• Exists on a wide spectrum from mild anxiety to debilitating anxiety

• Experienced as an individual but often expressed in relationships within a family, friends etc.

• Importance of recognising that we are experiencing stress

• It might be apparent to others but unrecognised in ourselves

• Danger of suppressing stress to create a ‘pressure cooker’ emotional state

• Too much of the same sort of task is inherently stressful

• Importance of varying the task / taking a break

Juggling many different things can be exciting but can also become stressful if we are juggling too much

• Doing something for which we feel we have no natural aptitude can be stressful. Importance of asking for help from a mentor or guide

Importance of recognising when we are overburdened

Short-term coping measures only work in the short-term and tend not to be self-caring

Procrastination is often attributed to laziness but can be stress relatedDoing nothing can be part of an internal negative scripts such as:‘I will do nothing because that protects me from trying and failing’I will do nothing because I am so unable to see where to start

It can feel that there are too many demands and we don’t have the resources to meet them

Being a stressed adolescent

Change – even positive change – is a major source of stress and adolescence is a time of massive change

What’s too much & too little?

• It’s a perceptual response

• The same stimuli that to some people, at some times, can be threatening may be perceived as opportunities or challenges

General Adaption Syndrome (Selye)

General Adaption Syndrome (Selye)

• Alarm When the threat or stressor is identified or realized, the body's stress response is a state of alarm.

• Resistance We resist stress and change. We are basically homeostatic. Although the body begins to try to adapt to the strains or demands of the environment, the body cannot keep this up indefinitely, so its resources are gradually depleted.

• Exhaustion At this point, all of the body's resources are eventually depleted and the body is unable to maintain normal function. If stage three is extended, long-term damage may result, as the body's immune system becomes exhausted, and bodily functions become impaired.

Cognitive appraisal model (Lazarus)

Cognitive appraisal model

In order for a psychosocial situation to be stressful, it must be appraised as such. Cognitive processes of appraisal determine whether a situation is potentially threatening, constitutes a harm/loss or a challenge, or is benign.

• Problem-focused coping is directed at managing the problem, • Emotion-focused coping processes are directed at managing

the negative emotions. • Secondary appraisal refers to the evaluation of the resources

available to cope with the problem,

Transactional model (Lazarus & Folkman)

Stress results from an imbalance between demands and resourcesWhen pressure exceeds perceived ability to cope stress may not be a stressor if the person does not perceive the stressor as a threat but rather as positive or even challenging. Also, if the person possesses or can use adequate coping skills, then stress may not actually be a result

Health realisation / innate health model

• Focuses on the nature of thought• Thought processes determine the response to

potentially stressful circumstances• An internal filter of insecurity and negativity will

create a sense of stress• Importance of a ‘quiet mind’• Noticing when one is caught up in insecure

thinking, disengage from it, access natural positive feelings

So what should we do?

Many different ways of managing stress, we need to create our own unique ‘tool box’ of ways which work for us

Cognitive

RelationalPhysical

Spiritual

EmotionalBehavioural

Managing stress as holistic beings

Caring for our spiritual self

e.g Faith, belief, values, sense of meaning

Caring for our relational self

e.g Foster relationships, deal withy stress in relationships, enjoy time with others

Caring for our emotional self

Noting our emotions, allowing, respecting and understanding them but not drowning in them

Caring for your cognitive self

Managing your mind, managing your time, check faulty internal logic, challenge negative life scripts

Caring for our physical self

Healthy diet, exercise, sleep, avoid nicotine & alcohol, breathing and relaxation techniques, meditation

Caring for our behavioural self

Managing our lives, taking charge of our lives, making time for fun and play, learning how to say no, learning how to say yes

Some key ideas• Awareness• Balance• Connection• Rest• Play• Nurturing a sense of meaning and hope• Controlling what we can and letting go of what we

can’t• Manage our expectations• Organisation and closure

Engagement

• Energy• Involvement• A sense of efficacy