EDUC 1300 Chapter 11 Notes

NO! YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!

A natural response to a situation where a human is told to study

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Introduction We can relate toward Dennis Hanson, who has to deal with a job, schoolwork, and his father. Hanson needs to study for a test but he gains stress from all of his responsibilities. When he was ready to go to sleep he said ¨ I can't cope with another thing.¨ Usually college freshmen are overwhelmed with all of the work college gives. The pressure of your demands could affect you physically and mentally. It's hard to balance family, work, study, but it is possible. The chapter will offer suggestion on how to cope with stress, improve your diet, get enough exercise, and sleep better. The chapter will also discuss how particularly challenging stressors can result in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or suicide. L.O. 11-1: Living with Stress Things that produce stress include: tests, papers, job demands, family problems, volunteer activities. Anything good or bad that produces a challenge will cause stress. It's rooted in the primitive ¨fight or flight¨ response wired into animals--humans and nonhuman. The three type of stressors are Cataclysmic Events, Personal stressors, Daily Hassles. Cataclysmic Events are events that occur suddenly and affect many people simultaneously. Example: Tornadoes, Plane Crash, Earthquake Personal stressors are major life events that produce a negative physical and psychological reaction. Example (Negative): Failing a course, losing a job, ending a relationship. Example (Positive): Getting married and starting a new job. Daily hassles are the minor irritants of life that, singly, produce relatively little stress. Example: Waiting in traffic, receiving a bill riddle with mistakes, being interrupted by noise while trying to study. Some common hassles are: Not enough time, Too many things to do, Troubling thoughts about the future, Too many interruptions, Misplacing or losing things, Health of a family member, social obligations, concerns about meeting standards, concerns about getting ahead, and too many responsibilities. Stress makes us feel anxious, upset, and fearful. We also experience hearts beating faster, breathing more rapid and shallow, and producing more sweat. Our organs churn out a variety of hormones. Surveys shown that people with a great number of stressful events on the course of a year will experience illness. Stress can't be avoided in life. A life with no stress at all would be boring and uneventful and you'll quickly miss the stress that had been removed. However, you must control the stress The P.O.W.E.R Plan P: Ready yourself physically, O: Identify what is causing your stress, W: Develop effective coping strategies, E: Ask yourself if your strategies for dealing with stress are effective, R: Place stress in perspective. P: Prepare yourself physically Being in good physical condition is a excellent way to prepare for stress. If you drink coffee or soda, a change in your diet may reduce your stress. The sugar added with a stressor will make an reaction unpleasant and intense. Eating right will reduce obesity. Obesity drags down the function of your body. O: Identify what's causing your stress You must identify the causes of your personal stressors. Once you know what causes your stress write them down on a piece of paper. Listing them will help you figure out how to cope them. W: Developing effective coping strategies The effective way to coping stress are: Take charge of the situation (Stress will arise if a situation has little to no control. If you take control of the situation, you'll reduce the experience of stress.), Don't waste energy trying to change the unchangeable (Some situation can't be controlled. You can't change the bad performance you did, but you can use your energy to improve the situation.), Look for the silver lining (Stress rises if you see the situation threatening. If we perceive the situation, we can change the reactions toward the situation. Talk to friends and family (The assistance of other people can help us through stressful periods. Turning to our friends and family and simply talking about the stress we're under can help us tolerate it effectively.), Relax (Relaxation may lead to a reduction in stress. One of the best relaxation techniques is meditating. Most major religion practice meditation, meditation refocuses attention and allows the body to relax.), Keep your commitments (Facing all of your demands may make you feel stress. You may be tempted to cope with the feeling by breaking some or all of your commitments. If you decide to relax by watching T.V. you failed to cope your commitments Instead, you are trying to escape your demands. You may start to feel guilty and anxious and that's another source of stress--one without the satisfaction of accomplishing the demands. Find