MODULE 3:

Managing and Caring

for the Self
Lesson 1: Managing Stress in Times of Crises
By Harrian R. Moronio

INTRODUCTION
A crisis is a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger. There are different types of
crises: the humanitarian crisis, also known as a humanitarian disaster, refers to an event or
set of events that threaten many people's health, safety, and livelihoods. Humanitarian
crises can be human-made emergencies such as conflict and industrial accidents. They can
also be disasters such as tsunamis, earthquakes, floods, droughts, cyclones, hurricanes,
and even health-related epidemics, or complex emergencies that are both natural hazards
and human-made emergencies such as food insecurity and displacement of people.

Many people affected by crises will experience distress (e.g., feelings of anxiety and
sadness, hopelessness, difficulty sleeping, fatigue, irritability or anger, or aches and pains,
which are normal reactions). However, these effects vary across individuals (i.e., there are
differences in the intensity of symptoms and reaction times). There is a possibility that these
symptoms may progress into mental health problems and thus should not be
underestimated. The impacts of this pandemic are increasingly being reported in the scientific
literature. People may experience an increased burden of mental health problems, including
depression, anxiety disorders, stress, panic attack, irrational anger, impulsivity, somatization
disorder, sleep disorders, emotional disturbance, posttraumatic stress symptoms, and
suicidal behavior.

As we experience the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we may be

overwhelmed by the fear and anxiety brought by the uncertainties of this new disease.
Social/physical distancing can make people feel isolated and lonely. Adjustment to the “new
normal” such as working and studying from home, temporary unemployment, and lack of
physical contact with other family members, friends, and colleagues are challenging and can
increase stress. Learning to cope with the crisis's adverse effects in a healthy way will make
you, the people you care about, and your community stronger.

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INTENDED LEARNING OUTCOMES
At the end of the lesson, it is expected that you will be able to:
1. Outline the effects of stress on yourself.
2. Acquire and hone new coping skills to better manage and care of yourself in times of
crisis.
3. Apply new skills to yourself by accomplishing Daily Stress Log.

MOTIVATION
A. PERSONAL ASSESSMENT
Instruction: Accomplish the following:
a. Perceived Stress Scale
https://das.nh.gov/wellness/docs/percieved%20stress%20scale.pdf
b. Stress Coping Resources Inventory

B. STRESS SHIELD
Stress shield is one way to help you better
understand how stress affects you and evaluate
how you respond to it.
The first part requires you to know your
triggers. What are your stressors?
The second part requires you to become
aware of how you respond to it. Do you feel tired?
Do you experience a headache? What comes
into your mind when you encounter stress?
The third part of the shield asks you to list
down the things you do in the past to cope with
stress.
Lastly, in the last part, write down what you
think will help you cope better.

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 LESSON PROPER
Stress is part of our everyday lives, and it is our body’s normal
reaction to anything that requires action and attention. People
What is Stress? experience stress in different ways, which means that what
can be stressful to a person may not be stressful to others, or
it could be stressful to them, but the severity and impact vary.
Extant literature suggests that stress affects our health and well-being. Despite being
inevitable, stress can be managed. Understanding how stress affects us is one way to reduce
its impact. Also, we can take charge of our well-being by learning effective coping strategies
and applying them when a situation calls for them. This lesson will equip you with knowledge
about stress― what it means, how it affects our health and well-being, and how to deal with
it.
Stress is how the brain and body respond to any demand. It can be positive, such as
when it helps you avoid danger or meet a deadline, or negative when it lasts for a long time
and affects your health. Stressors are the event or environmental stimuli, causing a person to
feel tense or aroused.

Complete the sentence:

I feel stress when

There are four basic truths about stress, namely:

(1), not all stress is bad, (2) too much stress is bad, (3) your
perceptions determine what you label as stressful or not
stressful, and (4) you can choose to control much of the
stress level in your life. Here are some effects of stress on
the body, mind, emotions, and behavior. These are also
symptoms that give feedback that a person is stressed.

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EUSTRESS VS. DISTRESS
According to American Addiction Centers (n.d.), there is a difference between eustress
and distress.

EUSTRESS DISTRESS

Lasts in the short term as well as in the

Only lasts in the short term
long term

Triggers anxiety and concern; generates

Energizes and motivates
unpleasant feelings

Perceived as something within our coping ability Surpassing our coping abilities

Decreases focus and performance;

Increases focus and performance contributes to mental and physical
problems

It is challenging to have a universal list of eustress situations since each person

perceives stressors uniquely. For example, many people might consider the pandemic a
source of distress, while others view it as a source of eustress and an opportunity of spending
more time with their family.

TYPES OF STRESS

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), there are three (3) types of
stress. These are acute stress, episodic acute stress, and chronic stress.

