Personal Development

Quarter 1 – Module 5:
Coping with Stress in Middle and
Late Adolescence
Personal Development
Alternative Delivery Mode
Quarter 1 – Module 5: Coping with Stress in Middle and Late Adolescence
First Edition, 2020

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 Personal Development
Quarter 1 – Module 5:
Coping with Stress in Middle and
Late Adolescence
Introductory Message
For the facilitator:
Welcome to the Personal Development – Grade 11/12 Alternative
Delivery Mode (ADM) Module on Personal Development!
This module was collaboratively designed, developed and reviewed by
educators both from public and private institutions to assist you, the
teacher or facilitator in helping the learners meet the standards set by the K
to 12 Curriculum while overcoming their personal, social, and economic
constraints in schooling.
This learning resource hopes to engage the learners into guided and
independent learning activities at their own pace and time. Furthermore,
this also aims to help learners acquire the needed 21st century skills while
taking into consideration their needs and circumstances.
In addition to the material in the main text, you will also see this box in the
body of the module:

Notes to the Teacher

This contains helpful tips or strategies
that will help you in guiding the
learners.

As a facilitator you are expected to orient the learners on how to use this
module. You also need to keep track of the learners' progress while allowing
them to manage their own learning. Furthermore, you are expected to
encourage and assist the learners as they do the tasks included in the
module.

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For the learner:
Welcome to the Personal Development – Grade 11/12 Alternative Delivery
Mode (ADM) Module on Personal Development!
The hand is one of the most symbolized part of the human body. It is often
used to depict skill, action and purpose. Through our hands we may learn,
create and accomplish. Hence, the hand in this learning resource signifies
that you as a learner is capable and empowered to successfully achieve the
relevant competencies and skills at your own pace and time. Your academic
success lies in your own hands!
This module was designed to provide you with fun and meaningful
opportunities for guided and independent learning at your own pace and
time. You will be enabled to process the contents of the learning resource
while being an active learner.
This module has the following parts and corresponding icons:
What I Need to This will give you an idea of the skills or
Know
competencies you are expected to learn
in the module.

What I Know This part includes an activity that aims

to check what you already know about
the lesson to take. If you get all the
answers correct (100%), you may decide
to skip this module.

What’s In This is a brief drill or review to help you

link the current lesson with the previous
one.

What’s New In this portion, the new lesson will be

introduced to you in various ways such
as a story, a song, a poem, a problem
opener, an activity or a situation.

What is It This section provides a brief discussion

of the lesson. This aims to help you
discover and understand new concepts
and skills.

What’s More This comprises activities for independent

practice to solidify your understanding
and skills of the topic. You may check

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 the answers to the exercises using the
Answer Key at the end of the module.
What I Have This includes questions or blank
Learned
sentence/paragraph to be filled in to
process what you learned from the
lesson.

What I Can Do This section provides an activity which

will help you transfer your new
knowledge or skill into real life
situations or concerns.

Assessment This is a task which aims to evaluate

your level of mastery in achieving the
learning competency.
Additional In this portion, another activity will be
Activities
given to you to enrich your knowledge or
skill of the lesson learned. This also
tends retention of learned concepts.

Answer Key This contains answers to all activities in

the module.

At the end of this module you will also find:

References This is a list of all sources used in
developing this module.

The following are some reminders in using this module:

1. Use the module with care. Do not put unnecessary mark/s on any part of
the module. Use a separate sheet of paper in answering the exercises.
2. Don’t forget to answer What I Know before moving on to the other activities
included in the module.
3. Read the instruction carefully before doing each task.
4. Observe honesty and integrity in doing the tasks and checking your
answers.
5. Finish the task at hand before proceeding to the next.
6. Return this module to your teacher/facilitator once you are through with it.
If you encounter any difficulty in answering the tasks in this module, do
not hesitate to consult your teacher or facilitator. Always bear in mind
that you are not alone.

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We hope that through this material, you will experience meaningful
learning and gain deep understanding of the relevant competencies. You
can do it!

