5.1: Bust My Stress

National Health Education Standards (NHES)

• 1.12.2: Explain how emotional, intellectual, physical, and social health are connected when a person is under stress.
• 7.12.2: Practice healthy habits and behaviors—like stress management—that protect or improve your health and the health of people around you.

Wellness Guideline: Decrease Negative Perception of Challenges

Instructions: In a group, in pairs, or through a think-pair-share discussion, talk through the questions below. Recognize anyone who has made progress on their goals, and offer one-on-one support to anyone who wants to adjust their goal.

Discuss your SMART goals (goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound):

• How is your current SMART goal going?
• What are some ways you could improve your progress? (These are your "grows.")
• What are some ways you're already doing well? (These are your "glows.")

Connect to today's guideline: Which of the wellness guidelines seems most related to today's lesson? Does anyone have a SMART goal tied to this guideline?

Choose one warm-up activity:

1. Guideline Popcorn — As a group, quickly call out all 8 wellness guidelines, one after another, "popcorn style."
2. Guideline Charades — Split into small groups. Give each group a guideline to silently act out while the rest of the class guesses.
3. Two Truths and One Lie:
4. Truth: About one-third of teens say stress makes them feel overwhelmed, depressed, or like they could cry.
5. Truth: Stressed teens are more likely to have trouble sleeping.
6. Lie: The most common way teens manage stress is through exercise or sports.
7. Discussion or journal questions:
8. Who here experiences stress? Do you see stress as a challenge that's hard to overcome? How do you usually deal with it?
9. How do your relationships with family and friends change when you're stressed? How might your mood change if you learned to manage stress better?
10. What activities do you think could help you cope with stress in a healthy way?

Learning goal: Understand how to respond to stress triggers using healthy coping strategies.

Materials needed: worksheets, a slide presentation, speakers and music, four "Stress-Free Station" handouts (make more copies for larger groups), 3x5 index cards, and markers, crayons, or colored pencils.

Key Vocabulary

(Sources: CDC, 2015; American Psychological Association; Harvard University's Center on the Developing Child; MedlinePlus; National Institutes of Health; Merriam-Webster Learner's Dictionary)

• Stress: The body's reaction to any change that requires you to adjust or respond. Your body reacts to these changes physically, mentally, and emotionally.
• Acute stress: Short-term stress that fades quickly. It's usually tied to the "fight or flight" response your body uses to handle danger, but it can also happen when you experience something thrilling or exciting.
• Chronic stress: Stress that lasts a long time and can damage your body, mind, and daily life.
• Traumatic stress: Stress that develops after a shocking, emotionally overwhelming event.
• Eustress: A positive stress response that actually benefits your health and well-being.
• Distress: A negative stress response that can show up as changes in behavior.
• Toxic stress: Excessive or long-lasting activation of the body and brain's stress systems, which can be harmful.
• Cope: To work through problems and difficult situations and try to find solutions.
• Resilience: The ability to bounce back from serious hardship and adapt well when facing difficulty.
• Adversity: A difficult situation or condition.

Lesson Outline

• Do Now
• Acute vs. Chronic Stress
• There's Hope If I Can Cope
• Stress-Free Stations
• Exit Ticket

Do Now

Answer the following on your worksheet, or share your answers out loud:

• What's something that causes stress in your life that you can't control?
• What's something that causes stress in your life that you can control?
• How do you respond in each of these situations? Is your response the same or different?

Good to Know: Acute vs. Chronic Stress

Stress is your body's reaction to any change that requires an adjustment or response—physically, mentally, and emotionally. There are three main types of stress: acute, traumatic, and chronic.

Acute stress is the most common type. It's short-term and fades quickly, usually connected to the "fight or flight" response your body uses to handle danger—but it can also happen when you try something new or exciting. Acute stress is often linked to eustress, a positive stress reaction that can boost health, motivation, performance, and emotional well-being.

