Chapter 10 COPING WITH STRESS
(A) WHAT IS STRESS?
Dear
children, stress is our physical or mental response to the changes in
environment or challenging situations. It is our body's natural way of
preparing itself for the pressures of home, school, or other circumstances.
Stress is the part and parcel of our daily life. Everyone feels it, whether
they are old or young, only the causes of their stress are different. Even our
student life is not free from stress.
Read the following situations and record honestly your feelings
and reactions in that situation.
|
|
Situation |
Your feelings |
Is it stress? |
Your reaction |
|
1 |
You could not complete the school work
due to poor family environment. |
|
|
|
|
2. |
Unexpected test by the teacher in the
class. |
|
|
|
|
3. |
Your exams are approaching but you are
not prepared. |
|
|
|
|
4 |
You scored low marks in exam and the
teacher has called your parents to school. |
|
|
|
|
5. |
Your best friend has stopped talking to
you. |
|
|
|
Discuss
in the class to find out if other students feel and react in the same way as
you do...
Children,
many things can stress a student such as daily school activities (curricular
and co-curricular), family environment, relationship with friends, and worry
about future or any other reason. Let's know about the factors in our life that
give us stress. Write down one thing related to the areas given in the chart
that gives you stress and out of these areas fill the area that bothers you the
most with red and the area that bothers you least with green colour.
Area of My Stress
My Stressors
Family
Peers
School Activites
Future
Study
Other Reasons
We
found that students face many problems in their lives. To deal with these problems
it is important to face them with a calm and focused mind.
Let's do a small
exercise to increase the concentration of the mind.
·
Close
your eyes.
·
Relax
your body.
·
Take
a deep breath while counting from one to ten.
·
Hold
your breath as you count from one to ten.
·
Then
exhale slowly while counting from one to ten.
·
Repeat
this action three times.
·
Do
this exercise whenever you find time in the day.
Children,
there are two types of stress, good and bad stress. Good stress motivates you
to work, keeps you focused and helps to move forward, such as practicing with
exam anxiety. If the stress gets too much or lasts too long it will interfere
with your work, distract you and make you feel heavier.
(B) THE EFFECTS OF
STRESS
Students,
stress affects everyone but does not affect everyone equally. Individual differences
are the major reason behind this. Today we will try to find out what are the possible
effects of stress. Before proceeding further let's find out if you are stressed
out.
Complete the following table while
answering in 'Always/Sometimes/Never".
Am I also Stressed?
|
Statements |
Yes
/Always |
Sometimes |
Never |
|
|
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
|
My
friends tell me that I worry a lot. When
I am stressed I get very angry and frustrated. I
suffer from examination fever. I
keep wondering what others will say about me. I
have stomach ache before going to school. I
find more work to do in less time. I
can't concentrate on my work due to nervousness. I
have headache for no reason. On
being anxious I get nervous and sweat a lot. I
worry about the future. I
can't take sleep before the exam. I
feel dizzy while answering the questions of the teacher. |
|
|
|
Score
yourself:
Yes-
03 Marks, Sometimes 2 Marks, No - 1
Mark
Your
marks: - _
You
can guess the level of your stress through these marks. A high score indicates
high levels of stress and a lower score indicates low stress. Tell your teacher
about your level and discuss.
Children,
stress can have an adverse effect on our behaviour and physical and mental health.
It reduces our ability to think clearly and work effectively. Prolonged stress
often makes a person victim of many diseases. Its following effects are commonly
seen in the students:
Fatigue Headache Nail biting
Anger Indigestion Increased heart rate
Depression Restlessness Eating more or less
Irritability Dizziness Difficulty in
concentration
Unwillingness
to work Increased or reduced Exessive sweating due to
Constantly
running of a sleep nervousness
particular
thought Weight gain or loss
These
are just few of the common effects of stress but it is important to remember
that all people do not experience similar effects of stress. Individuals may
experience some of these or any other sympotms. Thinking about your problems,
see if you experience any of the above symptoms while dealing with stress.
Children,
most of the stress of student life is associated with not using time properly.
Let's try to manage time properly through a small activity. Make a to-do list
for each day (prioritize important tasks); write down one of the obstacles you
find in accomplishing the particular task and tell what you will do to overcome
that obstacle.
|
Tasks
to do |
Obstacles |
Ways
to overcome the obstacles |
|
·
|
·
|
·
|
See
how many tasks you are able to accomplish by the end of the day. Do this
activity everyday for a week.
(C) HOW TO AVOID
STRESS?
Dear
children, the most interesting thing about stress is that it can be avoided and
that too by adopting some simple methods. The important thing here is that
stress management is more focused on learning how to deal with stress without
harming ourselves than on the ways to eliminate it. Just as the effects of
stress vary from person to person, in the same way each person has a unique way
to deal with it. However, today we will talk about some common techniques that
will help you in your student life.
Stress
1. Manage your time properly.
Make schedule.
Prioritize important tasks.
Avoid overuse of the Internet.
2. Take care of your health.
Laugh out aloud.
Take a healthy diet.
Get enough sleep.
Exercise
3. Be positive
4. Develop some hobbies
5. Give vent to your emotions
Share your troubles with some trusted one
Express your feelings in writing.
Children,
these are just some of the measures that enable us to deal with problems both
physically and mentally. Let's get rid of stress by letting go of our emotions
through an activity.
I.
Get a piece of paper.
2.
Write your problems on it.
3.
Write about your way of dealing with your problems.
4.
If you want to share it with your teacher or school counsellor, then give it to
them, otherwise tear it up and throw it in the classroom dustbin.
Hopefully
we will be able to deal with stress successfully and enjoy life to the fullest
by using these techniques.
EVALUATION BY THE
TEACHER
