Stress Management

cartoon of blindfolded person from shoulders up, and with a file folder with a target on top of his head. he is sweating and shaking

Part 1. What is Stress?

Stress is what happens when you take in Stimuli.

What happens when you are not taking in stimuli? - You are dead!

So Stress is normal. It can be defined as:

"Your body's reaction (through mental or physical tension) to CHANGE"

Categories of Stressors
	developed by Barbara Brown
Major Expected Event	Something big that you know is coming
	Test, Presentation, Baby, Taxes
Major Unexpected Event	Something big happening unexpected
	Pop-quiz, Accident, Illness
Daily Grind	All the little things that make up a day
	Parking, Going to class,
Personal Attributes	All the things about you
	Genetic makeup, Flexibility, Disabilities, Intelligence

Stages of Stress
One researcher, Hans Selye, identified the stages we go through when we encounter a stressor. We go through these same stages whether the stress is good or bad, big or small. This is called the General Adaptation Syndrome, or GAS.
Alarm Reaction	Recognize a stressor. Instantaneously we evaluate whether it is a threat or not. If it is a threat we gear up to deal with it. In the eye of the beholder! Stress affects different people in different ways. What you may evaluate as a threat, someone else won't. And, what is stressful today, may not be stressful tomorrow.
	Increase in adrenaline, white blood cells reduced, digestion slows, sex drive slows
Resistance Stage	Deal with the stressor
The final stage is either Exhaustion or Recovery	EXHAUSTION: Exhaustion occus if the stress was : Too big Too much or we used poor coping skills Exhaustion can lead to death!
	RECOVERY: Recovery occurs when the stress is not too much and we use good coping skills. We bounce back.

Part 2. How do I recognize if stress is a problem?

Symptoms of short term stress - a few days

Fatigue (mentally or physically tired)

Change in eating or sleeping habits

Irritability

Boredom

Inattentiveness

Indecision

Procrastination

Feelings of persecution

Minor accidents

a few months

Colds or flus (white blood cells reduced and you become more susceptible to illness.

Depressed

Anxiety problems

years

Heart attact (the first symptom the average person reacts to)

Ulcers

Colitis

Migrane

High blood pressure

Kidney failure

Stroke

Part 3. What to do about Stress?

RELAXATION	Informal: hot bath, walk in the woods, drive in the country, listen to peaceful instrumental music
RELAXATION	Formal: Progressive muscle relaxation, Body inventory (while lying in bed before sleep, identify where you hurt - these are probably the places you hold stress), Meditation , Yoga, Zazen, Biofeedback
LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT	Eat right: Eat a balanced diet and avoid junk food and sugars. I suggest a diet like "The Zone."
	Sleep enough so that you wake rested
	Exercise: Aerobic for your heart & lungs. You should exercise (get you heart rate up and keep it up) for at least 30 minutes daily.
TALK THINGS OUT	Talk with other, either friends, other students or professionals. You are not alone and others probably have the same worries, and fears you have.
BALANCE WORK AND PLAY	Spend some time on your self, every day!
REMOVE THE STRESSOR	Removing the stressor is definitely a possible management strategy, especially if the stressor poses a danger to you. When primative humans encountered a snake, they might have run or killed the snake, thereby removing the stressor. Some students perceive their courses as posing a danger and find that for them the best way to manage is avoiding the stress by skipping class or not doing assignments. They would rather be ``safe'' and ``comfortable'' than to expose themselves to the discomfort of personal growth. They know what happens when they do nothing and they are comfortable with it. They have fallen into a pattern of failing and they are good at it. To develop and grow and reach your potential as a person it is necessary to take risks, to change, and to learn. ``NO PAIN, NO GAIN.'' The absence of stress is death. There are many living ``dead'' who, because of fear, avoid doing what they need to do to grow.
SELF TALK	The degree to which you react or ``get stressed'' depends in part on what you say to yourself about the stressor. One step in stress management is learning positive self talk. What are you saying to yourself about a test, talking to your instructor, or meeting another student? To improve your self-talk can be challenging.

