2. TO

3. What is stress?
 Stress is the way that you react physically,
mentally and emotionally to various conditions,
changes and demands in your life.
 Many students experience varying levels of stress
each semester.
 High levels of stress can affect your physical and
mental well-being and academic performance.

4. Symptoms of stress
 headaches
 nervous stomach
 change in appetite
 rapid breathing
 rapid heart rate
 sweaty palms
 irritability
 anxiety
•fatigue
•insomnia
•dissatisfaction
•anger
•depression
•inability to
concentrate

5. What causes stress?
 Anxiety: uneasiness and distress about future
uncertainties
 Changes in life’s expectations or demands
 Ex. Marriage, divorce, pregnancy, illness, bills,
increasing demands of a university course load
 Disorganization: feeling unprepared and
powerless

6. What causes stress?
 Physical Constraints
 Ex. Physical exhaustion, lack of good exercise and diet
strategies
 Time constraints: multiple projects and deadlines

7. Exercise: Self-assessment
 Take the anxiety/stress assessment
 Use the results of this assessment to pinpoint specific
causes of stress in your life. What (if any) control do
you have over these areas of your life?
 Make a list of things that you can do to lessen your
stress.

8. Strategies to reduce stress
 Take control. Manage your time instead of
letting it manage you. Use a to-do list, follow a
written plan, set goals and follow through.
 Avoid procrastination, a major cause of stress.
Make a realistic list of things you need to do each
day. Do the most important things first. That
way, even if you don’t finish the list, you get the
most important things done.

9. Strategies to reduce stress
 Take a break
 Sometimes it is better to get away from the situation
for a short time. Take a brisk walk, focus on pleasant
thoughts. Then, go back to the task feeling refreshed
and ready to tackle whatever it is you have to do.

10. Strategies to reduce stress
 Work on your attitude
 Put things into perspective. Do not to take
yourself too seriously.
 Think positive. “If you think you will fail, or
think you will succeed, you are probably right.”
--Henry Ford

11. Strategies to reduce stress
 Get help
 See your instructor, go to tutoring, and participate in
study groups. See how to form a study group.
 Keep in touch with friends and family, and
develop a support group.

12. Strategies to reduce stress
 Physical stress busters
 Eat right, exercise regularly and get plenty of rest
 Practice, practice, practice
 Build your confidence: do extra math problems,
practice test-taking at home, rehearse your speech a
couple of times before the presentation

13. Self-reflection
 Go back to the stressful incident that you
described in the first part of the workshop.
 List some strategies for dealing with the situation,
 List some things you could have done to prevent it
from being stressful.
 List some ways you can avoid a reoccurrence of such a
situation in the future.

14. Strategies for dealing with stress
 No one can avoid stress all the time. In a stressful
situation, try these tips to help you overcome the
effects of stress.
 Join the crowd
 Even though you may think you are the only person in
the world who is experiencing stress, the fact is that
everyone experiences it sometime.

15. Strategies for dealing with stress
 Talk to someone
 Find someone you trust, discuss the problems and look
for solutions
 Put it in perspective
 Chances are, this is only one small part of the rest of
your life
 Visualize
 Sit comfortably and think of a favorite place. Imagine
yourself in a successful situation.

16. Strategies for dealing with stress
 Visualize
 Sit comfortably and think of a favorite place. Imagine
yourself in a successful situation.
 Breathe
 Sit quietly, and breathe deeply and slowly. Continue
for five or six breaths. It is calming and the extra dose
of oxygen increases the brain’s thinking ability.

17. Strategies for dealing with stress
 It’s all in your head... and shoulders
 Roll your head loosely in a wide circle. Repeat five
times. Tighten right shoulder and raise it as far up as
possible and hold, then relax slowly. Repeat with left
shoulder. Repeat with both shoulders.

18. Strategies for dealing with stress
 Go on a diet
 Eating light and avoiding sugars can help with
performance and lessen stress. In a stressful situation
like an exam, have a light meal of mostly protein.
Remember, a heavy high carbohydrate meal can put
you to sleep.

19. Strategies for dealing with stress
 Lighten up
 Take responsibility for your feelings. When you get
angry, take a break and cool down before you act.

20. Strategies for dealing with stress
 Use it
 A little stress is a good thing. Athletes use it to
increase performance. If you are experiencing a small
amount of anxiety, it can help to keep you active and
alert. Use it to increase your performance.

21. Summary
 Stress is mental, emotional and physical tension,
strain, and/or distress
 The signs of stress are classic. You may get a
headache, stiff neck, backache, become irritable,
lose your temper, and you may feel exhausted and
find it hard to concentrate.
 When these symptoms appear, recognize them as
signs of stress and find a way to deal with them.
Just knowing why you’re feeling the way that you
are may be the first step in coping with the
problem.

22. Fatigue, Decision Making,
and the Fire Line
 The ability to make decisions is
critical when fighting wildland fires.
 Some level of stress and perhaps
fatigue can bring about clarity and
concentration. Too much fatigue
and stress however – will disrupt
decision making capabilities.
 People perceive and process
information differently. How does
fatigue influence how we interpret
and process information?

