Lesson 1 - Health: Understanding Stress

Meaning of Stress	(psychology) a state of mental or emotional strain or suspense
Stress Symptoms	Headaches, constipation, diarrhea, sore muscles, tense and anxious feelings, insomnia, fatigue, fearful and inferior feeling, loss of interest, heart racing, grinding of teeth, chest pain, etc.
Causes of Stress	general causes (threat, fear, uncertainty, …), life causes (death, health, money, …), stress at work
Vocabulary words	Tense; Anxiety; pump; conclusion; optimistic; practice

TENSE, adj., v. [Latin root: ten- = to stretch]

(This hormone causes our muscles to tense, our heart rate to increase, and our blood pressure to rise.)

Meaning:

· Adj., in or of a state of physical or nervous tension; taut or rigid; stretched tight

o e.g., a tense meeting; feeling tense; tense muscle; tense piano strings

· V., become tense or tenser

o e.g., he tensed up when he saw his opponent enter the room; N. Korean Missiles Tense Up Neighborhood; I could feel myself tense up as he touched my neck.

Synonym:

· Adj.: agitated, uneasy, edgy, fidgety, jittery, jumpy, nervous, restive, restless, skittish, twitchy, (informal) uptight, stiff, taut, tight

o Antonym: at ease, relaxed, lax

· V.: stiffen, tauten, tighten

Idiom:

· A bundle of nerves (informal. An extremely nervous person)

· All wound up (brought to a state of great tension)

· On edge (highly tense or nervous; irritable)

ANXIETY, n

(Others suffer from anxiety, headaches, or backaches.)

Meaning:

· A state of uneasiness and apprehension, as about future uncertainties.

o e.g., the mother had spent the whole of that winter in a state of terrible anxiety and agitation; their anxiety was relieved by the assurance that no danger could approach without a warning.

Synonym:

· angst, anxiousness, care, concern, disquiet, disquietude, distress, nervousness, solicitude, unease, uneasiness, worry

Derivatives: anxious, n

PUMP, n, v

(They pump more adrenaline into our bodies when we don’t need it.)

Meaning:

· v. to force a liquid or gas to flow

· n. 1. an act or the process of pumping 2. a low-cut shoe without fastenings

· e.g., pump air/blood/water; water/gas/bicycle/gas pump;

Synonym:

· drive, impel, propel, thrust, push, force, inflate, deflate, send, inject, fill, expand

CONCLUSION, n [suffix: -ion = act of, quality, condition]

(If you jump to the conclusion that she is angry with you, you will feel more stress.)

Meaning:

· The close or last part; the end or finish; decision based on facts

· e.g., his conclusion took the evidence into account; the conclusion of a business deal.

Synonym:

· deduction, assumption, inference, supposition, decision, end, close, finish, termination, wrap-up, windup, finale, ending, closing

Derivatives: conclude, v

OPTIMISTIC, adj [suffix: -ic = pertaining to, resembling, of the nature of]

(Learn to replace negative thoughts with optimistic ones.)

Meaning:

· expecting the best

· e.g., in an optimistic mood; optimistic plans; took an optimistic view

Synonym:

· hopeful, positive, rose-colored, roseate, rosy, sanguine, (informal) upbeat

o Antonym: pessimistic

Derivatives: optimist, n; optimism, n

Idiom:

· looking on the bright side

· looking through rose-colored glasses

PRACTICE, n, v

(It won’t happen overnight, but with practice, you may be able to change the way you respond to stress.)

Meaning:

· v. to do/perform repeatedly so as to master

· n. systematic exercise for proficiency

· e.g., practice will make you a good musician; a theory that is difficult to put into practice; practice law

Synonym:

· exercise, rehearsal; pursue

Derivatives: practiced, adj.; practical, adj.; practicum, n