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 What I Need to Know

This module was designed and written with you in mind. It is here to help you master the
nature of Personal Development. The scope of this module permits it to be used in many
different learning situations. The language used recognizes the diverse vocabulary level of
students. The lessons are arranged to follow the standard sequence of the course. But the
order in which you read them can be changed to correspond with the textbook you are now
using.

The module is divided into two lessons, namely:

 Lesson 1 – Stress
 Lesson 2 – Stress Response
 Lesson 3 - Stress Management

After going through this module, you are expected to:

1. Identify causes and effects of stress in one’s life
2. Demonstrate personal ways to cope with stress and maintain mental health

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 What I Know

Multiple Choice. Read the questions below and encircle the letter that corresponds to your answer.

1. What is our body’s response to anything that makes us feel threatened or pressured?
A. Stress C. Stimulus
B. Anxiety D. Stressor

2. Good stress is beneficial for the overall development of ourselves. How can a bad stress
turn into good?
A. One should avoid situations that will lead to stress.
B. One should always seek for family and friend’s advice.
C. One should develop a coping mechanism by identifying his/her stressors.
D. One should learn how to hide his/her emotions about a stressful situation.

3. Julie is going through prolonged and unmanaged stress. How do you think she will be
affected by this situation?
A. She might feel panic and tension.
B. She might lose focus and attention.
C. She might feel anxiety and aggressive.
D. She might suffer from burnout and depression.

4. What is the hormone responsible in making the body generate energy in order to respond
to a stressful situation?
A. Cortisol C. Melatonin
B. Glucagon D. Adrenaline

5. Which is not the behavioral change experienced by adolescents when under stress?
A. Being violent
B. Increasing or dropping weight
C. Acting differently in relation to parents
D. Declining to go to high school or college

6. Amid numerous academic obstacles he faced to get the distinction, Ben graduated Top I in
senior high. How do you think he was able to manage it?
A. He has a positive attitude and is aware of various stressors that he encountered in
school.
B. He has a coping mechanism to handle demands and expectations from his school.
C. By working hard, he manages to get high scores in exams.
D. Both A and B

7. What is the manner in which the human body gets itself back to the state of equilibrium
which is considered as the healthy state?
A. Coping C. Managing
B. Dealing D. Determining

8. Which physical change does not happen to adolescents when they are stressed?
A. dizziness C. excessive sleeping
B. headaches D. lack of concentration

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 9. Why is it faster for teenagers to respond to stress than it is for adults?
A. It is because adults are more responsible than the adolescents.
B. It is because teenagers are more impulsive and aggressive than adults.
C. It is because the prefrontal cortex which part of our brain is not yet fully developed.
D. It is because the cerebrum which is the largest part of the brain is not yet fully
developed.

10. Which of the following is an example of stressor?

A. Bullying
B. Dislike foods
C. Peer Pressure
D. Academic requirements

11. What is the collection of physiological changes that occur when you face a perceived
threat?
A. Stress C. Stress Response
B. Stressors D. Stress Management

12. What is called the life changing or life threatening that cause stress?
A. Stressors C. Stress Control
B. Stress Response D. Unmanaged Stress

13. Vanessa is always late going to school. This situation makes her stress before the start of
her class. What possible advice you can give to her to avoid this situation?
A. Learn to manage your time.
B. Walk going to school to avoid traffic.
C. Do not go to school if you know you are late
D. Skip breakfast instead eat during morning recess.

14. Which does not belong to stress management?

A. Avoid stressors
B. Understand the causes of stress
C. Analyze your stress factors and write them down
D. Learn to work under pressure or unusual condition

15. What is responsible for immediate reaction of adolescent to stress?

A. Adolescent is easily triggered by stress.
B. Adolescent always experience mood swing.
C. Adolescent is preoccupied with different tasks.
D. The part of the adolescent’s brain which is prefrontal cortex is not fully developed.