23. Key Terms
 Arousal: level of physiological
and psychological activity at any
given moment; occurs on a
continuum
 Stress: physiological and
psychological response to a
challenge that requires some
form of adjustment
 Anxiety: negative end of
arousal; characterized by worry,
nervousness, and apprehension

24. Key Terms
 State Anxiety:
describes the level of
anxiety at any given
moment; moment-to-
moment anxiety; ever-
changing mood
 Cognitive State
Anxiety: the negative
thoughts and worries one
has in an anxious moment
 Somatic State Anxiety:
how the physiology
responds in anxious
moments – real or
perceived
 Trait Anxiety: one’s
predisposition to
perceive challenges;
acquired behavioral
tendency
 Decision Making: the
process of considering
and selecting
alternatives
 Fatigue: decreased
capacity to complete
work; physical or mental
weariness

25. Understanding Stress
 Lazarus’s Cognitive
Theory of Stress
 Suggests that it is one’s
perception of a stressor that
causes stress – not the
stressor itself
 What Causes
Negative Stress?
 A perceived imbalance
between the challenge
(physical or psychological)
placed on an individual and
their ability to overcome the
challenge.

26. Lazarus’s Cognitive
Theory of Stress
 Primary Appraisal
 Person determines if event
or stimulus is negative,
positive, or neutral.
 Secondary Appraisal
 Person evaluates their level
of control, coping resources
available, and considers
options.
 Stress Response
 How the person reacts
physiologically, emotionally,
and behaviorally.

27. How People Will React
Is Not A Given
 “Men are
disturbed not by
things but by the
views which
they take of
them”

Epictetus
55-135 A.D.
 It is not cut & dry how people
will respond in the fire
setting. Experience will
impact appraisal – but how?
 How people will respond is
difficult to understand.
 Emergency workers often do
not want to participate in
research.
 Fear is not always reliable –
we never really know where
“the edge” is.

28. Positive Appraisals Even In
Extreme Circumstances???
 A new sense of meaning or
feeling good about one’s
contribution in a disaster
response (Anderson, et al.,
1991).
 Exhilaration, sense of
occupational achievement,
enhanced appreciation of
life, and a sense of control
(Moran and Colless, 1995).

29. Arousal, Anxiety, and
Performance
 How does arousal
(physically or psychologically)
and anxiety affect
performance (positively
or negatively)?
 A number of theories
have been developed
to help explain the
connection.
 Drive Theory
 Linear relationship between
arousal and performance
 Inverted-U Hypothesis
 Maximum performance is at a
midpoint of arousal
 Catastrophe Model
 There is a threshold between
anxiety and performance
 Reversal Theory
 Depends on a person’s
interpretation of their arousal.

30. Achieving a Balance
Between Demand and
Abilities
 Perhaps the
best model to
strive for is the
Flow Model.
Achieving “flow”
has to do with
one’s level of
preparedness.

31. Causes of Fatigue
 Energy System
Depletion
 Phosphocreatine
 Glycogen
 Blood Glucose
 Accumulation of
Metabolic By-Products
 The role of lactic acid
 Failure of contractile
fiber recruitment
 Central Nervous System
Involvement
 Neuromuscular Fatigue
 Fatigue of the CNS
(“central fatigue”)
 Environmental Temperature
 Increased energy demands
 Nutritional Influence
 Type of calorie
 Timing of intake

32. Effects of
Progressive Dehydration
 1% body weight loss = thirst
 2% body weight loss =
increased thirst, loss of appetite,
discomfort
 3% body weight loss =
impatience, decreased blood
volume
 4% body weight loss = nausea,
slowing of physical work
 5% body weight loss = difficulty
concentrating, apathy, tingling
 6% increased body temp, pulse,
and respiration rate
 7% body weight loss =
stumbling headache
 8% body weight loss =
dizziness, labored breathing
 9% body weight loss =
weakness, mental confusion
10% body weight loss =
muscle spasms, indistinct
speech
 11% body weight loss = kidney
failure, poor circulation due to
decreased blood volume

33. Fatigue and the
Willingness to Take Risks
 There is some evidence (anecdotal and
risk analysis) suggesting that fatigue
and other negative emotions have an
impact on decision making and risk
taking. Example: When do most
industrial accidents occur?
 Analytic processing can be reduced,
information may not be processed
completely, and this can increase the
chance of risk choices being made.
 Ultimately, who is taking the risk?

34. Characteristics
That Affect Risk Taking
 People may be at risk because
of too much experience or too
little experience.
 Risk Taking Characteristics:
 State Fatigue
 State Anxiety
 Familiarity
 Importance
 Changes in fatigue show the
greatest affect on risk behavior.

35. Developing Preparedness
for Decision Making
Copyright© 2002 ProHealthNet, Incorporated

36. Are You Prepared
to Make Good Decisions?
 Years of Experience
 Sensitizing or Desensitizing Effect
 Critical Incident Involvement
 What is being passed on?
 Who are you modeling?
 “We’ve survived so it must work.”
 How close to the edge are you?
 Training
 Adequate or Inadequate
 Skill Acquisition
 What more could we do?

