CHAPTER 12

HEALTHCARE & STRESS

MANAGEMENT
PREPARED BY:
RODEL D. HALIM RPM; MA
PROFESSOR OF PSYCHOLOGY
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

• At the end of the chapter, the students are expected to:

• Realize that man has the capacity to manage stress effectively and
experience healthier life.
• Have insightful learning about how man can handle stress effectively and
quickly.
• Put into practice this dictum “A sound mind rests in a healthier body.”
• Consider the suggested ways and means of managing stress effectively.
• Man needs difficulties; they are necessary for health.

•Carl jung
• STRESS has ill-effects on health. People sometimes use unconscious strategies
called DEFENSE MECHANISMS in order to cope with stress. Nonetheless,
PSYCHOLOGISTS suggest that people must learn positive ways to manage
stress. Some suggestions to manage stress include SOCIAL SUPPORT, SELF-
CARE, and COMPASSION.
STRESS DEFINED
 STRESS

• Refers to events that are perceived as CHALLENGING, DAMAGING, or

THREATENING to one’s PHYSICAL or PSYCHOLOGICAL well-being.
• STRESSORS
• Events that are perceived.
• STRESS RESPONSE
• The way people respond.
 • TYPES OF STRESSORS
• EUSTRESS
• Occurs when people experience positive events but requires them to adjust.
• DISTRESS
• Occurs when people experience negative events and make a great deal of
demands on them.
 STRESSORS & RESPONSES

• FACTORS THAT CAUSE STRESS

• Major life events such as a wedding and having a baby.
• Negative events such as losing one’s job.
• Death of a loved one.
• Natural disasters such as typhoons, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions.
• Hassles that people experience daily such as difficulty in getting a ride to school,
irritation in traffic,
• Small disagreements with parents and classmates.
• When people experience urgent demands as when targeting a deadline such as
submission of school project.
• Frustration especially when one is thwarted or prevented from satisfying a need
or achieving his or her goal.
• Conflict.
 CONFLICT

• Occurs when a person needs to choose between two or more options.

 TYPES OF CONFLICT

• APPROACH-APPROACH CONFLICT
• Occurs when a person needs to choose between two options that are both
attractive.
 • AVOIDANCE-AVOIDANCE CONFLICT
• Occurs when a person needs to choose between options that he or she finds both
unpleasant.
 • APPROACH-AVOIDANCE CONFLICT
• Occurs when a person needs to choose between options that have both positive
and negative consequences.
 • MULTIPLE CONFLICT
• Occurs when there are more than two options.
 DEFENSE MECHANISMS

• In order to deal with frustrations, conflicts, and stress, people sometimes use
UNCONSCIOUS STRATEGIES called DEFENSE MECHANISMS to cope with
the PAIN and deal with ANXIETY.
 EXAMPLES OF DEFENSE MECHANISMS

• BEATNIK REACTION
• Is a defense mechanism in which the person exhibits behaviors that stand apart
from the standards of society and avoids most responsibilities of a good citizen.
IT INCLUDES:
• Smoking
• Drug use
• Early sex
• Dropping out of school
• DISPLACEMENT
• The person act aggressively such as destroying things or harming another
person when frustrated.
• COMPENSATION
• In which a person makes up for or covers up his or her weak areas by being
superior in other areas.
• DENIAL
• Occurs when a person refuses to accept a painful reality or truth.
• IDENTIFICATION
• Is imitating the characteristics of a person he or she admires to deal with his
or her insecurities.
• INTELLECTUALIZATION
• Is avoiding negative emotions by focusing on the intellectual aspects of one’s
life.
• PROJECTION
• Is attributing one’s own weaknesses or shortcomings to someone else.
• RATIONALIZATION
• Is making up plausible explanations or excuses to cover up negative feelings
such as guilt.
• REACTION FORMATION
• Is acting opposite to what the person truly feels.
• REGRESSION
• A person reverts to an earlier psychosexual stage and begins to behave like a
child.
• REPRESSION
• Is pushing unacceptable impulses or urges into the unconscious.
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL & COGNITIVE FACTORS OF STRESS

• HANS SELYE’S GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME VIEW OF STRESS

