The Change up: Stress

This is a very nice movie and this scene is wonderful to introduce the topic STRESS. http://stresscourse.tripod.com/id14.html

Work in pairs:

How stressed are you? Check the items that have happened to you in the past year and add up the points: Source: http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/stress-management/stress-assessment.htm Discovery Fit & Health - A Great Site!


Life Event:

( ) Death of spouse 100

( )Divorce 73

( ) Marital Separation 65

( ) Death of a close family member 63

( ) Personal injury or illness 53

( ) Marriage 50

( ) Being fired from work 47

( ) Reconciliation with spouse 45

( ) Retirement 45

( ) Change in health of family member 44

( ) Pregnancy 40

( ) Sexual difficulties 39

( ) Death of a close friend 37

( ) Major change in responsibilities at work 29

( ) Children leaving home 29

( ) Spouse begins or stops work 26

( ) Starting or ending school 26

( ) Trouble with boss 23

( ) Change in residence 20

( ) Change in sleeping habits 16

( ) Change in eating habits 15

( ) Vacation 13

( ) Christmas 12

( ) Minor violation of the law 11

If your total is


0-150:Congratulations! At the moment, your stress level is low. Your chance of illness or accident related to your stress within two years is low. Any change can lead to stress, even enjoyable activities, such as vacations or new forms of recreation.



If your total is 150-300:Take care of yourself now. You have borderline high stress. Your chance of accident or illness related to your stress within two years is moderate.



If your total is over 300:Warning: You have a high stress level. Your chance of accident or illness related to your stress during the next two years is great.


II. Do you agree with the result. Do you think the score matches the way you have dealt with stress in the past year?



III. According to this site http://stresscourse.tripod.com/id14.html, these are some causes of stress people face in their daily life. Rank these items from 1 to 5, being 1 something that causes very little stress and 5 something that causes a lot of stress.


Misplacing keys

· Arguments

· Traffic jams

· Time pressures

· Lack of sleep

· Fear of Crime

· Shopping

· Bureaucracy

· Waiting

· Loneliness

· Pollution

· Gossip

· Relatives

· Excess noise

· Inconsiderate people

· Difficult neighbours

· Car breakdown

· Meal Preparation

· Job dissatisfaction

· Problems with children

. Sleep debt

· Poor diet

· Excess heat

· Excess caffeine

· Excess cold

· Smoking

· Financial problems

· Perfectionism

· Loneliness

· Low self esteem

· Exams and tests

· Giving talks/presentations

· Pollution

· Traffic jams

. Low pay ·

· Living in an urban area

· Rude, aggressive, unhelpful people

· Problem neighbours



IV. In small groups, select 10 items you ALL consider extremely stressful.


V. Watch the segment from the movie The Change Up and discuss the questions:


1. Describe the scene

2. What is the situation that is causing him stress?

3. How has he been dealing with this situation?

4. Is this situation really stressing or is he just over reacting?

5. Have you ever experienced a situation like this?

6. What would you do if you were in his shoes?


MOVIE SEGMENT DOWNLOAD - THE CHANGE UP