Stress - Understanding the Physiology, Psychology and Coping Strategies

Students will learn how the body creates stress (cortisol), how it can be good or bad (linked to motivation and dopamine), how it affects us physically and psychologically (emotionally), and how we can use all of this knowledge to create basic coping strategies.  We will cover how and why the body releases cortisol (both from physical and emotional stress), how it affects the body once it's in the blood, and how it affects how we see the world.  We will talk about ways to recognize stress and how we can use the body's own systems to manage it.  We will also talk about how stress is different for everyone and talk about individual approaches to reducing stress.