Lesson Stress
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 1
Stress is described as a body and mind response to a stimulus that disturbs a person’s
equilibrium, calm state, or balance. There’s a widespread view that stress is harmful, but expert
debates draw the conclusion this isn’t entirely true. Psychologist have decided that small and
sporadic levels of stress can be useful and helpful to individuals while increase amounts of stress
maintained over a prolonged period of time can be damaging to both health and wellbeing. (Santos,
2016)
Stress is a reaction from the body to something that makes us feel threatened or under
pressure. It is the body's natural way of reacting to changes, challenges and demands that we face.
(Fernandez, et al., 2016)
Stressors are life changing or life threatening situations that cause stress. Our body reacts to
these situations involving hormone, gland as well as nervous system interactions where the adrenal
gland drives the production of cortisol, or usually known as "stress hormone." The development of
cortisol allows the body of an individual to generate energy for action. Another body response similar
to cortisol production is the release of a substance called norepinephrine, which triggers the body's
reaction to prepare the body for action, such as increased heart rate, higher blood pressure and
respiration. (Santos, 2016)
The physical response of the adolescent to stress is faster than that of an adult simply
because the part of the brain of the adolescent, the prefrontal cortex, which assesses the danger and
directs action during stress is still not fully developed. Prolonged or chronic situations involving both
cortisol and norepinephrine will eventually wear down the body quickly. This is why prolonged or
chronic stress often causes tiredness, aging and disease caused by low immune system. (Santos,
2016)
Adolescent needs to understand stress and its sources to identify ways to cope and have a
healthy life. This lesson will engage them to understand stress, its cause and effect, and help them to
demonstrate personal ways to manage it.

What’s In

Recall and write down five things, situations, events or persons that had happened in your life
that caused you to experience/ feel stress.

1. ________________________________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________________________________
4. ________________________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________________

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Guide Questions:
1. Why do you feel stress?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

2. How do you overcome your stress?

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

What’s New

Ask your family members and/or close relatives to sign his/her name in the appropriate box if
they participate in the following activities when they feel stress.

STRESS BINGO
Listens to Keeps a journal Plays a Makes “to Has hiked to the
music or a diary musical do” lists top of a mountain
instrument
Eats breakfast Enjoys baking Plays with an Likes to Has a fish
cookies electronic laugh and tank/aquarium
device does so a lot
Plays outside Talks to family Your favorite Enjoys Sleeps 9-11 hours
after school about problems activity nature a night
Goes for Volunteers Practices a Daydreams Does yoga or
walks/bike martial art pilates
riding
Enjoys
(Source:going GoesKit,
Mental Health window Works Alberta
Junior High School, out at Health
Skis,Services) Rented a movie on
for a drive shopping a gym/at Skateboards the weekend
home

Guide Questions:
1. Do you find it easy or difficult to complete the “Stress Bingo”? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________

2. What are the activities in the Bingo Card that you also do when you feel stress? Why?
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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 What is It

Lesson
Stress Response
2
Stress manifests itself in many ways— in your private life and in your working life. There are
some terms to describe the stress-related emotions such as anxiety, pressure, misery, strain,
despair, tension, anger, panic, and rejection. Stress Response is a collection of psychological
changes that occur when you face perceived threat-when you face situations where you feel the
demands outweigh your resources to successfully cope.
Unmanaged stress caused by prolonged stress can be devastating that can result in burnout,
breakdown and depression. Not all stress, though, is dreadful. Certain stress intensity can benefit
one's overall development. Stress may provide a healthy rush that digs the person up in
circumstances like meeting deadlines or important events to perform higher than average.
Anomalous stress levels, however, have been shown to be highly damaging to adolescents.
You'll feel both physical and emotional disruptions when stress overloads your life. The
neurotransmitters will start to stop functioning in your brain. The first one to be shut down
provisionally is your body clock, which causes sleeplessness more often than not. The second is in-
control of energy levels which causes a decline in wanting to make things happen. The final
neurotransmitter is in the brain's pleasure portion which causes unhappiness and hopelessness. As
these are shut down, response to stress becomes more difficult. (Serrano, 2016)
Stress affects teenagers' thought and emotions plus their actions in adulthood later on.
Adolescents with high levels of stress will experience more mood disorders later in life. Stress is also
a cause for concern due to the incidence of illegal or socially unwanted behavior, such as smoking,
drug use and abuse, and adolescent substance addiction. These behaviors may be causing even
more stress. Stress affects the way adolescents interact with social groups, such as families, school
peers and peers outside the school. Changes in the social climate force teenagers to search for new
ways to react and adapt. Those changes create an environment of stress. Little by little the stress to
which adolescents are subjected will develop over time as part of these changes. (Serrano, 2016)