1) Acute stress – is the most common form of stress. It is

usually short-term and caused by demands and pressures
of the past—likewise, anticipated demands and pressures of
the near future. The good thing is, it is highly manageable.
Classic examples of this type are the traffic, deadline of
assignment, loss of an important document, and alike.

2) Episodic Acute stress - refers to acute stress experienced

over an extended period. You may feel like you are always
under pressure or that things are always going wrong. This
type of stress usually happens during examinations or when
there are peer and parental pressure.
3) Chronic stress - usually long-term and grinding stress that wears people away day after
day, year after year. It is generally caused by unrelenting demands and pressures for

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 seemingly never-ending periods. This type of stress is evident when you experience the
stress of poverty, dysfunctional families, being trapped in an unhappy marriage, or a
despised job or career.

STRESS AND MENTAL HEALTH

If failed to address stresses in life appropriately, it might turn into distress and likewise
turn into a mental health condition.

Diathesis Stress Model

This model describes how the interaction of predisposition and environmental stress
can result in a disorder.

According to the general model, each individual

possesses some inherent vulnerability (i.e.,
diathesis) for developing a given disorder. The
onset of a disorder can then be triggered by
environmental stress; however, the amount or
intensity of stress required to trigger a disorder
depends on the extent to which the individual is
inherently vulnerable.
https://th.bing.com/th/id/OIP.zSELTz6YVEFfP83m-1LapQHaFj?pid=ImgDet&rs=1

This graph shows that the greater an

individual’s vulnerability to a disorder, the
smaller the amount of stress needed to
trigger the disorder's development.

It has been said that awareness is half

the battle. As you keep track of all the events
that happen during the day and notice
patterns in which you find yourself getting
more stressed, you can begin to make
adjustments in those damaging patterns.

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COPING WITH STRESS

Coping is the process of spending mental, conscious

energy on dealing with problems in life. Thus, it involves
people's cognitive and behavioral strategies to deal with
stressful situations or difficult demands, whether internal or
external. Coping mechanisms attempt to overcome or
diminish the amount of stress experienced. It can be either
positive or negative. Positive or adaptive strategies lessen
the stress perceived and experienced, while negative or
maladaptive strategies diminish stress symptoms without
addressing the real problem or disorder.

There are two strategies major strategies in dealing with stress; (1) problem-focused
strategy and (2) emotion-focused strategy

1) Problem-Focused strategy - addresses the

problem causing the distress and is useful in
situations where you have the opportunity to take
action and change the circumstances. It uses time
management, talking to someone with whom you
had a conflict, and others.
https://img.haikudeck.com/mg/FB88CFE3-8890-4135-BB48-DF72381E0658.jpg

2) Emotion-Focused strategy - it aims to reduce

the negative emotions associated with the
problem. It is useful in situations where you have
little or no control. This strategy exemplifies when
you are using humor, cultivating optimism, and
alike in dealing with stress.
https://img.haikudeck.com/mg/EECD66ED-A39D-4233-BE04-A3BC0616E372.jpg

Although stress is inevitable, there are many ways to manage and deal with it. Here
are SOME effective strategies in dealing with stress and stressful situations:

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1) Identify the symptoms and sources of stress - being
aware of the stressor/s will make a person aware of the
proper way of addressing stress.

2) Consider the temperament/personality of a person –

there are many times that our stress comes from trying to
control other people’s behavior in a way that will fit our
expectations. But the reality is that we cannot dictate how
other people should act because their behavior or reaction
might be rooted in their temperament/personality.
Understanding the stressful situations resulting from
conflicting views and/or temperament/ personality is
deemed necessary if this is the case. We should accept
others as they are and not based on our prescribed
standards. Consequently, it will create an accepting
environment resulting in a less stressful relationship.

3) Challenge your negative thoughts - the stream of negative thoughts in our minds leads us
to a stressful life. Thus, if we want to live a stressless life challenging our every negative
thinking is important. We have to determine whether these negative thoughts exist in reality.
With this, we can separate realistic and unrealistic battles.

4) Evaluate your expectations – we have to understand that the level

of expectations equates to the level of frustration. If we are frustrated,
we tend to be stressed. Thus, try to evaluate our expectations. We
might be expecting too much, leading to too much frustration and
resulting in too much stress.

5) Release the painful past experiences – the person who has the
habit of taking an offense lives a stressful life. That is why we have
to learn to forgive. Choose to reject the offenses done by other
people and by our self. We have to learn to forgive not just the people
who offended us but also ourselves. We have to free ourselves from
the mistakes we committed in the past by forgiving ourselves as well.

6) Limit contact with stress-producing people – in reality, some individuals leave us

unmotivated after our conversation because of the unseen negativity transfer. We call these
people “emotional vampires” that suck our positive emotions, and “energy leeches” slurp our
energies. If we want to live a stressless life, we have to limit our contact with these individuals.

