TOPIC 3: TAKING CHARGE OF ONE’S HEALTH

“The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another”- William
James

Health is the ability to adapt and manage physical, mental and

social challenges throughout life (WHO, 2001). It is further
defined as a state of complete physical, mental and social well-
being and not merely the absence of any disease of infirmary
(WHO, 2001). To be able to meet the challenges of student life,
one must be physically, mentally and psychologically fit. In this
chapter, you’ll learn the different ways on how to take care of
your over-all wellbeing.
https://www.pngmart.com/image/tag/health

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

1. define stress and coping strategies.

2. identify their sources of stress.
3. explain how stress affects one’s physical, emotional and social well-being.
4. reflect on the impact of their coping styles on their well-being.
5. identify healthy ways of coping with stress.

 LET’S LEARN

Stress is a part of day-to-day living. Anytime we face a stressor, a number of physiological

responses kick in. Known collectively as fight-or-flight responses, bodily changes such as
increased heart beat and elevated blood pressure prepare the body to either face the threat or flee
from it. The sympathetic system also stimulates the release of a number of hormones like
epinephrine or norepinephrine that prepares the body to react.

As noted by Rice (1988), two major perspectives have influenced our views of health and illness.
First is the biomedical tradition, which developed over time as people sought to gain knowledge
about illness and health. The biomedical tradition arose from the Hippocratic tradition of
humoral theory of disease and treatment. However, biomedical theories focused on anatomy,
“germ theory’, and ultimately genetics in their attempt to define and understand illness. A second
major influence on our views of health and illness is the psychosocial perspective (Rice, 1998
cited by Trull,2008). For centuries, medical literature has recognized that psychological and
social processes may either cause or influence illness and disease. By 1940’s, this broad
generalization was integrated in the field of psychosomatic medicine. The third perspective
stemmed up from the Biopsychosocial Model (Engel, 1977). This model is an integration of the
biomedical and psychosocial perspectives. Biopsychosocial model holds that illness and health
are a function of biological, psychological and social influences.

We turn now to a discussion of how stress can affect our health.

Stress and Health

The physiological effect of stress on the body involves a complex chain of events. The stress
process as shown by the Interactionist View holds that the perception of stress causes the
sympathetic nervous system, a system responsible for mobilizing body resource in urgent
situations, to stimulate the adrenal gland
(Ader & Cohen, 2007 cited by Trull,2008)). This results in the production of catecholamines
(epinephrine and norepinephrine) whose effects on the body include increased in heart rate, rate
of respiration, blood flow, and muscle strength. Stress also causes the pituitary gland to release
the adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), and ACTH stimulates the adrenal cortex of the
adrenal gland to secrete glucocorticoids. The most important glucocorticoid where tress is
concerned is cortisol. Cortisol is a hormone that mobilizes the body’s sources.

Physiological effects of stress

Source: Brannon L., & Feist , J. (2004). Health psychology: An introduction to behavior and health
(5th edition). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole. Page 105.

Although responses of the body to stress can be helpful, severe stress and prolonged activation of
these systems can have adverse effects on body organs, mental functions and the immune
system. Stress can affect the immune system so that it cannot effectively destroy viruses,
bacteria, tumors and irregular cells. Years ago, Ader and Cohen (1975) presented evidence
suggesting that the nervous system and the immune system interact and are interdependent by
demonstrating that immune system responses in rats could be classically conditioned. This
initial report eventually led to a number of studies investigating the relationship between
physiological factors (reactions to stress) and immune system response (Brannon & Feist, 2004
cited by Trull, 2008). In any case, stress does appear to be an important influence on health and
illness.

Personality Factors of Health and Illness

Personality characteristics can directly or indirectly affect health and illness in many ways.
According to Friedman & Booth-Kewley, (1987 cited by Trull, 2008)), the following factors may
result from disease processes: a) personality features may lead to unhealthy behaviors; c)
personality may directly affect disease through physiological mechanisms; d) underlying
biological variable may relate to both personality and disease; e) several causes and feedback
loops may affect the relationship between personality and disease.