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Lesson
Stress Management
3
There are many effective ways to handle stress. You can’t avoid stress. In fact, you wouldn’t
want to avoid all stress, because you’d never grow. However, you can manage your life so that you
survive the emotional down times without allowing stress to engulf you. Stress can be successfully
managed. Here are some suggestions that may help.
 Understand the causes of stress. This may seem obvious, but requires deliberate, conscious
effort to pause and simply ponder your situation.
 Analyze your stress factors and write them down. Write down your response to stress.
Analyze stress responses and consequences, and consider each item, and ask why.
 Deal with the stressors. Develop techniques to deal with the causes of stress. The longer you
avoid dealing with the stress factors, the more the stress will build up.
 Learn to work under pressure or unusual condition. When you can’t reduce the stressors,
you need to manage your stress response. Relaxation is key-but most people must train
themselves to relax when pressure is on.

What’s More

ACTIVITY 1.1 What Causes You to “Lose Your Cool”?

As a person, you experience certain things, situations, or people that cause you to lose your
composure or “cool”. If you determine these stressors, you can become capable of preventing
negative consequences. In this activity, identify your own “stressors” by putting an X mark
before each factor. You can also add you own stressors on the blank spaces provided.

_____being late _____parents fighting

_____too much homework _____getting detention
_____speaking in public _____your job
_____babysitting _____taking tests
_____going to the dentist _____video games
_____arguments with friends _____using a computer
_____restrictions at home _____close-in spaces
_____chores _____commercials
_____lack of sleep _____interruptions while busy
_____no date for a dance _____getting an injection
_____pimples _____arguments with parents
_____Physical Education class _____fight with boyfriend/girlfriend
_____Math class _____losing
_____English class _____careless drivers

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 _____other class__________ _____slow drivers
_____boredom _____loud people
_____rude people _____baby crying
_____no money _____disrespectful children
_____no transportation _____a friend betrays you
_____playing on a sports team _____
_____not being included in a sports team _____
_____losing something valuable _____

(Source: Emotional Intelligence Activities for Teens 13-18)

Processing Questions:
1. What are your top 5 stressors?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

2. What is your initial reaction when you encounter these stressors? Why?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

3. Based on your own experience, how do you usually cope with these stressors?
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________

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Activity 1.2 Emotional and Behavioral Changes in Adolescents when Stress
As an adolescent, you usually experience different physical, emotional and behavioral
changes when you are stress. Physical changes refer to unusual and sometimes sudden physical
or bodily changes that an individual could experience when stress. Emotional changes refer to
changes in one’s emotions, moods or feelings. On the other hand, behavioral changes refer to
changes in one’s habits and attitudes when stress.

Complete the matrix below by listing down these changes that you experienced and observed.

Physical Emotional Behavioral

The following are the changes that happen to adolescents when stress affects the
way they think:(Serrano, 2016)
1. Getting lost in the conversations and reflections.
2. Finding hard to focus, and continuing to focus
3. Making errors in judgments
4. Are having trouble recalling items
5. Getting unreasonable and embarrassing
6. Got trouble organizing and planning things

Activity 1.3 My Quote About Stress

Create your own quotation about stress that expresses your insights regarding the cause
and effect of stress among the young generations. Share your quote in your Facebook’s My Day
section aiming to inspire others especially those experiencing so much stress at this period in
their life.