The following is a relaxation exercise you can use to begin changing your attitudes toward your courses.
Practice steps 1--9 until you are comfortable with the relaxation process. Then do all seventeen steps. Have someone read the steps to you or record the steps on to a tape.

Positive Imagery for Better Grades

(adapted from:O. Carl Simonton M.D., Stephanie Matthews-Simonton, and James L. Creighton, Getting Well Again (New York: Bantam Books, 1978), pp.\ 120--122.)

Go to a quiet room with soft lighting. Shut the door, sit in a comfortable chair, feet flat on the floor, eyes closed.
Become aware of your breathing.
Take in a few deep breaths, and as you let out each breath, mentally say the word, ``relax.''
Concentrate on your face and feel any tension in the muscles of your face and around your eyes. Make a mental picture of this tension---it might be a rope tied in a knot or a clenched fist---and then mentally picture it relaxing and becomming comfortable, like a limp rubber band.
Experience the muscles of your face and eyes becoming relaxed. As they relax, feel a wave of relaxation spreading through your body.
Tense the muscles of your face and around your eyes, squeezing tightly, then relax them and feel the relaxation spreading through your body.
Move slowly down your body---jaw, neck, shoulders, back, upper and lower arms, hands, chest, abdomen, thighs, calves, ankles, feet---until every part of your body is more relaxed. For each part of the body, mentally picture the tension, then picture the tension melting away, allowing relaxation.
Now picture yourself in pleasant, natural surroundings---wherever feels comfortable for you. Mentally fill in the details of color, sound, texture.
Continue to picture yourself in a very relaxed state in this natural
place for two to three minutes.
Then mentally picture a course you are having difficulty with or a test you are about to take. Think in either realistic or symbolic terms. As you make this picture, remember that learning is a natural change that occurs within your body. Think of the course as being made up of a number of very simple bits of information.
Now create a mental picture of you studying with the information easily
being absorbed into your body.
Visualize yourself being comfortable with this new understanding.
Picture yourself using the information and being confident in your
understanding.
Picture yourself being tested on the material and doing well. Visualize
receiving your test back with an ``A'' on it. This is what you want to happen. Continue to picture yourself doing well in this course. See yourself as having more energy, a better appetite, and being able to feel comfortable and loved in your family, as you do better in your schoolwork.
Picture yourself reaching goals in life. See your purpose in life being
fulfilled, the members of your family doing well, your relationships with people around you becoming more meaningful. Remember that having strong reasons for doing well will help you to do well, so use this time to focus clearly on your priorities in life.
Give yourself a mental pat on the back for participating in your learning progress. See yourself doing this mental imagery exercise three times
a day staying awake and alert as you do it.
Then let the muscles in your eyelids lighten up, become ready to open
your eyes, and become aware of the room.
Now let your eyes open, and you are ready to resume your usual activities.

Part 1. What is Stress?

Categories of Stressors

Major Expected Event

Major Unexpected Event

Daily Grind

Personal Attributes

Stages of Stress

Alarm Reaction

Resistance Stage

The final stage is either

Exhaustion

or

Recovery

EXHAUSTION:

RECOVERY:

Part 2. How do I recognize if stress is a problem?

Symptoms of short term stress - a few days

a few months

years

Part 3. What to do about Stress?

RELAXATION

LIFESTYLE MANAGEMENT

TALK THINGS OUT

BALANCE WORK AND PLAY

REMOVE THE STRESSOR

SELF TALK

The following is a relaxation exercise you can use to begin changing your attitudes toward your courses. Practice steps 1--9 until you are comfortable with the relaxation process. Then do all seventeen steps. Have someone read the steps to you or record the steps on to a tape.

Positive Imagery for Better Grades

The following is a relaxation exercise you can use to begin changing your attitudes toward your courses.
Practice steps 1--9 until you are comfortable with the relaxation process. Then do all seventeen steps. Have someone read the steps to you or record the steps on to a tape.