Understanding the Self: Health, Stress, and Learning

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering stress management, self-care dimensions, brain structure, neuroplasticity, memory stages, and self-regulated learning from the Understanding the Self course modules.

Stress

The body's reaction to the demands of the world.

Stressors

Events or conditions in one's surroundings that may trigger stress.

Acute Stress

The body's response when a stressor is new or short-term.

Chronic Stress

The body's response when a stressor has been around for a longer period of time.

External Stressors

Sources of stress originating outside an individual, categorized into major life changes, environment, unpredictable events, workplace or school demands, and social life.

Internal Stressors

Sources of stress originating from within oneself, specifically including fears, uncertainty and lack of control, and preset beliefs, attitudes, or expectations.

Vulnerable Age Group for Mental Health (WHO/DOH)

Individuals aged 15-29, identified globally as the most vulnerable population where mental health-related deaths are the second leading cause of fatalities.

Physical Self-Care

A dimension of self-care focused on taking care of the body by providing adequate nutrition, hydration, and exercise.

Emotional Self-Care

A self-care practice focused on becoming in-tune with one's emotions, practicing mindfulness, and cultivating healthy self-awareness.

Spiritual Self-Care

A form of self-care centered on nourishing the soul, striving for inner peace, and finding meaning, which does not always have to be about religion.

Intellectual Self-Care

A dimension of self-care that involves nourishing and challenging the mind through activities such as discovering a new hobby, learning a new skill, or reading a good book.

Social Self-Care

A form of self-care that honors the innate human need for connection, relevant to both introverts and extroverts.

Sensory Self-Care

A practice that nourishes the physical senses (sight, touch, smell, hearing, taste) through activities like listening to good music, aromatherapy, or walking barefoot on grass.

Human Brain

A structure weighing approximately $1.4\,\text{kg}$ ($3\,\text{pounds}$) that coordinates all bodily functions and learning as part of the nervous system.

Four Main Regions of the Brain

The Cerebrum, Diencephalon (interbrain), Brain stem (comprising the midbrain, pons, and medulla oblongata), and Cerebellum.

Neuroplasticity

The brain's ability to physically change at the cellular level (predominantly at synaptic gaps between neurons) by creating and reinforcing neural networks in response to new and repeated experiences.

Encoding

The memory stage where information is converted into visual (picture), acoustic (sound), or semantic (meaning) formats.

Storage (Memory)

The retention of information over time; short-term memory capacity can be expanded through chunking, whereas long-term memory holds retained information indefinitely.

Retrieval

The process of accessing stored data; short-term memories are retrieved sequentially, while long-term memories are retrieved by association.

Sensory Memory

A memory system that holds environmental information captured by the senses for a duration of $0.5\,\text{seconds}$ to $4\,\text{seconds}$.

Working Memory (WM)

The conscious memory system responsible for retaining and actively using information being processed at any given moment.

Long-Term Memory (LTM)

An explicit and implicit memory store with unlimited capacity where learned information is held and maintained through regular retrieval.

Cognition

The mental process involved in knowing, understanding, and learning; one of the three core components of self-regulated learning.

Metacognition

The practice often defined as 'learning to learn,' involving explicit strategies for planning, monitoring, and evaluating one's own learning.

Motivation (in Self-Regulated Learning)

The willingness to actively engage both cognitive and metacognitive skills during the learning process.

Self-Regulated Learners

Students who recognize their own strengths and weaknesses and can self-motivate to engage in and improve their learning.