Stress and Guided Imagery M. Susan LeFande,RN

Graduate Student College of Health and Human Services

George Mason University

Idea…

• I spoke with Dr. Recia Weiner a school psychologist at Washington-Lee High School

• We discussed the recent uptick in the need to perform “threat assessments” as a result of student out bursts containing verbal threats toward other students.

• She attributed the outbursts to the stress of being a teen and the difficulty processing their emotions.

HEALTHY PEOPLE 2010

• Stress is directly linked to the majority of the the leading health indicators listed in HP2010

• Physicial Activity• Obesity• Tobacco Use• Substance abuse • Responsible sexual behavior• Mental health• Injury and violence

Teen Stressors• Academic pressure and career decisions• Pressure to wear certain types of clothing

or hairstyles• Pressure to try drugs, alcohol or sex• Pressure to fit in with peer groups and

measure up to others• Adaptation to bodily changes• Family and peer conflicts• Taking on too many activities at one time

Teenage "Stress Overload" Signs:• increased physical illness (headaches,

stomachaches, muscle pains, chronic fatigue)

• "shutting down" and withdrawal from people and activities

• increased anger or irritable lashing out at others

• increased tearfulness and feelings of hopelessness

• chronic feelings of worry and nervousness• difficulty sleeping and eating• difficulty concentrating

A Recent Study in India

• more than 90% of children in public schools are facing above normal levels of stress and tension

• The study also revealed that the rate of stress is very high at the age of 4, 7, 8, 12, 13 and 15 (100%).

• Also over 97% of children over 10 years has shown that stress above average.

• The children most severe stress was observed at the age of 14, while the majority of children between 13 and 15 showed moderate or severe stress.

* PREVALENCE OF STRESS AMONG SCHOOL CHILDREN IN KERALA MOTHER TERESA OF WOMEN UNIVERSITY Dr. S. SYAMAKUMARI Agricultural University

Interviewing Kids• I spoke with 7 high school students and 3 elementary

school children individually, both in person and online.

• I had comfortable friendly relationships will all but one student, who happened to be a bored front office aid and eager to chat with me.

• I asked them to tell me about school and life in general, what they enjoyed and what they found difficult.

• The high school students all reported life after school as being what they enjoyed only 2 students felt the challenge of high school to be pleasurable .

How do you deal with stress?

• “I don’t know” or “IDK” was the # 1 answer.

• Sleep.• Hang out with my friends/BF or GF• Watch TV or Play online• Ignore it• Procrastinate (“I wait till the last minute to do hard

projects so I only have to deal with it for a little while”)

• Only 1 student seemed to have a productive answer which was “Sports”

One very aggressive and bright young man.

• Loves stress and intentionally takes all AP classes to «show off» and «keep things interesting»

• Also happily admited to frequent masturbation and viewing lots of porn because it helps him sleep. – (Thankfully, this conversation was online so he couldn’t see my face and I

was able to carefully plan my response!)

My K.I.S.S. Objectives(Keep it Simple Stupid!)

#1 Kids will identify some common causes of stress.

#2 Kids will recognize some of the physical signs of stress.

#3 Kids will identify at least one positive method to manage their personal stress.

(and hopefully they will experience Guided Imagery with me in the class at least once!)

The Challenge

• Get the attention of 18 rowdy teens during last period of the day in a sociology classroom that has few rules and has an awesome teacher that regularly plays lacrosse with them in the classroom … while he continues to lecture!

• SO how do I make them sit through 15-20 minutes of my lecture AND participate in 15 minutes of quiet meditation…without benefit of lacrosse?– What happened to keeping it simple…. RIGHT?

The Solution

CANDY…High Quality… and lots of it!

The Spiel

• Temporary Stress (GOOD)– Brief period of heightened awareness that prepares you

for action “Fight or Flight”

• Chronic Stress (BAD) – Unrelenting stress that leads to exhaustion and mimics

the aging process imposing long-term wear and tear on your body leading to Hypertension, ulcers, impotence, wasted muscles, diabetes, reduced disease resistance, and senility (direct)

– Also precipitates unhealthy (illness-generating) habits such as smoking drinking overeating and not getting enough sleep (indirect)

Laying down the Law

• I started with a few rules…– Be respectful– If you don’t “get” Guided Imagery that is

okay but please sit quietly and try not to disturb others who may be enjoying their happy place.

– It’s okay to fall asleep so please try really hard not to laugh when somebody starts snoring.

– If you realize your mind is not following the program just take a deep breath and try again.

• Finally we must complete the 16 min program without any talking in order for anyone to get the candy!

The Program

And for the Little ones

OUTCOME Instructional Studies Class

• THEY DID IT….– There was a simulated fart noise as soon as the

room got quiet but amazingly after a split second of smirking they all put their heads on the desks and listened.

– They became a little restless and switched positions toward the end but for the most part they appeared relaxed as if waking from a nap when the lights were turned on.