“STRESSORS AND RESPONSES”

What is stress?
“Today I refuse to stress myself out about things I cannot control or change”.
Stress – is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding
circumstances?
- It is a mental and physical responses to the demands of your environment (i.e. at home,
school, work, etc.)
- It is normal to feel stressed. It is a universal, human experience.
- What is more important is how you respond to stress.
On the other hand, not all stress is bad for you. When stress serves as a motivation for positive
activities, then it is considered beneficial.

3 Kinds of Stress
1. Eustress – considered as good stress.
- A result from a situation or activity that you find motivating or inspiring,
enjoyable and not threatening activity.
(Ex. Finding the nerve to talk to your crush).
2. Neustress- “Neutral Stress”
- A sensory stimulus that has no direct consequence or effect on the person.
(Ex. Incidents you hear in the news).
3. Distress – situations or activities that you considered negative, harmful, threatening
-It could happen for just a short span of time or it could be lingered for prolonged
period (hours, days, months, years)

What are stressors?

Stressors- any situation, activity, or individual that gives you mental or emotional strain is a stressor.
Good stressors – it can make you feel both nervous and excited at the same time
(The so called- “butterflies in your stomach)
Bad stressors- can cause you to feel angry, petrified or depressed.

What are the signs and symptoms of stress?

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Physical – low energy, headaches, chest pain and rapid heartbeat, loss of sexual desire, excess
sweating, cold or sweaty hands and feet etc.
Cognitive or perceptual – forgetfulness, lack of concentration, attention deficit, disorganization of
thought, reduced creativity, negative self-statements and negative evaluation of experiences.
Emotional- Depression or general unhappiness, anxiety, agitation, loneliness and isolation,
moodiness, irritability or anger etc.
Sources of coping and strength.
Coping with stress

Coping- it refers to the strategies you use to deal with real or imagined problems to protect yourself
against negative emotions.
- It refers to the adaptive strategies you employ in an attempt to reduce stress.

Types of coping
1. Problem-focused coping – it targets on controlling or changing the source of stress.
2. Emotion-focused coping – it involves lowering, if not eliminating negative emotional
responses (i.e. embarrassments)
3. Cognitive coping – it involves a conscious intellectual activity of managing stressful situation.
- You used your mind to combat stress including thoughts.

4. Behavioral coping strategies- these are ways of dealing with stress by taking action to modify
behavior.
Strategies include:
 Physical exercise
 Relaxation
 Parenting
 Breathing
 Smile and laughter
 Time management
 social support/friends
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  Seeking professional health.

Stress and sociological perspective

Emile Durkheim’s book entitles ‘suicide’
3 types of suicide (Durkheim, translated 1951)
1. Egoistic Suicide – occurs when a person feels he or she is not accepted by or does not belong
to society. The social bond is very weak.
2. Altruistic suicide- occurs when a person ends his/her life because of others.
3. Anomic suicide – is linked to disillusionment and disappointment.
2 Types of stressors (Aneshensel, 1992)
 Life events – important, specific experiences that interrupt an individual’s usual
activity/routine that he/she needs to adjust to.
 Chronic Strains- problems that have been occurring for some time; the person’s social role is
strained or threatened.
Common types of role strains (Copelton, 2000):
1. Role overload –the role demands on an individual exceeds his or her capacity to handle. For
example, you are working student and a single parent. You are shuffling roles as a students, a
worker, a parent, and a breadwinner.
2. Interpersonal Conflict – these are the problems and difficulties that arise in a relationship
(i.e., wife-husband, parent-child, and worker-supervisor.
3. Inter-role Conflict – the demands of two or more roles held by a person are incompatible
(ex. As a working student, your work shift suddenly and this ran in conflict with your class
schedule)
4. Role reconstructing- long established patterns undergo considerable change and the person
needs to adapt/adjust. Ex. As an adult (support and care to your ageing parents.

TAKING CARE OF THE SELF: THE NEED FOR SLEF-CARE AND COMPASSION
MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEED
 Why do we feel stress? Psychologist Abraham Maslow presented a motivational theory
outlining human need: illustrated in a hierarchal manner.
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Deficiency versus Growth
• Maslow called the bottom levels (physiological, safely, belongingness and love, esteem (as
“deficiency needs”)
(The person does not feel anything if these needs are met, but he or she becomes anxious if these
needs are not met.
• The fifth level (self-actualization) also known as the (“growth need”) (it enables the person to
reach his or her potential as a human).
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs If not satisfied

Physiological needs • feel sick, irritated,

uncomfortable
(a need that must be met every day)
• If pathological, we can eat,
drink too much or engage in
hoarding behaviors

• Will cause death

Safety needs • feel sick, irritated,

uncomfortable

• If pathological, we can eat,

drink too much or engage in
hoarding behaviors

• Will cause death

Belonging – love needs • Become increasingly

susceptible to loneliness and
social anxieties

• If pathological, can lead to

antisocial behavior

Esteem needs • Low –self esteem

Two forms • Inferiority complex

1. Lower needs • It pathological, can lead to

depression
-such as respect from others, for status,
fame, glory, recognition, attention,
reputation, appreciation, dignity, even
dominance.

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 2. Higher form

-involves self-respect, including such

feelings as confidence, mastery,
independence and freedom

• Can cause feelings of lack of

meaning in life

• If pathological, met
Self-actualization pathologies, such as boredom,
cynicism, alienation (feeling
isolated, detached, lack of
sympathy, estrangement.

Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

Self- care: what is it and why is it important?

• Caring for the “self”, however, is more than being clean (hygiene) and living clean (lifestyle)
• Self-care- entails taking deliberate acts of looking after your mental, emotional and physical health.
• Proper self- care- is taking a very active and powerful choice to engage in activities that will result in
acquiring or maintaining optimal health that cover the physical, psychological, emotional, social and
spiritual components.

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• The keyword to self-care is balance; being good to yourself will enhance the likelihood of living your
fullest potential.