1. Your Attitudes Toward Living
Chapter 3
Your Attitudes Toward Living

2. Journal What is an attitude? Where do attitudes originate?
How do attitudes affect your life?
Do not turn it! You will need this paper later in class.

3. State Standards
3.3 : Communicate a caring, respectful attitude for others within a diverse community
7.3: Demonstrate attitudes and values that will help an individual become more productive

4. Positive and Negative Attitudes
Attitude: a mental position, often described as a feeling
Attitudes are learned behaviors
Attitudes are either positive or negative
Within your group, write a sketch of someone who has a positive attitude and then someone who has a negative attitude.
How do the view themselves and others?
What might be some comments they may make?
Your attitudes may vary depending on the situation

5. Attitudes Affect Behavior
How we take care of ourselves, how we relate to others, how we do our work all relate to our attitude.
Examples?
Positive attitudes can influence your actions in a positive way

6. Self Perpetuating Cycle
Self Perpetuating Cycle: The process of attitudes producing actions that produce more of the same type of attitudes
Example:
Start your day with a negative attitude- put on sloppy clothes- you feel bad- look in the mirror at school- remember you feel bad- so on
Positive Attitudes
Positive Actions
Negative Attitudes
Negative Actions

7. Mental Health
Positive and negative attitudes contribute to your mental health
The state of your overall mental health depends on how well you deal with feelings about yourself, others, and the world around you
Mentally healthy people have a positive mental state
They can accept themselves as they are
They feel equal to and liked by others
They can enjoy themselves
They believe they can handle most situations that come their way

8. How to Develop a Positive Attitude Towards Life
positive-attitude-towards-life.html

9. Your Mental Attitude
Thoughts about life experiences influence overall mental attitude
Positive thoughts=positive attitude
Negative thoughts=negative attitude
Negative mental attitude=low opinion of themselves
Positive mental attitude=feel actions are important
Mental attitude is influenced by thoughts about life, about yourself, and about your worth to others

10. Your Life Experiences and Your Thoughts About Them
Your Mental Attitude
Positive Actions
Positive Thoughts
Your Life Experiences and Your Thoughts About Them
Attitudes
Negative Actions
Negative Thoughts

11. Assignment
Think about your mental attitude. Answer these questions on your journal:
How would you identify your mental attitude? Negative or positive
How does a person’s mental attitude develop? What influences go into the development of your mental attitude?
Who helped shape your mental attitude?
How did they help shape your mental attitude?

12. Defense Mechanisms
Positive mental attitude=deal with most problems in a positive way
When people have problems they cannot solve they may react by using defense mechanisms to protect themselves
Defense mechanism: methods people unconsciously use to deal with a situation

13. Defense Mechanisms Projection- placing blame on others
Rationalization-giving excuses to defend a behavior
Displacement- taking out one’s feelings on someone else
Regression- returning to immature behavior
Idealization- assigning excess value to someone o something
Fantasy- meeting needs though the imagination

14. Assignment
Complete SAG, Activity B

15. Building a Positive Attitude
Defense mechanisms are only short term solutions
Solve problems that cause negative feeling to occur instead of using defense mechanisms
How can you build a positive attitude?
Direct Attack- a method used to face a problem, recognize it, and try to solve it
Example- weight loss
Compensation- a technique in which you focus on a strength to make up for a weakness in another area
Focus on your strengths and abilities instead of your weaknesses.

16. Building a Positive Attitude, cont
Set Reasonable Expectations- Don’t expect too much from yourself, but don’t expect too little
Challenge is helpful for building self-esteem
Use Positive Self- Talk- messages that you send yourself
Interpret the Facts in a positive way
Select Your Friends

17. Assignment
Activity C, SAG

18. Coping with Difficult Events and Emotions
Keeping a positive attitude is easy when things go well
Stress- your body’s response to the events of your life
Every day events can be stressful as well as major events
Physical changes can vary from person to person and event to event
Physical symptoms:
Heart rate increase
Blood pressure rise
Cold or clammy hands
Stomach ache
Stomach ulcers
Heart attacks
Drug abuse

19. Stress, cont Psychological effects: Causes of Stress
Tension
Anxiety
Frustration
Shaky
Causes of Stress
Normative Stressors- everyday stressors
Stressors can be positive or negative
Crises events- changes in life that require major changes in your behavior
The more sources of stress you experience at one time, the greater is their combined effect

20. Assignment
Activity D, SAG

21. Handling Stress
Your ability to handle stress is affected by your attitude
If you have a negative attitude it will be harder to deal with stress in a positive way
Manage stress by:
Admit any feelings you have
Try to identify the event that is the source of your stressful feelings
Identify what you can do to manage the stressful situation:
Remove the source of the stress
Remove yourself from the situation
Change your response to the situation
Manage the stress by focusing on a part at a time

22. Reducing the Negative Effects of Stress
Practice relaxation techniques
Do something you enjoy
Keep a schedule that includes physical exercise
Eat nutritious foods
Get plenty of rest

23. Anger People of all ages feel anger
Anger is not always a negative emotion
Handling anger in a positive way can bring positive results
Sometimes it is difficult to handle anger in a positive way
Keeping anger inside can have a negative effect
Steps for handling anger:
Admit your anger
Identify the source of your anger
Identify your choices for managing the situation
Discuss the situation with a close friend
Focus on the positive
Forgive and go on

24. Anxiety
Anxiety- the uneasy feeling people experience when they believe something terrible will happen
Normal anxiety occurs when you recognize a threat and do something about it
High anxiety keeps people from acting in a way that corrects the problem
High anxiety can keep you from getting things done
Reduce anxiety so you can respond to the problem
Causes of anxiety: a threat to your well-being, fear of failure, conflicts, fear of the unknown, and unsatisfied needs

25. Handling Anxiety Reducing anxiety: Build your self esteem
Increase your communication skills
Build relationships with people who support and encourage you
Learn techniques for relaxation

26. Depression
Depression- an overwhelming attitude of sadness, discouragement, and hopelessness
Causes of depression- physical causes such as low blood sugar or chemical imbalance, past negative experiences, feelings of helplessness, negative thinking factors
Coping- relax, get some sleep, take a break from the daily routine
Doctors may prescribe a medication if the cause is physical
Suicide- depression can result in thinking about suicide

27. Sex Roles and Stereotypes
Sex roles- the culture’s definition of how males and females should behave
Sex stereotypes- widely held beliefs about the characteristics shared by all members of one sex
Most people don’t fit into rigid sex-role patterns
Establishing an acceptable sex role within the society can help you build positive attitudes

28. Assignments
SAG F P

29. Chapter Review
Complete p. 84
Review 1-15