By: Julia Frank and Lee Vlasak

Purpose To talk about and recognize causes of stress in students and to learn a variety of ways to cope and manage stress for a more optimistic environment.

Standards

What is stress? Defined as relates to teens: stress is a stimulus causing psychosocial and physiologic demands which requires action on the part of the person. (Goodman, McEwan, Dolan, Schafer-Kalkhoff & Adler, 2005) Teens have described stress as a “great deal of pain that is inside your body that you can not get out & it makes you feel real bad.” Another teen says stress is “worrying, keeping secrets, gray hair, problems, anger, being tense.” (Chandra & Batada, 2006)

Eustress Positive stress Characteristics

Examples of Positive Stress What are some positive stressors for students?

Distress Negative stress Characteristics

Examples of Negative Stress What are some negative stressors for students?

Examples of Negative Stress Stressors at school

Examples of Negative Stress Stressors on people

Examples of Negative Stress Stress on mind

Examples of Negative Stress Stress on body

What Causes Stress? Survival Stress Internal Stress Environmental Stress Fatigue and Overworked

Common Myth Teen age years are stress free Research reports that adults often make light of the level of stress teen express or present with.

Coping with School Stress Students are being really pushed to make great academic gains A lot of students are stressed out about college already

Coping with School Stress 1. Watch for signs of school-related stress. 2. Teach kids time-management skills. Stress-Relieving Homework Tips 3. Consider whether your child is over-scheduled. 4.Encourage sleep, exercise 5. Watch the parental pressure. 6. Keep the fun in childhood and teen years.

Stress Management Groups Could your school offer a stress management group? Is there one available in your community for teens? Stress management groups is a way to teach Coping skills Promote optimism Identify support systems Increase resiliency

Offer support groups. What are the needs in your school? Grieve support Substance abuse Time management Physical abuse Poverty Chronic illness

six tips that can help reduce your stress: Have a healthy escape from school Lighten up and laugh a little Give yourself a little reward for doing well Keep things in perspective Be positive Stay away from drugs and alcohol

It is important that adults are aware or knowledgeable of the potential consequences of stress on teens and know how to help them develop strategies to deal with their stress. Teens need to be able to identify positive things in their lives and positive role models in their lives. Teens need to be offered opportunities for success and happiness and this can be done in the classroom. Research shows that when people have optimism in their lives they have increased abilities to deal with stress that they face in their daily lives.

Active Listening Encourage Fact Find Restate Reflect Summarize

Sources arch&KEYWORDS=stress%20management arch&KEYWORDS=stress%20management stress#mainContentContainer_area stress#mainContentContainer_area ment/Stress-Management_UCM_001082_SubHomePage.jsp ment/Stress-Management_UCM_001082_SubHomePage.jsp stress?page=2 stress?page=2

Sources Continues… Chandra, A. & Batada, A. (2006). Exploring stress & coping among urban African American adolescents. Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice and Policy, 3(2), 1-10 Goodman, McEwen, B.S., Dolan, L., Schafer-Kalkhoff, T. & Adler, N.E. (2005). Social disadvantage and adolescent health stress. Journal of Adolescent Health, 37, LaRue, D.E. & Hermann, J. (2008). Adolescent stress through the eyes of high risk teens.