COPING WITH STRESS

IN THE MIDDLE AND

LATE ADOLESCENCE
STRESS:
- Is the reaction of the mind and body to a
stimulus that disturbs the well being, state
of calm of a person.
- Stress may be both good & bad,
depending on the length of time it persists.
Common belief:
Stress is unhealthy but discussions among
experts conclude that this is not entirely
the case.
Psychologist have agreed that a small &
noncontinuous amounts of stress can be
helpful & beneficial to individuals while
excessive amounts of stress sustained
over a lengthy period of time can be
destructive to both physical and mental
health.
SEVERAL POINTS TO VIEW STRESS:
Stress as Stimulus, Response and
Relational
As a Stimulus – stress is caused by situations that
may be life threatening or life changing such as
separation, moving into a new home or having a
new job. These situations or events are often called
stressors.
- stress may be the events or situations that are life
changing and very challenging.
Stress as a response – is the way the body reacts to
challenging situations.
- stress causes the body and the brain to secrete
hormones and chemicals that are manifested
physically & which may drive a person to a certain
behavioral direction in dealing with the stress.
Stress as relational – stress is seen as a situation that a
person interacts with.
- the person can assess whether the situation is
relevant or not & if the relevance is positive or negative.
-is when a person experiencing stress takes a step
back to look at the situation that is causing the stress &
assesses it.
- if the relevance is positive, the person will look at
the situation as a challenge, can change the effect of the
situation & then take a necessary course of action to
lessen the stress. if the relevance is negative, the person
will develop negative emotions, which will aggravate
the stressful situation even more.
Example: A flight delay. A positive relevance to this
will have the person thinking this is one situation he
has no control of, & there may be a purpose or
reason why it is happening. A negative relevance
will produce agitation & impatience, blaming the
airline or whoever is responsible for the delay,
which may result in lost of opportunities.
Healthy Stress:
- Stress that is short & sporadic can motivate,
energize & spur an individual into fruitful action.
Ex. Speaking in front of the audience is a healthy type of
stress as it pushes the speaker to prepare & be an
effective speaker.
-stage performers are also under stress while performing
& this same stress my bring out their best performances.
-competing in sports. Healthy stress can propel the
competing individual to perform better.
Bad stress can be transformed into good stress depending
on how an individual assesses the situation. Adolescent
students, who are in constant stressful situations
particularly related to school-work & relationships,
should learn some coping mechanisms to assist them in
their development toward a healthy adult life.
Know your Stressors:
2 sources of stressors:
1. External stressors – are those that come from
outside of you like situations, people &
experiences.
2. Internal Stressors – are those coming from within
you, like thoughts that you have that caused you to
feel fearful, uncertainties about the future, lack of
control over situations and even your personal
beliefs, which include your own expectations.
Samples of Possible Stressors:
School Demands & Expectations
Quizzes & tests, home works & projects, oral
recitation, quarterly & final exams and grade most
especially, epitomize the kind of stressors
adolescents have when it comes to studying.
Although grades are not the only gauge of what one
has learned, it is what the educational system relies
on when trying to measure one’s learning capacity.
Graduating senior high school students feel the
stress more than any other year level. The question
that lingers on their minds is whether one will
graduate on time or not.
 Is it not that senior high school students are
expected to graduate like all the rest? Apparently,
academic failure to most students is never an option.
How can one cope with this?
Selecting a School, College Course or Career
Related to the first stressor mentioned is the
situation of what will happen after graduation. A high
school students who just graduated faces more
demanding challenges and the first of these are the
entrance examination. Oftentimes, fresh graduates
have gone through several aptitude tests conducted in
high school to help them define what their interests are
& what probable college course fits their interests.
 Unfortunately, there is need for more relevant
information describing the kinds of jobs that are available
to college graduates. This is another reason why high
school graduates also go through a guessing game as to
where & what they will end up doing after college.
Separation Anxiety
High school graduation, to some means a temporary
ending or separation from some of their friends. There is
a possible scenario that a best friend might move to
another place to study or move to another school.
Technology might ease the pain of separation by simply
going online, texting or calling to get instant connection
with someone who is sorely missed.
College Life
The prospect of being by themselves in a new
school in college and meeting & adjusting to new
people is another cause of stress fro graduating senior
students. The unfamiliarity of a new environment can
bring stress to adolescents as they set their foot in
college.
Romantic Relationships or the lack of it
Adolescents have a tendency to feel awkward when
they are not in a special relationship with someone.
Somehow, having an intimate relationship is a status
symbol that says one is good looking, interesting and
attractive.
Family Demands and Expectations
To some adolescents, family ties can be a stressor. The
adolescent is still learning & yearning for independence&
autonomy, but parents may not be ready to relinquish control
over their “baby”. This is why conflict sets in.
There si also rebellion in the mind of adolescents, to go
against the norm & and to set their own norms that may not
be agreeable to the parents.
There are still some parents who think they know better
than their children & so they decide for them on critical
issues. An example is what course to take in college. Parents
who believe that there is no future in music or designing
career can overrule a highly creative and sensitive adolescent
who may wish to take up music or designing arts.
 Encouragement to take up another course, like the
one that may be similar to one or both parents, for
example, medicine, usually happens.
Parental expectations are difficult to meet, especially
if these counter one’s self-identity. What options does
an adolescent have in dealing with this?
Health Concerns
To some adolescents, health maybe a problem.
Health problems may run a gamut or varieties, such as
unwanted pregnancy, HIV & other sexually transmitted
diseases, unhealthy lifestyles such as poor eating &
sleeping habits that often lead to lifetime diseases and
so on.
Demands for Social Life
There is a common thinking among adolescents
that it is embarrassing to be alone. That is why the
need to belong is significantly important for
adolescents.
Forming groups or joining one makes an
adolescent feel safe & secure because to belong to a
social group is an affirmation that they are
acceptable to others. But how does one become a
part of a social group?
 In order to become a part of a group, the
individual has to have common interests with the
other members of the group like being in the honor’s
list or having common extra curricular interests such
as acting, singing, dancing or sports. In some cases,
stressful group pressure sets in when an individual is
faced with the challenge to belong & be part of the
group by going through some form of ritual, like
experimenting with drugs or alcohol, or even with
sex. An adolescent with a strong self-concept & self –
esteem should be able to discern what is good for
them when selecting their group.
Bullying
Being bullied in school can be very stressful & may
cause emotional & psychological trauma to the
individual experiencing it. Many schools are aware of
the presence of bullying & have policies dealing with it.
If you are being bullied, either physically or verbally,
report this to your teacher, the school principal & your
parents. Some individuals learn to deal with bullying by
fighting back with the right attitude & the right words.
Bullies are around because it is often believed that they
have problems either at home or with themselves & also
need empathy & understanding.
Coping with stress:
By now you have learned that stress can either be
good or bad, depending on how this is affecting you &
how you are allowing it to affect you.
What is important is to know what stresses you &
identifying your stress situations or stressors. Once you
have identified these, check yourself & see how you
are reacting or relating to the stressor.
Is your body tense? Are you sleepless?
It is important to acknowledge these reactions & any
feelings or emotions that arise within you. Avoid going
into denial by saying you are okay when you are really
not.
 Coping is a very important mechanism in dealing
with stress.
- it is way for a person to deal with stress in a
healthy, acceptable manner.
- it is necessary to avoid psychological trauma &
mental diseases. It can be a problem-focused, by
dealing with the problem & finding ways to solve it
or avert further stress;
or emotion-focused, by lessening the emotional
impact of stress through positive imagery or
thoughts.