ways to keep your promises. E: Ask yourself if your strategies for dealing stress are effective The strategies for dealing with stress varies in effectiveness depending on who we are. Sometimes you will need to see the silver lining or cut back some of your commitments. If one coping strategy doesn't work, try another. It's important that you don't become paralyzed during a situation. Instead, try something different until you find the right combination of strategies to improve the situation. R: Placing stress in Perspective These two principles may help you cope with stress: Don't sweat the small stuff... and it's all small stuff (Richard Carlson claims that people frequently let themselves become upset about situations that are actually minor. You should ignore an unpleasant event that has no long-term consequence. One of the best way to reduce stress is to maintain an appropriate perspective on the events of your life.), Make peace with stress (Ask yourself if life with 0 stress will make you happier, the answer is no. You got to think about stress as an exciting, although admittedly sometimes difficult friend. Stress indicates that your life is stimulating, challenging, and exciting. L.O. 11-2: Keeping Well: Physical Health Eat right. Exercise. Get plenty of sleep. Millions of people find wellness as a complex goal to achieve. We stop by fast-food restaurants, we don't exercise because there's no time and it's not that much fun. We also get a small amount of sleep. For many college students, these bad habits are only made worse by the need to manage their responsibilities. Too many students feel overwhelmed by trying to complete the minimum amount from their many obligations. You need to balance eating habit. To achieve that goal include the following: Eat a variety of "Whole" foods, including fruits, vegetables, and grain products. (Strive to eat a range of different foods. If you make a variety in your goals, you will end up eating the right food.), Avoid processed foods. (Make an effort to choose whole foods or foods in a state as close as possible to their natural state.), Avoid foods that are high in sugar and salt content (Read product labels carefully and beware of hidden sugars and salt. Many ingredients that end in -ose are sugar. Salt can lurk within any number of compounds beginning with the word sodium.), Seek a diet low in fat and cholesterol (The fat that should be avoided is saturated fat--the most difficult for your body to rid itself of.), Less is more (Make sure to eat the amount of food your body is telling you to eat, pay attention to your hunger cues.), Schedule 3 meals per day (Eating is a major priority. Avoid skipping meals. Breakfast is particularly important; get up early enough to eat a full meal.), Be sensitive to the hidden contents of various foods (Soda and chocolate can disrupt sleep. Many cereals even the ones label "low fat" contain a considerable amount of sugar and salt. Watch out for fast foods. Research finds that eating fast foods just a few times a week will lead to significant weight gain over the long run.), If you want to lose weight, follow a sensible diet (There's one proven way to lose weight. Control your food portions, eat a well-balanced diet, and increase the amount of exercise you get.) You need to balance exercise. To achieve that goal include the following: Choose a type of exercise that you like (Exercising will be a chore you end up avoiding if you don't enjoy what you're doing.), Incorporate exercise into your life (Attempt to walk as much as possible. Avoid shorter routes like taking the elevator and riding a car.), Make exercise a group activity (Exercising with other people brings you social support and turns exercise into a social activity. You'll be likely to stick to the program if you have a regular "exercise date" with a friend.), Vary your routine (Choose different sorts of activities that will involve different types of your body and keep you from getting bored.) Before you begin an exercise program, it is a good idea to have a physical checkup, even if you feel you're in the peak of health. You need to balance your sleep. To achieve that goal include the following: Exercise more (Regular exercise will help you sleep at night, as well as help you cope stress that might otherwise keep you up at night.) Have a regular bedtime (Going to bed around the same time each night, you will give your body a regular routine and make sleep a habit.), Use your bed for sleeping and not as an all-purpose area (Only use your bed to sleep. Avoid studying,reading, and eating in your bed.), Avoid caffeine after lunch (The stimulant effect of caffeine may last as long as 8 to 12 hours after it's consumed.), Drink a glass of milk at bedtime (Drinking a glass of milk helps you go to sleep because the milk contains a natural chemical that makes you feel drowsy.), Avoid sleeping pills (Sleeping pills are temporarily effective, in the long run they