PE10 – Health and Well Being - trickey



PE10 – Health and Well Being

- Unit 3 - 03

Mental Fitness

Just as physical fitness helps our bodies stay strong, mental fitness helps us to maintain a healthy state of mind and the ability to handle the day-to-day stresses that occurs in our life.

A stressor is any event or interaction that we may have or expect to have that causes anxiety, loss of sleep, loss of appetite or worry. For many the knowledge of an upcoming test that we haven’t studied for may be a stressor, for others simply meeting somebody new for the first time is a stressor. A healthy mind and body work together to help minimize the adverse or negative affects of these stressors. We cannot completely avoid stress in our life, but we can learn to manage it in a healthy manner.

How Do I Know if I’m Stressed?

We all suffer from feeling stressed sometime.   We feel stress for lots of reasons. A crisis can make us feel stressed, but so can everyday issues, like worrying about work or money, relationship or family problems.  Although a certain amount of stress is normal, too much can contribute to physical and psychological health problems.  

It's important to be aware of stress and know how to find good ways of coping with it.

Everybody responds to stress differently.  In some people the responses that stress can trigger may be physical while others display their stress in psychological or behavioural ways. 

Stress can make you feel anxious, tense or irritable.  You may also feel overwhelmed by everything you need to do.  Physically you may feel run down and tired, with little energy.  Being stressed might make it hard for you to relax, particularly if you’re thinking about all the things you have to do. 

Look for some of these common signs;

|increased blood pressure |increased heart rate |increased muscle tension |

|headaches |increased anxiety |depression |

|aggression |confusion |increased smoking/drinking |

|irritability |poor work performance |Obsessive concern with trivial issues |

There are a variety of ways in which we can improve our mental fitness and reduce the affects of stress in our life, here are some tips from the Canadian Mental Health Association;

1. Recognize your symptoms of stress

2. Look at your lifestyle and see what can be changed -- in your work situation, your family situation, or your schedule

3. Use relaxation techniques - yoga, meditation, deep breathing, or massage

4. Exercise - Physical activity is one of the most effective stress remedies around!

5. Time management - Do essential tasks and prioritize the others. Consider those who may be affected by your decisions, such as family and friends. Use a check list so you will receive satisfaction as you check off each job as it is done

6. Watch your diet - Alcohol, caffeine, sugar, fats and tobacco all put a strain on your body's ability to cope with stress. A diet with a balance of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and foods high in protein but low in fat will help create optimum health. Contact your local branch of the Heart and Stroke Foundation for further information about healthy eating

7. Get enough rest and sleep

8. Talk with others - Talk with friends, professional counsellors, support groups or relatives about what is bothering you

9. Help others - Volunteer work can be an effective and satisfying stress reducer

10. Get away for awhile - Read a book, watch a movie, play a game, listen to music or go on vacation. Leave yourself some time that's just for you

11. Work off your anger - Get physically active, dig in the garden, start a project, get your spring cleaning done

12. Give in occasionally - Avoid quarrels whenever possible

13. Tackle one thing at a time - Don't try to do too much at once.

14. Don't try to be perfect

15. Ease up on criticism of others

16. Don't be too competitive

17. Make the first move to be friendly

18. Have some fun!! Laugh and be with people you enjoy!

If you are unable or have difficulty dealing with stress then you may want to try to reduce the amount of stress in your life by either trying to focus on making effective decisions or avoiding procrastination (putting something that has to be done until later – often until it is too late).

If you have difficulties making decisions, try letting your subconscious do the work for you. Before going to bed, think about your problem and the various choices you could make. Think about each choice clearly in your mind. Tell yourself you’re going to make the decisions while you sleep. You may not wake up with the right answer the first time, but if you keep trying you will find that you will eventually awaken with a decision that you can live or work with.

If “sleeping on it” doesn’t work for you try sitting down with a pencil and paper and makes some lists. By listing out your options and then listing the foreseeable consequences for each option, you force yourself to examine all angles of a problem and come to a logical and workable decision. Again, this takes practice, but it is a technique that is used by many people who deal with very important decisions on a daily basis.

Procrastination is often the most common cause of stress, especially with students. A “I’ll do it later” approach to homework or assignments often results in a frantic, panicked rush to complete the work on time. Or if the assignment is late, then there will be stresses attached as a consequence, such as a poor grade, additional work, punishment from parents etc.. To avoid procrastination the Canadian Mental Health association recommends that you learn to stop putting things off. This is a simple and mature approach to recognizing that there is simply no way of avoiding doing certain tasks assigned to us in life. Whether it is schoolwork, doing the laundry, or simply getting out of bed and getting to work on time, procrastination only makes those tasks more difficult and more stressful.

Good mental health starts with learning how to reduce and handle stress by using some of the techniques and suggestions provided in this reading you can learn to be a more productive and happy person!

PE10 – Health and Well Being

- Unit 3 - 03

Mental Fitness – Assignment

Directions: After reading the article “Mental Fitness” answer the following questions;

1. Vocabulary – Use a dictionary or the internet to provide definitions for the following vocabulary words (1 mk each)

Stress Stressors Procrastination

Subconscious

2. Answer the following questions using complete sentences;

a. In your own words describe a stressful time in your life. Be sure to describe why it was stressful and how you managed that stress. (2 mks for identifying a stressful event and description of how you dealt with it)

b. We all tend to avoid things that we don’t like to do. In your own words, describe a time when you procrastinated and the result was negative. Describe what you can do to avoid procrastination. (2 mks for description of your procrastination and your description of what you can do to avoid it in the future)

c. List 4 things that you either do or could do in order to reduce the amount of stress in your life. (2 mks for your complete list)

3. Physical activity is often the quickest and easiest way to reduce stress. In the box provided describe what you do or what you think you could do to both reduce stress and increase your activity at the same time.

You will be marked out of 8 for completing the following questions completely.

Total: ____/ 18

|Description of some common stressors in your life. (2mks) |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

|What kind of physical activity do you enjoy? (1 mk) |

| |

| |

| |

| |

|Why do you think this kind of activity could or does reduce your stress? Be descriptive. (5 mks) |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

| |

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download