stress
and the body’s ability to resist infectious
diseases

Our bodies expend a great deal of
energy when we are under stress

When our bodies try to fight off diseases
when we are under stress, our immune
system respond slower because our
body is exhausted
Heart Disease

Mental and emotional stress causes an
increase in heart rate, blood pressure,
and cholesterol levels

All these factors increase the risk of
heart disease

Some people also suggest that Type A
personalities are at high risk for heart
disease because they demonstrate
higher situations of hostility
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is a
condition in which a person experiences
long-term feelings of abnormal
exhaustion

Symptoms of CFS may include fever,
weakness, headache, and sore throat
Adolescence and Suicide

During adolescence, teens go through a
great deal of stress and anxiety feeling
angry, frustrated, confused, depressed

Many teens go through depression
(feeling of sadness, worthless, helpless)

When depression lasts long periods of
time, teens feel that nothing can ever go
right again and have thoughts of suicide
Frequency of Suicide
Suicide in the United States depend a
great deal upon age, gender, and
ethnic background
 Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death
of people 15 – 24 years old


Half of all suicides are the result of firearm

More women are reported to attempt
suicide, while more males actually
commit suicide
Overgeneralization
Many teens who consider suicide are
“loners” who have problems making or
keeping friends
 These teens tend to overgeneralize
their problems (draw a broad conclusion
from little information)


For example, a boy who gets dumped
by his 1st girlfriend believes that all girls
are evil and nobody will ever like him
again
Personalization
People who consider suicide are also
critical of themselves and may feel
worthless and guilty all the time
 People who are critical may also
personalize problems (taking general
remarks as if it were meant for just them)


For example, someone mentions
something about a group of people, and
you take it as a personal offense
Depression Symptoms
People who experience depression for
over 1 or 2 months should seek help
 Some common symptoms of depression
are…
Loss of interest in friends or school
Change in sleeping patterns
Change in eating habits
Hopelessness feelings
Reliance on drugs to ease the pain

Strategies for Helping Friends
Take your friend’s crisis seriously
 Do not deny that your friend has a
problem
 Listen carefully
 Ask specific questions
 Avoid statements like “don’t worry,”
“there’s nothing to worry about,” your
problem isn’t really that bad”
 Get help, but do not leave them alone

In Conclusion…
Sometimes you might get caught up in a
friend’s crisis and do not know how to
stop it
 Use the strategies just discussed to try
and help, but also understand that you
are not an expert


Lastly, just make sure your friend knows
that there are people who care