impair your ability to sleep because they disrupt your natural sleep cycles.), Don't try to force sleep on yourself (When you go to bed just relax and don't attempt to sleep. If you're awake after 10 minutes get up and do something. Go back to bed only when you feel tired. If you follow this routine for several weeks--and don't take naps or rest during the day--eventually getting into bed will trigger sleep.) There's several ways you can try to help you stay awake: Throw yourself in class (Become fully engaged during class. By doing this special effort when you're exhausted can get you through a period of fatigue.), Sit up straight (Stretch the muscles in different parts of your body. Any activity will help you thwart fatigue and feel more alert.), Eat or drink something cold in class (The mere activity of eating a snack or drinking can help you stay awake.), Avoid heavy meals before class (Your body's natural reaction to a full stomach is to call for a nap.) Stay cool (Take off your jacket or coat and sit by an open window. If it's warm, ask your instructor if there's a way to make the classroom cooler.) Take off one shoe (This creates a temperature difference, which can be helpful in keeping you awake.) L.O. 11-3: Keeping Well: Mental Health A important aspect of wellness is Mental Health. Let's consider some of the threats to well-being related to mental health. Include the following ways to juggle with your responsibilities: Identify your priorities (Identify what is most important for you to achieve, and use your time and energy to accomplish these high-priority goals. Make sure that you put off the lower-priority tasks and mainly focus on your high-priority tasks.), Use proven time management skills (Creating Daily to-do list, master calendar, and weekly timetables will be a huge help in effectively meeting your many responsibilities.), Communicate with other people about your obligations (The people in your life can't know you are managing a wide set of responsibilities unless you tell them. People will then be understanding of your circumstances. Furthermore, communicating with people may provide a solution when your life starts to feel overwhelm.), Multitask (You don't want to fill every minute with work, but you want to take advantage of the gaps in your hectic day.) Workers also have to cope with stress. Illness related to job stress result in costs of $150 billion each year. Asking yourself the following questions can help you identify the factors that may induce stress on the job: How much control over working conditions will I have? What are the demands of the job? Will I face constant demands to do more work and to work more quickly? What is the tolerance for error? How closely do my abilities and strengths match the requirements of the job? How well do I cope with stress? If your coping skills are good, you may be suited for entering a high-stress occupation. But if you difficulty dealing with stress, choosing a career in a field that produces less stress makes more sense. Some students who have been exposed to severe personal stressors experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD). An episode of PTSD may be triggered by an otherwise innocent stimulus. Symptoms of PTSD may include emotional numbing, sleep difficulties, interpersonal problems, alcohol, and drug abuse, and in some cases suicide. Nearly every student passes through college without at least feeling depression. The stress of college life can lead to feeling sad, unhappy, and even hopeless on occasions. Most of the time, depression is a normal reaction to distressing circumstances. It may occur to the death of loved one, the end of a relationship, failure at a important task, or any number of events. Usually, depression is temporary and people return to their normal emotional state. Some people suffered from severe depression, which can last more than 2 weeks. Major depression could lead toward suicide. Several warning signs indicated when a student's problems may be severe enough to justify the concern about the possibility of a suicide attempt. They include: School problems, such as missing classes and a sudden change in grades, Frequent incidents of self-destructive behavior, such as careless accidents, Loss of appetite or excessive eating, Withdrawal from friends and peers, Sleeping problems, Signs of depression, tearfulness, or over indications of psychological difficulties, such as hallucinations, A preoccupation with death, an afterlife, or what would happen "if I died", Putting affairs in order, such as giving away prized possession or making arrangements for the care of a pet, An explicit announcement of suicidal thoughts. If you find someone with signs of attempted suicide, urge that person to seek professional help. You may need to take assertive action, such as enlisting the assistance of family members, counselors, or instructors

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