The most widely studied association between personality trait/behavior pattern and illness is that
between Type A behavior and coronary heart disease (Friedman and Rosenmann, 1974 cited by
Trull, 2008). These scientists identified a set of discriminating personality characteristics and
behaviors and proposed that these constitute a Type A behavior pattern. Glass (1977 cited in
Trull, 2008) describes Type A individuals as those who tend to:
a. Perceive time quickly
b. Show a deteriorating performance on tasks that require a delayed responding
c. Work near maximum capacity even when there is no time deadline
d. Arrive early for appointments
e. Become aggressive and hostile when frustrated
f. Report less fatigue and fewer physical symptoms
g. Are intensely motivated to master their physical and social environments and to
maintain control.

In an important methodological and conceptual analysis of the research examining hostility and
health, T.W. Smith ( cited by Trull, 2009) presented several theoretical models that might
explain the link between hostility and health. The psychophysiological reactivity model posits
that hostile individuals experience larger increases in heart rate, blood pressure, and stress-
related hormones in response to potential stressors. This model proposes that hostile individuals
are more likely to experience stressful psychosocial environment because they have higher levels
of mistrust and are scanning their environments for possible future mistreatment.

Coping With Stress

In the previous topic, we mentioned that stress is a part of our existence. It may have some
negative or positive effect on us. Positive outcome of stress is called eustress while its negative
consequence is distress.

Coping has two functions: 1) manage the problem causing the distress, 2) to regulate the
emotions of distress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984 as cited in Michenbaum, 1986, Teh &
Macapagal, 1999). We all know that people who seem to be able to handle severe stress
extremely well are resilient. Resilience is the ability to bounce back from difficult times with
renewed vigor (Hoeksema, 2007).
Coping with stress involves how one interprets events. People who tend to have pessimistic style
are more vulnerable to stress (Peterson et.al, 1998 cited by Hoeksema, 2014).Pessimism may
contribute to poor health by causing chronic arousal of the body’s flight or fight response,
resulting in physiological damage. Moreover, pessimistic outlook may lead individuals to engage
in unhealthy behaviors.

The two major styles of coping are avoidance coping and positive coping. Avoidance coping is
denying that you are ill or facing other stresses. Studies show that avoidance coping has been
linked to several related problems such as greater pain after surgery (Rosenberger et.al., 2004
cited by Hoeksema, 2007)), lower adherence to medical regimens and subsequently poorer health
in HIV positive individuals (Weaver at.al., 2005 cited by Hoeksema, 2007)).

In contrast, expressing negative affect such as talking to someone about important issues in one’s
life appear to have positive effects on health. Additionally, understanding and finding meaning
from life events reduce the physiological strain associated with chronic negative emotions
(Hoeksema, 2014). Positive coping strategy on the other hand involves seeking help or support
from others. Studies have found that positive strategies lead to positive health outcomes on the
microlevel measures such as the immune system activity to the macrolevel such as progression
of major diseases (Hoeksema,2014).

Self-Compassion

Self-compassion is a construct drawn from Buddhist Psychology. It refers to a way of relating to

the self with kindness (Abrams, 2017). It is how we treat ourselves with kindness, warmth and
acceptance. Research has shown that there is a positive correlation between self-compassion and
well-being. People who have self-compassion also have greater social connectedness, emotional
intelligence, happiness and over all life satisfaction. Self-compassion has also been shown to
have a negative correlation with anxiety, depression, shame and fear of failure. Ravi Shah (cited
by Adams 2017) believes that self-compassion is critical for healthy self-esteem and resilience.

Following are ways of developing self-compassion (Abrams, 2017)

1. Treat yourself as you would a small child.

2. Practice mindfulness or being in a state of nonjudgmental awareness.
3. Remember that you are not alone.
4. Give yourself permission to be imperfect.

LET’S PRACTICE

Try This! Developing Distress Tolerance Skills

Adapted from McKay, M., Wood, J.C., Brantley, J. (2017) The Dialectic Behavior Therapy Skills
Workbook

People struggling with overwhelming emotions often deal with their pain in very unhealthy, very
unsuccessful ways because they don’t know what else to do.
Here’s a list of some coping strategies used by people dealing with this problem. Check the ones
that you use, to cope with stressful situations:

____You spend a great deal of time thinking about past pains, mistakes and
problems.
____You get anxious worrying about possible future pains, mistakes, and
problems.
____You isolate yourself from other people to avoid distressing situations.
____You make yourself feel numb with alcohol or drugs.
____You take your feelings out on other people by getting excessively angry and
at the same time trying to control them.
____ You engage in dangerous behaviors such as cutting, hitting, picking at, or
burning yourself or pulling out your own hair.
____You engage in unsafe sexual activities, such as having sex with strangers or
frequent unprotected sex.
____You avoid dealing with causes of your problems, such as an abusive or
dysfunctional relationship.
____ You use food to punish or control yourself by eating too little, or eating too
much or throwing up what you eat.
____You avoid pleasant activities such as social events and exercise.
____You surrender to your pain and resign yourself to living a miserable and
unfulfilling life.
Now that you have identified your coping strategies, what assessment can you make about
yourself?

