Grade 12 2012

1. Grade 12 2012 LO1: PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT Session ONE AS 1 Apply a range of life skills, evaluate own ability to prevent and manage stress, and adapt to change as part of an ongoing healthy lifestyle change. Session TWO AS 2 Investigate the human and environmental factors that cause ill health, accidents, crises and disasters, and explore appropriate ways to deal with them.

2. 1. Stress 2. Change 3. Healthy lifestyle 4. Environmental health

3. Stress Response The stress response is the body’s way of protecting you. The “stress response” helps you stay: Focussed; Energetic; Alert The “stress response” gives you extra: Strength to defend yourself; Courage to face your stress

4. In stressful situations your nervous system responds by releasing a flood of stress hormones, including: • adrenaline and • cortisol/ cortisone • What happens next: • Your heart pounds faster • Your muscles tighten • Your blood pressure rises • Your breath quickens • Your senses become sharper. • These physical changes: • increase your strength and stamina • speed your reaction time • enhance your focus • – preparing you to either fight or flee from the • danger at hand.

5. But beyond a certain point, stress stops being helpful and starts causing major damage to your health, your mood, your productivity, your relationships, and your quality of life. • Long-term exposure to stress can lead to serious health problems. It can: • raise blood pressure, • suppress the immune system, • increase the risk of heart attack and stroke, • contribute to infertility, • speed up the aging process. • Long-term stress can even rewire the brain, leaving you more vulnerable to anxiety and depression.

6. Stress can be toxic to your body!

7. Stress affects the mind, body, and behavior in many ways, and everyone experiences stress differently.

8. Are you experiencing the signs of stress? Feeling angry, irritable or easily frustrated Feeling overwhelmed Change in eating habits Problems concentrating Feeling nervous or anxious Trouble sleeping Problems with memory Feeling burned out from work Feeling that you can’t overcome difficulties in your life Having trouble functioning in your job or personal life Do activity in notes

9. STRESSORS Situations and pressures that cause stress are known as stressors. • Stressors can be negative: • An enormous work load • or a rocky relationship • anything that puts high demands on you or forces you to adjust /change. • Stressors can be positive: • getting married, • buying a house, • going to college, • being put in a position of leadership, etc. • Remember: • Something that's stressful to you may not faze someone else; they may even enjoy it.

10. Managing stress • Looking after yourself (me time) • Confronting the problem (don’t avoid things) • Find some distractions (do something new) • Express yourself (talk about it) • Stress is a combination of frustration and anxiety!

11. Preventing stress • Exercise • Eating Healthy • Sleeping well • Maintain a Positive Attitude

13. Arbfact, butvery interesting! First of all, it should be noted that chronic lack of sleep increases the risk of type 2 diabetes. This contributes to the cortisone, which is a stress hormone that regulates glucose in the blood. The prolonged lack of sleep (insomnia) makes your body to constantly inject cortisone in the blood. The cortisone in turn increases blood glucose. This obliges the body to express and inject in the blood more and more insulin in an attempt to reduce blood glucose.

14. So changes are inevitable in Grade 12 and onwards. We need to make INFORMED CHOICES