Stress Resources

Stress Lesson Plans

Exam Stress

Lesson Plan

This lesson plan provides information and advice on dealing with exam stress.

• Published: 2022
• Pages: 17

Price: £0.79

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Living in a busy, fast-paced world can, at times, be very stressful. As people try to cram so much into their daily lives, stress is becoming more common. The cost of living crisis is also causing many people to become worried and stressed as they struggle to make ends meet.

Too much stress, and prolonged stress, can cause health problems and needs to be dealt with as soon as possible. We hope our resources provide support for people suffering from stress.

What is Stress?

Stress is part of the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response to real or imagined threats and is a way of dealing with an emergency. We can therefore say that stress is a defence mechanism that kicks into gear in response to a threat.

Both the mind and body can show signs of stress and this stress response is actually a healthy way of protecting the body to give it an extra boost of adrenalin. It also helps concentration and ensures a person can rise to a challenge.

Stress Symptoms

There are a number of signs that indicate someone is dealing with high stress levels — from physical to mental symptoms of stress. Although these symptoms vary among people, too much stress can cause:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Inability to concentrate
• Lack of sleep
• Mood swings
• Headaches
• Chronic stress

Chronic stress is where an individual is constantly on edge. They find it difficult to relax and are permanently in a state of heightened alertness. This is not a healthy way to be and untreated chronic stress can lead to:

• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Gastrointestinal disorders (IBS, ulcers etc)
• Skin disorders
• Weak immune system
• Generalised anxiety disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

PTSD is a condition brought on by experiencing a very stressful event. It is usually a delayed reaction — taking a few months or years to take place — and has to last for at least a month to be officially diagnosed.

Any severely distressing situation or incident can trigger a number of symptoms which are typically arranged in four groups.

PTSD Symptoms

The various symptoms related to PTSD are generally grouped into the following categories:

Intrusive Memories

Haunting recollections of a tramatising event. This includes uncontrollable flashbacks of reliving those moments over and over again. Nightmares are also common as well as emotional distress from memories.

Avoidance

Staying away from places or even people that remind them of a traumatic event. People may even stop doing activities they once enjoyed, if bad memories are brought on.

Negative Changes in Thinking and Mood

Feeling guilty, angry and blaming others are common occurences that can happen. People may suffer from memory loss, including not being able to remember some parts of the traumatic event. Relationships can deteriorate with the onset of feeling emotionless.

Changes in Physical and Emotional Reactions

Fear and anxiety, hypervigilance, being easily startled, sleeping difficulties, feeling irritable and acting aggressively are a few ways that reactions or behaviours can manifest. A person may also have physical issues such as headaches, stomach problems or feel pain in different parts of their body.

Dealing with Stress

It is vital that steps are taken to relieve high levels of stress and anxiety. Some of the following stress-management strategies can help:

• Regular exercise
• Breathing exercises
• Support groups
• A healthy diet with valuable nutrition
• Various therapeutic activities

If symptoms of stress persist, it is necessary to seek medical help.