Stress and Health

 

Ask the students to write down the 10 most stressful things they do in a week and rate them in order of stressfulness 1 being most stressful - 5mins

Write down answers on the marker board to see what is the most common stressor.

Stress is difficult to define because everybody interprets it differently, what is stressful for one person may not be for another and vice versa.

Explain Fight or Flight i.e. At one time us and the dinosaurs(fight or flight - adrenalin) and us now (we absorb the stress)

 

 

Physiological Responses to Stress

General Adaptation Syndrome - Selye argues that when someone is confronted with a 'stressor' (something which induces stress) that person's body mobilizes(fight or flight) for action.

During this mobilization certain stress hormones act on the body's muscles and organ systems. Prolonged or repeated exposure to stress can result in tissue damage(i.e. bleeding ulcers), increased chance of getting diseases and even death in extreme cases.

Psychological Responses to Stress

Cognitive Responses -