Chapter 12 Activity PDF

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Chapter 12 Activity...

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Activity #4: Stress What is it? How do we measure it? How can we cope with it?

Part 1: What Is Stress? 1. Describe a scenario that typically stresses you out. How do you know you are stressed in this scenario (i.e., what are the thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and behaviors you experience that indicate to you that you are stressed)? -

Exams typically stress me out and usually when I am stressed out, I overthink everything. Not only do I overthink but I also often feel weak because my body is using all of its energy on thinking. Often times I do not eat either because I have no motivation when I am stressed. Those are three things that are indicators to me when I am stressed.

2. Ask two different people (e.g., friends, family members, coworkers – shoot them a text, email, or give them a call!) to describe a scenario that typically stresses them out. How do they know when they are stressed? List their responses here. - One of my friends says that money stresses her out. Since it is such an essential thing to have in life to thrive and survive. She explained that when she is stressed about money, she often worries about what she is spending and thinking far enough ahead to plan what she needs to buy for essentials. - Another one of my friends has a hard time and gets stressed out when there are crowds of people. We all know people who are a little too much to handle but he however finds it difficult to be with multiple people at the one time. One way he knows when he is stressed out is when he begins to worry about what others are thinking. Then he knows he has to remove himself from the crowded situation. 3. Recall the Stress as Stimuli discussion from chapter 12. Identify the stimuli (events or situations) you indicated as stressful in question 1. List the stimuli indicated as stressful by the two people you asked in question 2. What are some similarities in the stimuli that everyone listed? -

For my stress the stimuli would be the exams themselves. For my two friends however, their stimuli for stressful situations are money and other people. Some similarities is that with these stressors comes worry with all three of us.

4. Recall the Stress as Response discussion from chapter 12. List the responses (separated into thoughts, feelings, physical sensations, and behaviors) that you and the two people you asked in question 2 experience when you are stressed. What are some similarities in the responses that everyone listed? -

Some of the responses to stress that were indicated were worrying being number one. Another was over thinking and overall stressing about the situation they are put in.

5. Recall the Stress as Transaction discussion from chapter 12. Describe YOUR OWN primary and secondary appraisals to each of the two scenarios that your friends/family described in question 2. How would your appraisal of these stressful stimuli affect your response to them (i.e., would you have a stress-related response or not)? List one reason why your appraisal of these stimuli might be different from that of your friends/family. -

I would respond in a non-stressful way because responding in a stressful tone would just create more stress.

Part 2: How Do We Measure Stress? 1. Take the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) yourself! a) To access the scale, go to https://www.mindtools.com/ , type SRRS in the search bar, then click the magnifying glass on the right. Then click on the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale to get to the SRRS questionnaire.

b) Scroll down the page until you get to The Stress Scale. c) Click ‘Yes’ next to any event that has happened to you in the last year. d) When you are done, click ‘Calculate My Total’ to get your score on the SRRS. e) Record your total score: 367 2. Which method of measuring stress (stimuli, response, or transaction) is the SRRS using? Why did you pick that method? -

They are measuring stress in individuals through asking many questions about life which could make some conclusions as to why someone is stressed out.

3. The items on the SRRS are listed in order of most to least stressful, based on ratings from many people. Which items would you move in the list (either up or down), based on how stressful YOU think those events are/would be? Explain why you chose to move those items. -

The events that would be more stressful in my opinion would be those that involve people of importance to an individual because alongside of this situation often times comes care and worry for the other person.

4. Describe one problem with using the point values on the SRRS to measure someone’s stress. -

This doesn’t capture everything that is going on in an individual’s life. It is impossible to get through everything and ask every question that would reach all points of life. That is the number one flaw with questionnaires based on stress.

5. List one way that we can measure stress as a response. How does this method measure someone’s response to stress? - We can ask questions such as the survey. Also to see how they respond to different situations and how their stress levels react.

Part 3: How Can We Cope with Stress? 1. Recall the discussion of problem- and emotion-focused coping from chapter 12. For the scenario that you listed in Part 1 question 1, list two example of problem-focused ways you could cope with that stressor and two examples of emotion-focused ways you could cope with that stressor. -

An example of how we can cope with stress is breathing because it helps our bodies to relax. Another way to deal with stress is talking with someone about what you are stressed about.

2. We experience a lot of stress responses in our body (e.g., increased heart rate, sweating, nervous movements). You will now have a chance to practice an effective and simple method to help cope with and reduce those physical feelings of stress: diaphragmatic breathing . To practice this stress-coping method, follow the steps below: a. Set a timer (e.g., on your phone) for 30 seconds. Take two fingers and find your pulse in your neck. (If you’re not sure how to find your pulse, check out the first few seconds of this YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSlRvD-CZSo) b. Start the timer and count your pulses for 30 seconds. Record your answer here: __________ c. Set your timer for 1 minute. Sit in a chair where you can comfortably place both feet on the floor. Place one hand on your belly just below your rib cage (where the diaphragm muscle is located). Place your other hand on your chest around where your heart is located. Breathe deeply and comfortably, trying to inhale through your nose and exhale through your mouth. When inhaling, your belly should expand, not your chest. Inhale for a count of 3. Your shoulders should remain motionless. When exhaling, try to push all the air out of your lungs in a slow, steady stream. Exhale for a count of 5. Breathe in this way, focusing just on your breathing, for 1 minute. (If you want a guided video showing you how do to diaphragmatic breathing, you can visit this YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kgTL5G1ibIo) (3:46) d. Immediately after you finish the breathing exercise, re-set your timer for 30 seconds. Take two fingers and find your pulse in your neck. e. Start the timer and count your pulses for 30 seconds. Record your answer here: _____45____

3. Record the change in your heart rate from your pre-breathing measurement to your post-breathing measurement (e.g., down 5 beats, up 10 beats, etc.). Are you surprised by any change you see? If you don’t see any change, suggest a possible reason. Change in heart rate: 40 -

Slower breath does create a change in my heartrate. It helps calm me down in some situations because often times we can get nervous which increases our heart rate

4. Describe one reason why breathing in this manner can help to lower your heart rate (hint, refer to chapter 12 video #3). Breathing this way can be done pretty much anywhere and is inconspicuous. It is a great coping strategy to keep in mind when you get stressed, like right before an exam. We encourage you to give it a try the next time you experience some stress and see if it works for you! -

Breathing help to lower your heart rate because it is the act of relaxing your body. When your body is relaxed it does not have to pump blood as hard therefore your heart doesn’t have to work as hard.

You have completed the chapter 12 activity! We hope this activity helped you reflect on and learn more about what stress is, some ways stress can be measured, the subjective nature of stress, and ways that you can cope with stress in your everyday life. Please submit your activity as a WORD DOCUMENT or PDF in Blackboard, then watch the chapter 12 postactivity video....