Lesson 2

I. What is stress?  Stress is the body's physical and emotional response to anything that disrupts your normal life and routine or a challenging situation.  Our body responds to stressful events with an instinctive “fight or flight” response. This physical response comes from a rush of adrenaline and other hormones that speed up your heart and breathing and give you a burst of energy so that you can respond to danger or worry.  It is estimated that over 70% of all illness are stress related. II. Different Types of Stress Stress management can be complicated and confusing because there are different types of stress:  Acute stress- Acute stress is the most common form of stress. associated with things to do with our everyday lives such as losing bills, rushing to meetings or making deadlines or even incidents regarding your car or your child’s school. These kinds of demands and pressures tend to be short term stress related issues that don’t have time to do the damage that long term stress could. Acute stress is actually exciting and thrilling but too much can make you feel exhausted. Symptoms can include emotional anguish, headaches, back pains and general muscular problems. They may also include irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), dizziness, and shortness of breath, chest pains and heart palpitations. Acute stress can affect anyone and crop up in anyone’s life, but it is very manageable.

 Episodic acute stress- Stress which affects those who suffer from Acute stress frequently. People that suffer from this tend to always be in a rush. They take too much on and can’t organize themselves to deal with the demands and pressures. Episodic Acute stress affects interpersonal skills and can make sufferers hostile towards others causing rapid deterioration of relationships especially in the workplace. Its symptoms include prolonged over stimulation, persistent tension, headaches or migraines, hypertension, chest pains and even heart disease. This type of stress can be helped with lifestyle changes but professional help may be needed before chronic problems develop.  Chronic stress- Stress that wears sufferers down. It grinds away at them, making them feel burned out every day, every week, every year. It’s the stress that someone can feel when they can’t see a way out of the demands and/or pressures that make them feel depressed, miserable and disheartened on a constant basis. The stress of feeling trapped in an unhappy marriage or in a career they despise can both be factors. Chronic stress is associated with ill health, alcohol excess, violence and even suicide. Chronic stress can be helped with professional and medical help such as special forms of counselling or targeted behavioral therapy  Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)- Stress associated with frightening or distressing events. For example, these can be traumatic experiences from someone’s childhood, wars, poverty, sexual or violent abuse. Sufferers tend to feel on edge and relive traumatic events through nightmares and flashbacks. They struggle with concentration and trouble sleeping. Sufferers can have strong feelings of guilt, emotional numbness, constant worry and depression. Symptoms associated with PTSD can often be very severe and have a huge negative impact on a person’s day to day life.

III. STRESSORS  Work  School  Family  Relationships  Finances  Legal situations  Disease/illnesses  Environment  Living situation  Deaths  Victim of a Crime  traumatic experiences  And many others…….

Identifying Stressors  Situations, activities, and relationships that cause ‘trauma’ to one’s physical, emotional, or psychological self

IIII. Effects of Stress “The effects of stress can be emotional, psychological, and physical. Signs of stress are different in everyone, with some people expressing more physical signs, like fatigue or high blood pressure, and others expressing more emotion or psychological signs, like irritability or depression. If stress lasts too long or happens too often, it can lead to more serious problems such as anxiety or depression, and physical health problems such as heart disease and obesity”(PBS, 2011).

Signs of stress include:  Irritability  Depressed mood  Anxiety  Easily angered or frustrated  Fatigue  Trouble falling or staying asleep  Loss of appetite or overeating  Trouble concentrating  Problems with memory  Muscle aches  Headaches  Upset stomach  Rapid heartbeat

References American Psychological Association. (2004). Different kinds of Stress. Retrieved From: Brigham Young University-Idaho.edu. (2013). Stress Management. Counseling Center. Retrieved From: PBS.org. (2011). Stress and Anxiety. What is Stress? Retrieved From: