Jennifer Artruc, “Take Control of Your Stress”

"If you don't like something change it; if you can't change it, change the way you think
about it."~Mary Engelbreit

Objectives:
1. Students will be able to list some physical, emotional and behavioral signs of stress.
2. Students will be able to create an action plan to keep control of their own stressors.

Materials:
 A collection of nerf balls or tennis balls
 PowerPoint presentation with embedded links
 Index cards (or blank sheets of paper) for the Action Plan

Opening/Initiation
The balls represent all of the things, activities, and people that make up their lives. The idea
is, that when they come one at a time (or sometimes even two or three at a time), with clear
communication, and an agreed upon slower pace, they are all easily managed. The increase
in the throws, the removal of communication, and the constantly increasing balls exists to
model that we cannot and will not, always be in full control of the things that come to us in
life. This can increase stress to unhealthy levels and the ensuing panic can cause you to
"drop all the balls" or fail to manage stress in a healthy manner. The lecture that follows
this activity should focus on the importance of pre-planning and effective coping strategies
for when multiple deadlines converge at the same time. If students can create effective
planning strategies in advance of potential stressors, they will always come out on top (or
at least cope).

If you do not have enough balls for all students to participate, you can choose one group as
the example or utilize yourself and your mentor.

Primary Content
The primary content of the lesson plan will be explained through the slides of the
PowerPoint Presentation.

Slides 1&2: I would complete the initiation before explaining the goals of the class. You
will have a greater impact on the purpose of the activity. Then explain the goals(objectives)
of the class.
Slide 3: Give the class a chance to define “stress” in their own words. Allow students to
share.
Slide 4: After students share their ideas, show the definitions from other people. Discuss
differences in definitions and how classmates might have viewed stress differently.
Slide 5-7: Before showing these slides I will split the class into three groups. Each will need
to come up with a list of either physical, emotional, or behavior signs of stress. Then they
will share with the class, and I will show them my list AFTER they have discovered some on
their own. (You could do a pair-share activity for this portion of the lesson instead.)
Slide 8: A class discussion on positive stress. Explaining how stress doesn’t always have to
be negative, but positive stress can quickly turn negative.
Slide 9 & 10: Coping Strategies & Ways to Manage Stress – Continue to keep the class
discussion going, ask students some coping strategies that they use or have seen. The
bolded ways to manage stress are the ones that we will investigate further.
Exercise: Helps to decrease stress with the release of endorphins. By having this analgesic effect on
the body, endorphin release results in a state of euphoria. In addition to reducing pain this also aids
in the reduction of stress. Due to these effects, endorphins are known as the body's "natural
painkillers".
Meditation: Quiet reflection and thinking about positive things or nothing at all can help relieve
stress.
Massage: An increasing number of research studies show massage reduces heart rate, lowers blood
pressure, increases blood circulation and lymph flow, relaxes muscles, improves range of motion, and
increases endorphins (enhancing medical treatment).
Progressive muscle relaxation: Is an example of a deep relaxation technique that can be used to
reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety, insomnia, and certain types of chronic pain. Based upon the
simple premise of tensing or tightening one muscle group at a time, followed by a release of the
tension, this form of relaxation is used by physicians (in combination with standard therapies) for a
number of conditions including headaches, cancer pain, high blood pressure, and digestive
disturbances.

(Information from UConn to explain some methods of managing stress a little further)

Slide 11: Positive Self-talk – Show the students the picture of the soft chocolate chip cook
and tell them to visualize “Don’t eat the cookie,” most of the time, the only thing you can
think about is eating the cookie.
Slide 12: Discuss why it was difficult to visualize “don’t eat the cookie”
Slide 13: Meditation – Meditation comes in a variety of forms. In class we will try one way
to meditate in the form of a breathing exercise offered through UConn’s Health Ed website.
Tell students to close their eyes and listen.
Another option would be to speak through a relaxation script to your class. Many of these
can be found by typing “relaxation script” into Google. You must be comfortable with
speaking slowing and softly allowing everyone to relax.
Slide 14: Now that the class is all relaxed, I will share some resource on campus to help
with stress management.

Slide 15: Begins the closing activity, seen below.

Closing
The closing activity is included in the presentation. It is where the students create an
Action Plan. You can choose to either collect this as a formative assessment and feel for
where the class is or allow them to take it with them.
Follow Up/Assessment
The follow up will be through Husky CT. I will post a TED talk video titled: “How to Make
Stress Your Friend.” Students will be responsible for watching the TED talk, the writing a
discussion post on the following questions, as well as responding to two of their
classmates.
1. What is something Kelly McGonigal said that stood out to you? Why?
2. Was Kelly’s idea of stress different or the same as how we discussed it in class? How?
3. How might you use what Kelly McGonigal said to complete the action plan that you
created at the end of class?

To view the video, click on the link: TED talk