PED 115

STRESS AND GRIEF

IVAN VILLA CARMEL M. ONG
MICHELLE GONZALES Course Facilitator
REME ISIDERIO
ALLEAH CHRIS LOYOLA
Reporters

WHAT IS STRESS?

Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes you
feel frustrated, angry, or nervous.

Stress is your body's reaction to a challenge or demand. In short bursts, stress can be positive, such as
when it helps you avoid danger or meet a deadline. But when stress lasts for a long time, it may harm
your health.

Stress is a normal feeling. There are two main types of stress:

 Acute stress. This is short-term stress that goes away quickly. You feel it when you slam on the
brakes, have a fight with your partner, or ski down a steep slope. It helps you manage dangerous
situations. It also occurs when you do something new or exciting. All people have acute stress at
one time or another.
 Chronic stress. This is stress that lasts for a longer period of time. You may have chronic stress
if you have money problems, an unhappy marriage, or trouble at work. Any type of stress that
goes on for weeks or months is chronic stress. You can become so used to chronic stress that you
don't realize it is a problem. If you don't find ways to manage stress, it may lead to health
problems.

STRESS AND YOUR BODY

Your body reacts to stress by releasing hormones. These hormones make your brain more alert, cause
your muscles to tense, and increase your pulse. In the short term, these reactions are good because they
can help you handle the situation causing stress. This is your body's way of protecting itself.

When you have chronic stress, your body stays alert, even though there is no danger. Over time, this puts
you at risk for health problems, including:

 High blood pressure  Depression or anxiety

 Heart disease  Skin problems, such as acne or eczema
 Diabetes  Menstrual problems
 Obesity

If you already have a health condition, chronic stress can make it worse.

SIGNS OF TOO MUCH STRESS

Stress can cause many types of physical and emotional symptoms. Sometimes, you may not realize these
symptoms are caused by stress. Here are some signs that stress may be affecting you:

 Diarrhea or constipation  Stiff jaw or neck

 Forgetfulness
 Frequent aches and pains
 Headaches
 Lack of energy or focus
 Sexual problems
 Tiredness
 Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
 Upset stomach
 Use of alcohol or drugs to relax
 Weight loss or gain
Coping with Stress:

Ideally, in this scenario, a person will choose constructive coping, but we should mention that people are
especially susceptible to negative coping when feeling overwhelmed, confused, stressed-out, and/or
exhausted.

Not so constructive ways to cope with stress:

 Giving up  Substance use
 Blaming others  Avoidance
 Defensive coping  Isolating
 Striking out at others  Other negative coping

Stress has been linked to a number of mental and physical health problems, including cancer, diabetes,
heart disease, hypertension, migraine, headaches, ulcers, sleep problems, and anxiety and depression, so
it’s wise for grieving people to actively seek out constructive ways to cope with their experiences.
WYG has written many articles geared towards helping people cultivate positive coping. Here are a few
suggestions…

Constructive ways to cope with stress:

 Keep a stress journal
 Keep any kind of journal
 Avoid unnecessary stress
 Learn to say ‘no’ and draw boundaries
 Avoid people who stress you out and who create problems for you
 Eliminate unnecessary responsibilities and tasks
 Express your feelings
 Put problems in perspective
 Practice gratitude
 Don’t try to control things that are out of your control
 Process feelings that are keeping you stuck like anger, blame, guilt, regret, shame, etc
 Count to ten when angry or overwhelmed
 Take deep breaths
 Talk to someone
 Eat well
 Get your anxiety under control
 Exercise
 Seek support
 Reduce substance use
 Do something you enjoy every day
 Get enough sleep
 Meditate
 Do yoga
 Get a hobby
 Make manageable and realistic to-do lists
 Take things one step at a time
 Don’t catastrophize
 Laugh
 Congratulate yourself for the progress you’ve made each and every day
 Spend time with animals
 Disconnect from electronics
 Ask for help and be willing to accept help
WHAT IS GRIEF?

Grief is a natural response to loss. It’s the emotional suffering you feel when something or someone
you love is taken away. Often, the pain of loss can feel overwhelming. You may experience all kinds of
difficult and unexpected emotions, from shock or anger to disbelief, guilt, and profound sadness. The pain
of grief can also disrupt your physical health, making it difficult to sleep, eat, or even think straight. These
are normal reactions to loss—and the more significant the loss, the more intense your grief will be.