37. Skill Determination
and Acquisition
 The first step toward
becoming a good
decision maker on the
fire line is to recognize
that fatigue hampers
your ability to make
appropriate decisions –
fatigue affects everyone.
 Training should include
simulation to help people
anticipate events and
predict how they will
react.
 Emergency workers tend to
be optimistic which may
make them more vulnerable
(Taylor, 1989).
 Take the necessary steps to
prevent and minimize
fatigue.
 Determine your skill
strengths and identify skill
weaknesses. Actively work
on improving your skill
base.

38. Fatigue Prevention
 Regular Exercise Routine
 Increased Energy Level
 Improved Self Esteem
 Better Glycogen Storage
 Improved Recruitment of
Muscle Fibers
 Better Response to
Accumulation of Metabolic
By-Products
 Reduction in Central Fatigue

39. Fatigue Prevention
 Hydration and Temperature Control
 Energy Preservation
 Heat Acclimatization
 Improved Muscle Activity – Less Cramping
 Reduction in Central Fatigue
 Sport Drinks, Water, and Electrolytes
 Pros and Cons
 Sodium and Glucose Most Important
 Amount and Frequency
 How To Drink More

40. Fluid Intake Information
 Fluid Recommendations
for Active People:
 16 ounces of fluid up to 2
hours before event
 4 to 8 ounces 5 to 10
minutes before event
 8 to 10 ounces (or more as
tolerated) every 15 to 20
minutes during activity
 Are You Drinking
Enough?
 Urine Color
 Quantity of Urine
 Weigh Yourself Before
and After
 How Do You Feel?

chronically fatigued

headache

lethargic

41. Fatigue Prevention
 Nutritional Strategies
 Sound Diet
 Body’s Preference For Fuel –
Carbohydrates
 High CHO Diet vs. Low
CHO Diet
 Glycogen Storage and
Your Energy Reserves
 Timing of Intake

44. Fatigue Prevention
 Prevent Central Fatigue
 Proper Nutrition
 Adequate Hydration
 Carbohydrate
Supplementation
 Take Breaks
 Mental Rehearsal
 Work Toward Achieving a
Balance Between the
Challenge and Skill Level –
“Flow”

45. Striking a Balance Between
Skill and the Challenge
 Mental and physical performance
is always better when we are in
our comfort zone. To get into that
comfort zone, there needs to be a
balance between our skill – real
and perceived – and the
challenge or demand.
 Making good decisions on the fire
line are more likely if one strives
to stay in their zone.

46. Balance and Your
Level of Preparedness
 Are you prepared to meet the
challenge? What is your
Level of Preparedness?
 Do you have the proper
motivation to perform well?
What are your primary goals?
 Optimal performance
generally stems from a well
designed plan. What is the
plan? And are you confident
in that plan?

47. Other Skills That Influence
Level of Preparedness
 Proper Focus
 Not too wide – not
too narrow
 Concentration
 Being able to focus on the
relevant information
 Improving Concentration

Simulations

Trigger Words – attentional
cues

Specific and Clear Goals
 Reasoning Skills
 Problem Solving
 Positive Self Talk
 Helps control thoughts,
feelings, and in turn –
behaviors.
 Communication Skills
 What type of a communicator
are you?
 Arousal Regulation
 Anxiety Control
 Realistic Goal-Setting
 General People Skills

48. Identifying Stressors
Situations, activities, and
relationships that cause ‘trauma’ to
one’s physical, emotional, or
psychological self

49. Stressors
 School
 Work
 Family
 Relationships
 Legal
 Finances
 Health/illness
 Environment
 Living Situation

50. Negative Effects of Stress
1. Physical
- Weight gain/loss
- Unexpected hair loss
- Heart palpitations
- High blood pressure
2. Emotional
- Mood swings
- Anxiety
- Can lead to depression
• Can also lead to unhealthy coping
strategies (i.e. alcohol, drugs, etc)

51. Managing Stress
 Stress Relief Strategies
1. Body relaxation excercises
- breathing techniques
- guided imagery
2. Physical exercise
-yoga
-work out routine
3. Meditation
4. Counseling
-talk therapy
-life coaching

52. Other Helpful tips
 Changing perceptions and expectations
 Break jobs/tasks into manageable parts
 Set reasonable/realistic goals
 Avoid procrastination
 Set boundaries
 Don’t compromise your values/beliefs
 Schedule “me” time

53. Benefits of Stress
Management
 Physical health gets better
-more energy and stamina
 Emotions stabilized
-positive attitude
-hopeful/happier
 Ability to focus improved
-able to learn and achieve

54. Relax
 Our brain fires electrical waves at 14 or more
cycles a second.
 These are beta waves and are great for getting
tasks done, but not for learning new things.
 Taking a few minutes to relax deeply slows your
brain waves down.
 These slower waves are alpha waves.
 They occur at between 7 and 14 cycles a second
 Studies show alpha waves improve learning.
----”OnCourse” by Skip Downing

55. The Key Word Is….
Balance