Stress Management

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Stress Management

• By Heather Brook and Sarah Voelpel

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What is Stress?

• Physical, psychological, social, or spiritual
  effect of lifes pressures and events
• Interactive process that involves recognition,
  perception, and adaptation to loss of the threat
  of loss of homeostasis or well-being

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Causes of Stress

• Health and illness experiences
• Work
• School
• Activities of Daily Living
• Relationships

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Types of Stressors

• Stressors over which people have no control
  (extrinsic factors)
• Stressors over which people can modify by
  changing their environment, social interactions,
  or behaviors
• Stressors created or exacerbated by poor time
  management, procrastination, poor communication,
  catastrophic negative thinking, or struggling
  with self-defeating behaviors (intrinsic factors)

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Cost of Stress

• Work related stress accounts for a 200 billion
  dollar loss in productivity
• 75 of all medical problems are attributed to
  work-stress
• 700 increase in workers compensation claims
  related to work stress over the past 20 years

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Holmes Stress Assessment
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Effects of Stress

• 1) Physiological
• Fight or Flight response.
• 2) Psychological
• Negative mood
• Anxiety
• Depression
• Hostility
• Anger
• Poor quality of life

• 3) Sociobehavioral
• Overeating
• Excessive use of alcohol, drugs, and smoking.
• Social isolation
• 4) Spiritual
• Disconnection from purpose.

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Stress Warning Signals Assessment
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Illnesses and diseases

• Tension headaches
• Insomnia
• Gastrointestinal complaints
• Inflammation
• Angina (heart pain)
• Cardiac arrhythmias
• Cardiovascular disease.

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Techniques For Reducing Stress

• Healthy Diet
• Physical Activity
• Sleep Hygiene
• Social Support
• Spiritual Practice
• Setting Realistic Goals
• Cognitive Restructuring

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Techniques For Reducing Stress

• 1) Developing Self-Awareness
• Monitoring stress warning signs
• Relaxation techniques
• Journaling
• Clarifying values and beliefs
• Alternative and complementary therapies

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Techniques For Reducing Stress

• 2) Healthy diet
• Promotes connection of mind and body.
• Recognizes control over ones own health.
• Awareness of how foods are used in time of stress.

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Techniques For Reducing Stress

• 3)Physical activity
• Improves self-esteem.
• Decreases risk of diseases and disability.
• 4)Sleep hygiene
• Sleep deprivation exacerbates stress.
• Unrealistic expectations about sleep can cause
  stress.

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Techniques For Reducing Stress

• 5)Social support
• 6)Spiritual Practice
• 7)Setting realistic goals
• Take small steps.
• Work on what is most important first.

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Techniques For Reducing Stress

• 8)Cognitive restructuring
• Stop. Break the cycle of escalating, negative
  thoughts.
• Take a breath. Elicit the relaxation response and
  release tension.
• Reflect. Ask What is going on here? What am I
  thinking? Is the thought true? Is the thought
  helpful? Am I jumping to conclusions or
  magnifying the situation?
• Choose a more realistic, rational response.

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Mini Relaxation Exercise
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Other Resources for Stress Management

• 1) Counseling and Testing
• 2) Campus Ministry
• 3) Womens Center
• 4) PLU Library