Taking Charge of

Your Health
Part III: Lesson 11
Jun L. Tayaben, M.A
LESSON OBJECTIVES
At the end of this lesson, you should be
able to:
1. Identify the risk factors, cumulative risk
factors and protective factors;
2. Explain the effects of stress to one’s
health; and
3. Developed self-help strategies.
 How do you take care of your health?
Definition

 Health is a state of complete physical, mental

and social well-being and not merely the absence
of disease or infirmity. World Health Organization
Risk Factors

 RiskFactors – actions or behaviors that

represent a potential health threat.
 Something that increases a person’s chances of
developing a disease.
MidicineNet
Centers for Disease and Control (CDC) surveyed 16,000 student from 151
schools across the nation. The six categories or personal health factors
covered include:

 Tobacco use
 Alcohol and other drug use
 Sexual behaviors
 Unhealthy eating behaviors
 Physical inactivity
 Behaviors that contribute to unintentional and
intentional injuries
Examining Your Habits & Other Behaviors

 The survey revealed 36% of the 16,000 students smoked cigarettes.

 Another 15% admitted to being in a physical fight during the previous
year.
 1 in 5 students have taken prescription drugs without doctor’s
prescription
 Thesurvey also found that about 72
percent of high school students ever used
alcohol, about 37 percent ever used
marijuana, 6.4 percent ever used cocaine,
4.1 percent ever used methamphetamine,
and 6.7 percent ever used ecstasy.
Cumulative Risks

 Cumulative risks are risks that increase gradually and may

add up to a total that is greater than expected.
 Examples: sunburn, smoking, drinking, tanning, diet,
inactivity, etc.
 Combination cumulative risks are risk factors whose impact is more serious
when combined with another risk factor.
 Examples: speeding/no seat belt, smoking/drinking, drinking/driving,
texting/driving, inactivity/poor diet.
Taking Responsibility for the Health of
Others
 Taking responsibility for your own health includes showing concern for the
health of others.
 You are expected to behave as a responsible and productive citizen.
 This includes having a concern for the welfare of the community and a respect for
public property and for the property of others.
Protective Factors

 The people around you – parents, teachers, amongst others – can help
you become a successful adult.
 As protective factors increase the amount of risk-taking behaviors
decreases and the chances of growing up as a healthy, caring, and
responsible adult increase (support and encouragement – social health).
4 Protective Factors:
Abstinence in Your Health

 Abstinence – voluntarily choosing not to do

something.
 Tobacco, alcohol, drugs, sex, etc.

 Responsible teens abstain from risky behaviors.

 Although you may not relate your present actions
to how they will affect you in the future, it is
important to remember that the behaviors you
practice now are setting the stage for the health of
the adult you will become.
CDC 2019 YRBS Result:

 The adolescent years are an ideal time to

develop healthy behaviors. Unhealthy
behaviors, or risk behaviors, are often
established during childhood and persist
into adulthood. However, they are largely
preventable.
What is Stress?

 The term “stress”, as it is currently

used was coined by Hans Selye in
1936, who defined it as “the non-
specific response of the body to any
demand for change”.

Source: American Institute of Stress (AIS)

 Stress and Human Response

- Selye hypothesized a general adaptation or

stress syndrome. This general stress
syndrome affects the whole body. Stress
always manifests itself by a syndrome, a
sum of changes, and not by simply one
change.
- The general stress syndrome has three
components:
1. The alarm stage
2. The stage of resistance
3. The exhaustion stage
b
 Techniques to Counter Chronic Stress

1. Relaxation response. These include deep

abdominal breathing, focus on a soothing word
(such as peace or calm), visualization of
tranquil scenes, repetitive prayer, yoga, and tai
chi.
2. Physical activity. People can use
exercise to stifle the buildup of stress in
several ways. Exercise, such as taking a
brisk walk shortly after feeling stressed,
not only deepens breathing but also helps
relieve muscle tension.
3. Social support. Confidants, friends,
acquaintances, co-workers, relatives,
spouses, and companions all provide a life-
enhancing social net, and may increase
longevity.

Source: Health Harvard 2017

Self-care Therapy: Nancy Apperson (2008)
1. Stop, breathe, and tell yourself: “This is hard
and I will get through this one step at a time.”
2. Acknowledge to yourself what you are feeling.
All feelings are normal so accept whatever you
are feeling.
3. Find someone who listens and is accepting. You
do not need advice. You need to be heard.
4. Maintain your normal routine as much as
possible
5. Allow plenty of time for a task.
6. Take good care of yourself.
6 Ways to take better care of yourself
(Dr. Susan Kraus Whitbourne)
 Recognize signs of distress in your mood.
 Establish a balance.
 Maintain a sense of humor.
 Spend quality time wits friends and family.
 Develop an alternative, self-absorbing but
healthy activity.
 Find a place to work or live that encourage a
culture of self-care.
The Need for Self-care: (Kristine Wong)

 Self-care prevents “overload burnout”

 Self-care reduces the negative effects of
stress
 Self-care helps you refocus
NEWSTART LIFESTYLE PROGRAM
N NUTRITION
E EXERCISE
W WATER
S SUNLIGHT
T TEMPERANCE
A AIR
R REST
T TRUST IN GOD
 Nutrition
 Proper nutrition is the foundation of good health and
recovery.
 In addition physicians explain the issues that link nutrition
with health or disease in their lectures.
 Do you know the word
“DIET”?
DIET- it includes temperance
But if you will remove “T” from the word diet what will
happen?
You will “DIE”
Death
In
Early years of age
 Exercise
 Action is a law of life.
 Muscle tone and strength are lost without exertion,
but exercise improves the health of body, mind, and
spirit multiplying vitality and health.
 Water
 the body is 70% water, keeping well hydrated and
knowing what and when to drink are essential to
health.
 Hydrotherapy (water applied externally to the body)
followed by massage enhances the circulation and
immune system in wonderful ways.
 Sunlight
The sun is the established energy source ordained by
God to sustain the cycle of life for plants and animals.
Sunlight is supremely important for the body’s
metabolism and hormonal balance.
 Temperance
 Using good things moderately and avoiding the bad
is obviously wise. Temperance can be neither bought
nor earned, but is rather an important gift of God, a
“fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22, 23).
 Air

 The body’s most essential resource is air. More

important than food or water, proper breathing and
pure air are fundamental to good health. Fresh, clear
mountain air surrounds the beautiful natural
environment of AUP.
 Rest
 Restoration requires rest because sleep allows the
body to renew itself. Many types of rest are important
for health, but the sweetest rest follows labor. “Early
to bed and early to rise” is a vital NEWSTART
principle, and a healthy lifestyle makes this principle
easier to maintain.
 Trust
 Trust In Divine Power Directly linked to physical
health, trust in God is a gift leading to right
choices.