This kind of positive stress response is a normal, healthy part of growing up. It shows up as a faster heartbeat and a small increase in stress hormones. Situations that might trigger it include meeting a new babysitter for the first time or getting a vaccine shot.

Traumatic stress develops after events that are shocking and emotionally overwhelming. This "tolerable" stress response activates your body's alert systems in reaction to serious, longer-lasting difficulties—such as losing a loved one, living through a natural disaster, or a scary encounter. If the stress response doesn't last too long, and if supportive adults help you adapt, your brain and body can recover from the effects.

Chronic stress lasts for a long time and can harm your body, mind, and overall life. It's often linked to distress, a negative stress reaction.

A toxic stress response can develop when someone faces strong, frequent, or ongoing hardship—like physical or emotional abuse, neglect, substance abuse, mental illness, violence, or financial hardship—without support from others. When this kind of stress is triggered again and again, it can raise the risk of health problems such as ulcers (damage to the stomach or intestines), high blood pressure, and headaches.

Emotional stress can also cause headaches and feelings like sadness, frustration, anxiety, and helplessness.

But here's something important to know: some stress or tension can actually help you. Think about it—tension is needed to build a bridge, play the guitar, or knit a sweater. In the same way, a certain amount of stress can push you to perform well.

Think about the last time you felt nervous and excited at the same time—maybe while taking a test, speaking in front of a group, asking someone on a date, or watching a scary movie. That's an example of eustress.

Examples of distress include feeling unsafe, arguing with someone you love, or having a schedule that's too packed.

If you're going through a hard time or dealing with a lot of chronic stress, remember there are resources and professionals who can help:

• American Psychological Association's Help Center: www.apa.org/helpcenter/emotional-support.aspx
• National Alliance on Mental Illness Programs: https://www.nami.org/Find-Support/NAMI-Programs

The Yerkes-Dodson Law describes the relationship between stress and performance. It shows that there's an "optimal level" of stress where you perform your best—enough stress to challenge you, but not so much that it overwhelms you.

Real World Relevance: There's Hope If I Can Cope

Everyone experiences stress, and dealing with it can actually help you build healthy coping strategies and stronger mental resilience.

• To cope means to work through problems and difficult situations and try to find solutions.
• Resilience means adapting well to adversity—a difficult situation or condition.

First, let's identify the common stressors, or triggers, we experience in life. Then we'll brainstorm coping strategies—healthy ways to respond.

Discuss and record answers (on a board, projector, or flipchart) to these questions:

• What are some common stressors or triggers you experience in your life?
• What are some healthy ways to cope with them?

Examples of Healthy Coping Strategies

Try meditating or deep breathing. Deep breathing can lower your heart rate and ease feelings of panic. It's especially helpful in moments when emotions and stress feel overwhelming.

Get enough sleep. Teens need 8–10 hours of sleep each night. If you can't get that much at night, try taking a nap during the day.

Talk to a friend or trusted adult. Talking through a problem can help you understand it better and feel calmer and more confident about how to handle it. Stress can make you feel isolated, so make an effort to spend time with people you trust and ask for support when you need it.

Exercise. Physical activity boosts the release of endorphins—chemicals in your brain that make you feel good.

Eat a nutritious diet. When we're stressed, we often crave sugary, processed foods because they trigger the brain's pleasure centers. But those foods actually backfire—they send your blood sugar on a rollercoaster, which makes you feel even more stressed and emotional. During stressful times, your body needs real food: items high in nutrients, fiber, and healthy fat help stabilize blood sugar and emotions. Examples include leafy greens, berries, nuts, seeds, avocados, eggs, and natural peanut butter.

Practice positive self-talk. Treating yourself with kindness—and saying encouraging things about yourself out loud—can genuinely lower your stress levels. If you constantly think or say negative things about yourself, you'll start to believe them. The same is true for positive statements. Replacing negative self-talk with positive self-talk can improve your mood, boost your productivity, and reduce stress.

Avoid too much caffeine. Consuming excess caffeine (such as coffee) can increase feelings of anxiety.