• Suggests that the body goes through THREE STAGES OF PHYSIOLOGICAL
REACTIONS during stressful events.
• ALARM STAGE
• Is the initial reaction to a stressful situation.
• In trying to cope up with the initial effects of stress, the sympathetic nervous system
is activated and releases HORMONES such as Cortisol, Epinephrine, &
Norepinephrine that help the body to fight off stress.
 • However, the continued increase in these hormones could also adversely
affect the body such as Increase in Blood Pressure, Heart Rate, and Blood
Sugar.
• RESISTANCE STAGE
• The body adapt to the stress but continues to release hormones that help the
body to adapt and help fight off the harmful effects of stress.
• The body can eventually suffer fatigue if stress continues.
• EXHAUSTION STAGE
• If the stress is not properly dealt with, the person will experience exhaustion
in which the body may suffer PSYCHOSOMATIC ILLNESSES including
Colds, Flu, Allergies, Headache, Muscle pain, as well as those that may have
IRREVERSIBLE DAMAGES to one’s health such as Heart disease, Ulcer,
Diabetes, Stroke, Cancer, or Death.
 • RICHARD LAZARUS’S COGNITIVE VIEW OF STRESS
• Suggests that the way people think about and appraise a stressor is a major factor
in how stressful that particular stressor becomes.
• He believes that there is a TWO-STEP PROCESS in appraising the degree of
threat or harm of a stressor and how one should react to that stressor:
• PRIMARY APPRAISAL
• SECONDARY APPRAISAL
• In Primary Appraisal, the individual appraises the severity of the stressor and
classifies it as a THREAT, a CHALLENGE, a HARM, or a LOSS.
• If the STRESSOR is seen as a CHALLENGE, the individual may perceive it as
less stressful and more likely to cope well.
• If the STRESSOR is seen as a THREAT, negative emotions may ensue.
 STRESS & THE FILIPINO: THE SOCIOECONOMIC &
CULTURAL FACTORS OF STRESS

• SOCIOECONOMIC FACTORS OF STRESS

• Experiencing poverty or receiving low compensation.
• Both parents need to work to make ends meet. As parents take on multiple
roles, achieving balance between work and family.
• Even if a person has a job and is making an adequate salary, there are stresses
associated with the workplace that add to the daily stressors such as WORK
OVERLOAD, LONG HOURS, and POOR PHYSICAL WORK
ENVIRONMENT.
 • Overcrowding.
• Living in poor housing condition.
• Traffic & lack of transportation.
• CULTURAL FACTORS OF STRESS
• A person from one culture who must live in another culture may experience a
great deal of stress.
 • ACCULTURATION
• Is the process of adaptation by which immigrants, native groups, and ethnic
minority groups adjust to the new culture making behavioral and attitudinal
changes.
• ACCULTURATIVE STRESS
• Refers to the feelings of tension and anxiety that accompany efforts to adapt to
the orientation and values of a dominant culture.
 SOURCES OF COPING & STRENGTH

• PROBLEM-FOCUSED COPING
• The individual reduces the impact of the problem by looking for best
solutions through his or her own effort.
• EMOTION-FOCUSED COPING
• The individual uses this strategy to reduce the intensity of negative emotions.
• BEHAVIOR-TECHNIQUES COPING
• Biofeedback
• Relaxation Techniques
• Meditation
• Physical Exercise
• Social support system or a Network of Family Members
 THE NEED FOR SELF-CARE & COMPASSION

• ELEMENTS OF SELF-COMPASSION
• SELF-KINDNESS
• A SENSE OF COMMON HUMANITY
• MINDFULLNESS

• STRESS MANAGEMENT
• Is the ability to control stress and develop the skills to prevent the harmful
effects of stress.
 SUGGESTIONS TO MANAGE STRESS & PRACTICE SELF-
COMPASSION

• Begin the process of calming yourself by paying attention to your breathing.

• Pray or meditate.
• Read spiritual materials such as the Bible, self-help books that will make you relax and
guide you throughout your life.
• Be mindful of your thoughts and feelings.
• Keep a diary or journal where you can write down and process your thoughts and
feelings.
• Develop a good habits.
• Develop a sense of humor.
THE END. THANK YOU