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 What I Have Learned

K-W-L Chart

Now that you learned and answered the activities in this module, complete the K-W-L Chart
below to summarize the lesson.

Know about the topic Want to know about the topic Learned about the topic

What I Can Do

My Stress Survival Kit

One cannot go away with stress. Everyone should deal stress in order to grow. Adolescents
are usually vulnerable with it especially they are in the transition stage as dicussed in the previous
module.
How are we going to cope and manage our stress is a big question in our mind. In this module
you we able to identify the stressors and symptoms of stress. Now in this activity you will create your
own survival kits that will help you cope with stress in your everyday lives. Share why you put
certain things into your kit and how it helps you cope with stress by following the instructions below.

1. Choose 3 objects or symbols to include in your kit.

___________________________________________________________________________

2. You can make the symbols.

___________________________________________________________________________

3. You can use words or pictures.

___________________________________________________________________________

4. You choose an object from home.

__________________________________________________________________________

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 5. Think about how the symbol helps you when you are dealing with stress and stressful
situations.

__________________________________________________________________________

6. Write a paragraph for each symbol or object in your kit and how it helps you cope with stress
in your everday life.

__________________________________________________________________________

(Source: Mental Health Kit, Junior High School, Alberta Health Services)

Assessment

Read and analyze the following statements in column A. In column B, write T if the
statement is true and F if the statement is false.
Column A Column B
1. Stress is a way your body can respond to challenges and handle them with
strength, care and energy.
2. You'll experience both physical and emotional disturbances when stress
overloads your life.
3. Stress impacts adolescents' thinking and feelings plus their behaviors
throughout adult years eventually on.
4. All kinds of stress are damaging to adolescents' physical,
emotional, and behavior.
5. Examples of emotional changes among adolescents when
eating in lesser amounts and sleeping for extended periods of
time.
6. Adolescents are also likely to feel stress at home because of family strain
and problems.
7. Depression, burnout and breakdown are some of the major long term and
unmanaged stress effects.
8. Low and intermittent stress rates can be beneficial and helpful to
teenagers, according to Psychologist.
9. Behavioral changes such as smoking, alcohol drinking, and drug
abuse can also be linked to unmanaged stress.
10. Stress is associated with emotions such as anxiety, pressure,
despair and rejection.
11. You can avoid stressful and frustrating experiences as an
adolescent through always seeking advice from your parents.
12. If stress overloads your life, the neurotransmitter will start to stop
functioning in your brain.

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 13. Changes in the social environment create a stressful
environment for teenagers in which they are looking for new
ways to respond and adapt to those changes.
14. Assignments, test, projects, oral recitation and grades are types of
stressors that teenagers have when studying.
15. Good stress such as performing before the class and engaging
in sports help empower adolescents and encourage them to
work hard.

Additional Activities

Here is some more information about stress; it’s causes and effects. Using your
gadgets, watch these helpful and informative videos through the following link:

MorethanMedication-What is Stress: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s93ywqFa6CM

Ted ED- Sharon Horesh Bergquist on How Stress Affects your Body
http://ed.ted.com/lessons/how-stress-affects-your-body-sharon-horesh-bergquist#review

References
Alberta Education Health and Life Skills Programs of Studies Outcomes. Stress and
Relationship.https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/assets/programs/ps-7344-stress-gr7.pdf

Emotional Intelligence Activities for Teens 13-18

https://www.ong.ohio.gov/frg/FRGresources/emotional_intelligence

Fernandez, B. et al.(2016) Personal Development 1st Ed. Department of Education. Sunshine Interlinks
Publishing House, Inc.: Quezon City

Santos, R. (2016) Personal Development, Rex Book Store, Inc.: Manila

Serrano, A. (2016) Personal Development. Unlimited Books Library Services & Publishing Inc.: Manila

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