Recognizing and Handling Stress

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Recognizing and Handling Stress

• Presented by
• Shu-Fen Shih, Ph.D.
• University Counseling Center
• August 20, 2003

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What is Stress?

• Physical symptoms
• Stomach ache
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Eye strain

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What is Stress?

• Actions
• Exaggerating normal behaviors, e.g. hard workers
  turn into workaholics.
• Withdrawing
• Scapegoating
• Having fights about everything and nothing
• Pretending that nothing is wrong
• Forgetting

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What is Stress?

• Thoughts
• This is horrible and unbearable
• I am not good enough
• I am going to flunk out of school
• I am going to go crazy

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What is Stress?

• Emotions
• Being afraid
• Feeling anxious, tense, nervous, jumpy, unable to
  relax
• Feeling Hostile

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Why do we have stress?

• Evolutionary Purpose Fight or Flight

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Why do we have stress?
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Sources of Stress

• Separation from family
• Freedom
• Competition
• Peer pressure
• Choosing a career

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Review

• What does stress looks like?
• Why do we have it?
• What causes it?
• Then, what are we to do about it?

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How to handle stress?

• Pleasurable activities
• Take time by yourself
• Listen to music
• Take a walk
• Read a novel
• Watch TV
• Do things with people you like

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How to handle stress?

• TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY
• Nutrition
• Avoid too much caffeine, nicotine, alcohol,
  drugs, eat healthy food
• Get adequate sleep
• Exercise (ideally 20-30 minutes, 3 times a week)

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How to handle stress?

• Time management
• Make lists and have fun checking off as you get
  things down
• Prioritize
• Dont take too much on, know your limits

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How to handle stress?

• Laugh
• Watch funny movies, TV, look for the lighter side
  of life
• Laughing 3 times a day assures a long life

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How to handle stress?

• Talk to others about being stressed
• Friends
• Family
• Counselor

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How to handle stress?

• Relaxation
• Slow and deep breathing
• Imagine pleasant scenes
• First tense and the relax muscles
• Music
• Reading
• Church, prayer, meditation

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QUESTIONS - COMMENTS?EVALUATIONS