Relax and Soothe Yourself

We have different ways of coping with stress. One method is through relaxation techniques.
Included here are some simple relaxation techniques that utilize our five senses of smell, sight,
hearing, taste and touch. Try to explore the list and see what really works for you.

Self-soothing Using Your Sense of Smell

___Burn scented candles or incense in your room. Find a scent that is pleasing to
you.
___Wear scented oils, perfume, or cologne that makes you feel happy, confident
and happy.

___Cut out perfumed cards and carry them with you in your wallet.
___Go some place where the scent is pleasing to you, like a bakery or a
restaurant.
___Bake or cook your own food that has a pleasing smell.
___Lie down in the park and smell the grass and outdoor smells.
___Hug someone whose makes you feel calm.
___Other ideas_____________________________________________________
Self-Soothing Your Sense of Vision

___ Go through magazines and books.

___Find a place that is soothing for you to look at, a park or a museum.
___Go to the bookstore and find a collection of photographs or paintings.
___Draw or paint your picture or work on a coloring book.
___Carry a picture of someone you admire or like.
___Other ideas____________________________________________________

Self-Soothing Your Sense of Hearing

___ Listen to soothing music.

___Listen to books on tape or compact discs.
___Turn on the television and just listen.
___Listen on a gentle talk show.
___Open your window and listen to the peaceful sounds outside.
___Listen to a recording of a relaxation exercise.
___Listen to a sound of trickling water.
___Other ideas____________________________________________________

Self-Soothing Your Sense of Taste

___Enjoy your favorite meal.

___Carry gums, lollipop or candies with you to eat when you are upset.
___Drink something soothing such as tea, coffee, or hot chocolate.
___Buy a piece of ripe and juicy fresh fruit and then eat it slowly.
___Other ideas ____________________________________________________

Self-Soothing Using Your Sense of Touch

___Carry something soft or velvety in your pocket to touch when you need to.
___Take a hot or cold shower and enjoy the feelings of the water falling on your
skin.
___Get a massage.
___Play with your pat.
___Wear your most comfortable clothes.
___Other ideas ____________________________________________________
Adapted from McCay, M., Wood,J., Brantley, J. (2007) The Dialectical Behavior Therapy Skills Workbook
LET’S ASSESS

Check This!

Create a relaxation plan. Now that you’ve read the suggestions to help you relax, construct a list
of techniques you are willing to use. Make a list which you can try at home and those that you
can take with you when you are away from home.
Rubrics

Exceeds Meets Approaches

Criterion Expectations Expectations Expectations
Comments
3 2 1

Identified Failed to
Clearly identified
contributing identify the root
the root problem,
factors but problem, and
Content and provided
did not did not indicate
clear insight into
recognize the any causal
the causal factors
root cause factors

Identified
Clearly &
some of the Did not identify
completely
relevant relevant
determined the
information information that
Relevance relevant
that would would assist in
information
assist in resolving the
needed to address
resolving the issue
the problem
issue

Clearly and
accurately Identified
identified the some of the
Failed to
contributing contributing
identify the
factors & factors that
contributing
Analysis provided a impact on the
factors that
connection problem but
impact on the
information didn’t clearly
root problem
relevant to connect the
solving the case information
problem

UNIT SUMMARY

Read This!

Unit 3 allowed you to endeavor in becoming the best version of yourself, intensifying the level
of your self-awareness and self-knowledge which seems not enough. There has been concrete
translations of the theories and concepts you’ve learned in a way that you would become more
efficacious- wiser in decision-making, bolder in goal-setting, and firmer in convictions.
In this unit, you were oriented on how to become an effective learner without compromising
your health in the process. You were taught of some practical strategies on self-care and self-
management.