Stress

What is Stress?

• Stress is the feeling of anxiety that results when the balance between an event and a person’s knowledge and ability to deal with it is disturbed. There is a gap between the event and the ability to react.
• Stress is any circumstance that threatens or is perceived to threaten one’s well-being and that thereby tax one’s coping abilities. The threat may be to immediate physical safety, one’s sense of security, self-esteem, or many other things that one values.”(Weiten, 1998)
• Stress is the psychological, emotional and behavioral reaction to situations/experiences of people that presents itself as worry, anxiety or tension.

• Children respond differently to stressors. You have to be on the lookout for all the different forms it takes as described above.
• Understanding the symptoms of stress can help caregivers provide effective psychosocial care and support to children.
• The effects of stress can be prevented or minimized if adequate support is provided.

• There are different ways of supporting and showing affection to children dealing with stress – make sure children are comfortable with the ways you try to support them.
• It is important for children to understand that they have the inner strengths and access to support that they need to overcome the many stresses that will arise in their lives.

• "Coping is the ability to find, even in a new and unusual situation, an appropriate reaction to the challenges that one is facing.
• Coping is a cognitive and behavioral efforts to master specific demands that are noted as exceeding the usual capabilities or resources of a person.”

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• The result of children not coping with stress might be dysfunctional social skills and depression (or poor Psychosocial wellbeing).
• Creating a loving, nurturing and supportive environment can enhance a child’s ability to cope with stress.
• Research has shown that children need a lot of meaningful support in order for them to be able to cope well.
• A social and cultural approach to child development emphasizes the importance of the wider social context that surrounds us all.

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