Coping with the loss of someone or something you love is one of life’s biggest challenges. You may
associate grieving with the death of a loved one—which is often the cause of the most intense type of
grief—but any loss can cause grief, including:
 Divorce or relationship breakup
 Loss of health
 Losing a job
 Loss of financial stability
 A miscarriage
 Retirement
 Death of a pet
 Loss of a cherished dream
 A loved one’s serious illness
 Loss of a friendship
 Loss of safety after a trauma
 Selling the family home

Even subtle losses in life can trigger a sense of grief. For example, you might grieve after moving
away from home, graduating from college, or changing jobs. Whatever your loss, it’s personal to you, so
don’t feel ashamed about how you feel, or believe that it’s somehow only appropriate to grieve for certain
things. If the person, animal, relationship, or situation was significant to you, it’s normal to grieve the loss
you’re experiencing. Whatever the cause of your grief, though, there are healthy ways to cope with the
pain that, in time, can ease your sadness and help you come to terms with your loss, find new meaning,
and eventually move on with your life.

The Grieving Process

Grieving is a highly individual experience; there’s no right or wrong way to grieve. How you
grieve depends on many factors, including your personality and coping style, your life experience, your
faith, and how significant the loss was to you.
Inevitably, the grieving process takes time. Healing happens gradually; it can’t be forced or
hurried—and there is no “normal” timetable for grieving. Some people start to feel better in weeks or
months. For others, the grieving process is measured in years. Whatever your grief experience, it’s
important to be patient with yourself and allow the process to naturally unfold.

How to Deal with the Grieving Process

While grieving a loss is an inevitable part of life, there are ways to help cope with the pain, come to terms
with your grief, and eventually, find a way to pick up the pieces and move on with your life.
 Acknowledge your pain.
 Accept that grief can trigger many different and unexpected emotions.
 Understand that your grieving process will be unique to you.
 Seek out face-to-face support from people who care about you.
 Support yourself emotionally by taking care of yourself physically.
 Recognize the difference between grief and depression.
The Stages of Grief
In 1969, psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced what became known as the “five stages of grief.”
These stages of grief were based on her studies of the feelings of patients facing terminal illness, but
many people have generalized them to other types of negative life changes and losses, such as the death
of a loved one or a break-up.

The Five Stages of Grief

 Denial: “This can’t be happening to me.”
 Anger: “Why is this happening? Who is to blame?”
 Bargaining: “Make this not happen, and in return I will ____.”
 Depression: “I’m too sad to do anything.”
 Acceptance: “I’m at peace with what happened.”

Emotional Symptoms of Grief

 Shock and disbelief. Right after a loss, it can be hard to accept what happened. You may feel
numb, have trouble believing that the loss really happened, or even deny the truth. If someone
you love has died, you may keep expecting them to show up, even though you know they’re
gone.

 Sadness. Profound sadness is probably the most universally experienced symptom of grief. You
may have feelings of emptiness, despair, yearning, or deep loneliness. You may also cry a lot or
feel emotionally unstable.

 Guilt. You may regret or feel guilty about things you did or didn’t say or do. You may also feel
guilty about certain feelings (e.g. feeling relieved when the person died after a long, difficult
illness). After a death, you may even feel guilty for not doing something to prevent the death,
even if there was nothing more you could have done.

 Anger. Even if the loss was nobody’s fault, you may feel angry and resentful. If you lost a loved
one, you may be angry with yourself, God, the doctors, or even the person who died for
abandoning you. You may feel the need to blame someone for the injustice that was done to you.

 Fear. A significant loss can trigger a host of worries and fears. You may feel anxious, helpless, or
insecure. You may even have panic attacks. The death of a loved one can trigger fears about your
own mortality, of facing life without that person, or the responsibilities you now face alone.

Physical Symptoms of Grief

We often think of grief as a strictly emotional process, but grief often involves physical problems,
including:
 Fatigue
 Nausea
 Lowered immunity
 Weight loss or weight gain
 Aches and pains
 Insomnia