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7) Sleep – this is very important for sleep to rejuvenate our body
and soul. Fatigue may be a cause or a result of stress. But one
thing is for sure; fatigue can elevate the stress level. To counter
it, have enough sleep. It is a God- given stress-buster.
Therefore, if we feel stressed, sleep.

8) Exercise - stimulates the release of happy hormones such as dopamine, endorphin,

norepinephrine, and serotonin, leading to stressless living. Many scientific studies indicate
that regular exercise positively boosts moods and lowers the rate of depression. Moderated
activities like Aerobic, yoga, stretching, tai chi, ballroom dancing, and others are beneficial
for stressed people.

9) Cultivate happiness and joy – keeping a sense of humor helps a

person have a positive life disposition. Make happiness and joy a
lifestyle. Manage to smile often. Laugh hard if you want. We often
hear this “laughter is the best medicine.” Scientifically, it has been
proven. When we laugh, our body secretes endorphin. It is a natural
painkiller organically produced by our body. A happy and joyous life
is a stressless life, as well.

10) Learn to relax – be mindful of what you are doing. Try different
breathing exercises, muscle tension tests, and meditation—these
help in dealing with stress.

11) Change your diet – eat food with healthy fats such as Omega 3
(i.e., fish, fish oil) and Omega 9 (olive oil, avocado oil, almond nut).
Avoid food with aspartame (i.e., soda) and MSG. Eat nutritious food
rich in vitamin B, vitamin C (anti-stress and antioxidant), magnesium,
adaptogens, ginseng products, and amino acid.
http://www.wyofitness.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Healthy-Food.jpg

12) Change self-sabotaging behaviors – change your attitude. Examine and monitor your
thoughts and feelings. Some attitudes turn off stress responses such as contentment,
appreciation, forgiveness, joy, love, and compassion.

13) - our spiritual life is beneficial in addressing our stresses in life.

Strengthening our connection to our Maker makes us confident that we
are not alone, whatever the situation is. Prayer strengthens our beliefs that someone bigger
than us holds our future and controls all our concerns in this life. If we genuinely trust that
the Supreme Being will never leave us nor forsake us under all conditions of life, we will not

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 worry. Stressors will not overwhelm us, and this is the most
excellent antidote to stress, pray. God listens.

Lastly, we must remember that coping strategies'

effectiveness depends on the type of stressor, the particular
individual, and the circumstances. Therefore, no perfect or
ideal approach fits all kinds of individuals and situations.

APPLICATION
Instruction: List down your coping strategies before and after this lesson.

My style of coping with stress before: But now, I will try these styles:
1. 1.
2 2.
3. 3.
4. 4.
5. 5.
6. 6.

GENERALIZATION
In a nutshell, we learned that:
Stress is part of our everyday lives, and it is our body’s normal reaction to anything
that requires action and attention.
There are four truths about stress: (1) not all stress is bad, (2) too much stress is bad,
(3) your perceptions determine what you label as stressful or not stressful, and (4) you
can choose to control much of the stress level in your life.
Eustress refers to the “good stress” while distress refers to the “bad stress”.
There are three types of stress― Acute, Episodic Acute, and Chronic Stress
There are two strategies major strategies in dealing with stress; (1) problem-focused
strategy and (2) emotion-focused strategy.
Although stress is inevitable, there are many ways to manage and deal with it.
Coping strategies' effectiveness depends on the type of stressor, the particular
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ge and the circumstances. Therefore, no perfect or ideal approach fits all kinds
of individuals and situations.
 ASSESSMENT
Daily Stress Log

One way to help you analyze your stress is having a daily stress log. This will help
you in increasing your awareness of your stressors and stress response/coping. For one
(1) week, you will make a log of your stressors― anything that put a strain on your energy
and time, trigger anger or anxiety, or precipitate a negative physical response. You will
also rate the severity of each stressor (1= slight; 2= moderate; 3= strong; 4= intense).
You will then note your reactions to these stressful events and evaluate if your response/
coping was effective or not. Put a short justification on why you judged it effective or not.

Response/
Date Stressor/s Severity Evaluation
Coping

When you have completed the daily log for a week, review it and accomplish the
following:
• Identify two or three stressful events or activities that you can modify or
eliminate.
• Identify the positive and negative coping strategies.

REFERENCES
Boundless Psychology. (n.d.). Coping with stress. https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-
psychology/chapter/coping-with-and-managing-stress
Mental Health Foundation. (2016, February). Physical health and mental health.
https://www.mentalhealth.org.uk/a-to-z/p/physical-health-and-mental-
health#:~:text=A%20clear%20distinction%20is%20often,of%20developing%20mental%20health%2
0problems.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2020, May 28). What is mental health?
https://www.mentalhealth.gov/
World Health Organization. (2018, March 30). Mental health: Strengthening our response.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/mental-health-strengthening-our-response

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American Addiction Centers (n.d.). Types of stressors (eustress vs. distress).
https://www.mentalhelp.net/stress/types-of-stressors-eustress-vs-distress/

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