Grade 12 Life Orientation Notes – Level of Stress and Stressors

Grade 12 Life Orientation Notes – Level of Stress and Stressors, Stress is your hormonal response to a perceived threat, danger, or other stimuli. Stressors are what trigger this reaction. Stress can involve emotional reactions like panic, irritability, or worry. Stressors are the experiences that prompt those feelings

Level of Stress and Stressors Grade 12 Life Orientation Notes:

• What is stress? Stress is what we feel in situations we find difficult, challenging or even frightening. When we feel we can’t cope with the situation.
• What is good stress? Stress that makes you ready for action as it gives you adrenalin and energy. E.g. When you have to stand in front of the class and speak. It is for a short term and you can have sweaty palms and a dry mouthy or butterflies in your tummy.
• What is bad stress? If the stress is more than you can cope with, it is unhealthy. You may become ill, unhappy and depressed. You are not able to do your task as well as you could. You will have headaches or will not be able to sleep.
• What is a stressor? A stressor is anything, event or person that causes stress. It is the things that trigger stress

Types of Stress

How to manage stress

• Meditation is a one of the natural methods of relieving stress. Simple deep breathing exercises can assist tremendously in relieving stress. Meditation helps to calm the mind.
• Exercise and eat healthy foods regularly. Eat healthy foods and exercise at least 3 times a week.
• Avoid excess caffeine intake which can increase feelings of anxiety and agitation.
• Don’t use illegal drugs, alcohol and tobacco.
• Learn relaxation exercises (abdominal breathing and muscle relaxation techniques).
• Develop assertiveness training skills. For example, state feelings in polite, firm, and not overly aggressive or passive ways (“I feel angry when you yell at me” “Please stop yelling”). Rehearse and practice situations which cause stress. One example is taking a speech class, if talking in front of a class makes you anxious.
• Learn practical and effective coping skills. For example, break a large task into smaller, more attainable tasks.
• Decrease negative self talk. Challenge negative thoughts about yourself with alternative neutral or positive thoughts. “My life will never get better” can be transformed into “I may feel hopeless now, but my life will probably get better if I work at it and get some help.”
• Learn to feel good about doing a competent job rather than demanding perfection from yourself and others.
• Take a break from stressful situations. Activities like listening to music, talking to a friend, drawing, writing, or spending time with a pet can reduce stress.
• Build a network of friends who help you cope in a positive way…
• A stress journal can help you identify the regular stressors in your life and the way you deal with them. Each time you feel stressed; keep track of it in your journal. As you keep a daily log, you will begin to see patterns and common themes.

 Symptoms of stress:

• Short term effects: Faster breathing/faster heart rate/dry mouth, Sweaty palms/tension in your neck/butterflies in your tummy
• Long term effects: High blood pressure/headaches/ulcers/allergies etc.

15 Factors that lead to stress in the workplace

• Poor management/poor planning by Supervisors or managers.
• Lack of skills from other workers.
• Poor work relations between management and workers
• Poor relations between workers
• Poor work environment
• Incompetent workers
• Jealousy
• Autocracy by management
• Tasks are demanding
• Poor attitude of seniors (no support )
• Poor resources to do proper job
• Poor work ethics by workers
• Understaffed
• Poor benefits
• Low salary

Why is it important to manage stress?

These are 2 stress hormones. Cortisol is the hormone produced by fear, results in anxiety. Adrenalin- is the hormone that prepares the body to react physically to a threat. If you fail to manage your stress your body can produce too much of the hormones for too long. The stress will damage your body and change to chronic diseases like high blood pressure.

Symptoms of stress

The signs of stress are physical symptoms. Feeling worried is a symptom of stress. Sweating or trembling hands are a sign of stress and worry. Other signs or symptoms includes diarrhea or an upset stomach, rapid heart beat, bleeding ulcers and sweating too much. Symptoms of stress can include headaches, stomach ache, feeling tense, unable to sleep, constant thirst and feelings of unease. These are all short term effects of stress.
Long term effects of stress are: high blood ressure/headaches/ulcers/allergies etc.