Stress: What Is It?!
A Mini Unit

Stress can have a negative affect in many areas of our lives. Understanding what stress it is the first step in being able to deal with it more effectively … even for children and teens.

1. Find out how the human body responds to stress. How are the following affected by stress: metabolism, blood pressure, heart rate, breathing? What happens to the body if is continually under stress?

2. Using relaxation techniques can reduce feelings of stress. Sit in a quiet, comfortable place. Close your eyes. Relax all your muscles, breathe slowly, and repeat the word “one” each time to exhale. Use a word helps to erase other thoughts. Continue this exercise of focusing on each exhalation for 10 to 15 minutes. Slowly open your eyes. How do you feel? Find time to do this exercise once a day for a week.

3. Effective time management is the ability to plan your time well. Such planning often eliminates stressful situations. Plan your time by creating a reasonable schedule for yourself for one week. Fit in each activity you hope to accomplish from the time you get up to the time to the time you go to bed. Be sure to designate some time to practice relaxation techniques. Try it out. What were your results? What did you learn?

4. Massage can relieve stress in muscles. Learn several massage strokes that help in relaxation. Try working on your feet, hands, or someone’s shoulders. Did the massage help with the stress?

5. Some stresses are caused by problems for which you cannot readily see a solution. In these cases you must deal with the situation, but you can still try and manage your reaction to the situation. Think of some stressful situations that you have experienced. What were some of the says that you handled the situation effectively? What do you wish you would have done differently?

6. Some of the symptoms of stress can be relieved by physical activity. Make room in your schedule to participate in one of the following activities at least three times a week. Do this for at least one month. Compare how you feel before and after the one-month period.

§ Play an active sport
§ Participate in an activity or exercise routine that makes you feel more flexible.
§ Go for a 20-minute walk or ride a bicycle for several miles.
§ Participate in a vigorous physical activity that lasts at least 25 minutes.

7. Make a list of the different methods people use to reduce stress, such as listening to music, soaking in a hot tub, or pursuing a hobby. Star those that would work for you and use one the net time you feel stressed.

8. Find out how biofeedback works. What ailments respond well to biofeedback techniques? Which hare less responsive? Why? How does the biofeedback machinery help to treat the ailment?

9. Think about the advantages and disadvantages of technology in today’s society. Do the computer enslave us or does it reduce our workload? Is the increasing reliance on computers having negative as well as positive effects on our lives? Support your viewpoints with personal experiences.

10. Take time to listen to the sounds in your environment. Listen to a variety of types of music and find pieces that evoke different emotions in you. Use tension-reducing music or sounds when you are feeling stressed. How did the music affect your stress level?

11. School is a cause of stress for many children and teens. Why do you think this is true? Name some reasons that school is a cause of stress. What personally causes you stress about school? Brainstorm some constructive methods of dealing with this stress.

12. Family situations can also cause a great deal of stress. If one member of your immediate family is stressed-out, this usually affects everyone else. Spend some time as a family making a list of family-related stress and then brainstorm constructive ways of dealing with the stress and the situations that cause the stress.

13. Investigate careers that where people help other people deal with stress such as biofeedback consultant, relaxation therapist, massage therapist, nutritionist/dietician, yoga instructor, etc. How have these fields changed in recent years? What is the training and education needed in each field? Do any of these fields require a state license?

14. In the last decade, how has the medical field incorporated stress management in the prevention and treatment of illness and disease?

15. Educators are exploring the connection between stress and success. Speak to at least three educators about how they think stress affects student performance, and tips they have for dealing with it.

16. Counseling is a field that helps people handle or reduce stress in their lives. Find out how psychologists, psychiatrists, and clinical social workers are educated and trained. What is each trained and/or licensed to to?

17. At the end of this unit, review what you have learned about stress and how it affects others and yourself. Create a chart of stress-reducing techniques and post it somewhere that you see frequently. Use the chart to remind yourself how to deal with daily stressors.


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