Stress

Stress

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 What is stress?
Stress is a normal response that keeps us motivated to meet demands. Too little stress can
lead to feeling unmotivated or bored. Too much stress can lead to burn out and anxiety
symptoms. We experience unpleasant symptoms of “fight or flight” (explained below) in
response to a perceived threat. This can be triggered as a ’false alarm’ in response to
anxious thoughts such as “I can’t cope” or “I don’t have enough time”. This can lead to
many unpleasant physical symptoms such as headaches and muscle tension, which
sometimes leads to aches
and pains. When we have
too many demands and
not enough resources to
meet them we begin to
Performance

Optimum level become overwhelmed as

of stress
a result of over-exertion
and the long term effects
of excessive adrenaline in
Boredom Overwhelmed our bodies.

Demands

The fight or flight response is an automatic survival mechanism which prepares the body
to take actions to survive, these are to either fight or run away.

Physical Symptoms of the fight or flight response include:

 Rapid heart beat and rapid breathing - When your body is preparing itself for action, it
makes sure there is enough oxygen being circulated to your major muscles and essential or-
gans.

 Nausea and stomach upset or butterflies - When faced with perceived danger, the body
shuts down digestion as it is not needed for survival; that way it can direct energy to functions
that are critical for survival, this can lead to feeling sick or needing the loo more often.

 Sweating or blushing—Increased flow of blood into the blood vessels just under the skin.

 Feeling dizzy or lightheaded - Because our blood and oxygen goes to the major muscle
groups, it means we will breathe much faster to move oxygen towards those muscles.

 Tight or painful chest - Your muscles tense as your body prepares for danger. Your chest
may feel tight when you take in large breaths as those chest muscles are tense.

 Numbness and tingling sensations in toes or fingers - Caused by hyperventilation (over

-breathing)

 Shaking legs- As the legs prepare for action, increased muscle tension, as well as increased
blood flow to those muscles, can cause the sensation of shaky legs.
 Symptoms of Stress
Common changes to our thoughts:
-Racing thoughts
-Expecting the worst case scenario
-Thinking negatively
-Poor concentration
-Poor memory
-Thinking critically of ourselves and others

-Inability to problem solve

Common Physical Symptoms: Common emotions:

-Headaches -Angry/Irritated
-Muscle Tension/Aches and pains -Guilty
-Racing heart -Overwhelmed
-Feeling tired
-Frustrated
-Nausea/Butterflies in the stomach
-Anxious/Worried
-Bowel or bladder problems
-Low mood
-Changes in breathing
-Dry mouth -Fearful

Common changes in our Behaviour:

-Becoming snappy and irritable
-Withdrawing from enjoyable activities
-Problems with sleeping
-Making unusual mistakes
-Procrastinating
-Eating too much or too little
-Skipping lunch breaks
-Answering work emails at home
-Unable to relax

Write down any other symptoms you experience:

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 The Vicious Cycle of Stress
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy

In Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) we look at the relationships that exist between
our thoughts, feelings, behaviours and physical symptoms. We know that all these areas
can influence and impact on each other, and that over time, we can become stuck in a
vicious cycle which can perpetuate the negative way we are feeling.

The example below is a CBT model demonstrating the interaction between our
thoughts, emotions, physical sensations and our behaviours.

Thoughts:
“I cant cope”
“I’ll lose my job”

Physical symptoms:
Emotions:
Rapid breathing
Anxious
Fast heart-rate
Stressed
Sweating

Behaviour:
Staying late at work
Skipping lunch breaks
Withdrawal

In this booklet we will explore evidence based CBT informed techniques to help break the
cycle of stress by changing our behaviours, challenging our thoughts and managing our
physical symptoms through relaxation and exercise.
 The Stress Bucket
If we think about the way in which we manage stress as being a bit like a bucket that
is placed under a tap of flowing water. The water that is slowly filling the bucket is our
stress levels. To ensure that the bucket doesn’t overflow we need to manage the flow
of water by; adjusting the top tap to let less water in, identifying unhelpful coping
strategies that are recycling the stress back in to the bucket and opening the bottom
tap to let water out.

Below is a description of what each tap represents:

The top tap represents our stressors. For example, these can be work/academic, in-
terpersonal (interaction with other people) or environmental stress. Sometimes we
have little control of our stressors, however sometimes we can use problem solving to
find ways to adjust this tap and reduce the volume of water entering the bucket.

The small middle tap represents

unhelpful coping mechanisms.
These help to relieve symptoms
of stress in the short term, but
they are recycled back into the
bucket and add to the volume of
stress long term. Some examples
of this could be drinking alcohol
to cope, putting off the task or
ignoring the problem or being
passive or aggressive in your
communication style.

The bottom tap represents helpful coping strategies. If this tap is letting out less wa-
ter than the volume of water going in, at some point the bucket will overflow. We can
learn to increase the flow of water escaping the tap, by developing problem focused
coping strategies such as problem solving and overcoming procrastination and emotion
focused coping strategies such as relaxation and resilience building by increasing our
engagement in pleasurable activities.
 Your Stress Bucket
What are my stressors?

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What are my unhelpful coping strategies?

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What are my helpful coping strategies?

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 Helpful Behaviours
Achieving a balance of activities

To improve our resilience to stress we need to ensure we have a balance of the follow-
ing three categories of activities:

Routine activities: The things we do day to day. eg. Showering or washing up

Necessary Activities: The things we do to avoid negative consequences. eg. Booking an

MOT

Pleasurable Activities: The things we enjoy doing. eg. Cooking or going to the cinema.

If we imagine a three legged stool, we require all three legs to be on equal height to
maintain stability.

We also require that stability to maintain our wellbeing.

Often when we are feeling stressed we can notice an imbalance of these

activities and it can maintain the vicious cycle of stress

Activities I have withdrawn from:

Routine:
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Necessary:
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Pleasurable:
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The next step is to schedule our week in advance, to ensure we are getting a balance of
activities. This also helps develop time management skills by pacing your week and iden-
tifying and problem solving “pinch points”. It can be helpful to set aside a time to plan
the week, ensuring you are able to incorporate a balance of activities.
Date:
9am-
11am

11am
Activity Scheduling

-1pm

1pm-
3pm

3pm-
5pm

5pm-
7pm

7pm-
9pm

9pm-
11pm
 Overcoming Barriers
Top tips for tackling procrastination
Often, when a task seems too big or too daunting we might cope by putting it off and
reason that we are waiting for a time when we feel more motivated. Have you noticed
that motivation tends to build once you have started an activity? Often it is starting the
task that is the most challenging. Luckily there are some top tips to help overcome pro-
crastination.

One step at a time

 Plan to do 5 minutes of the task at a time. Sometimes after we have started a task,
we can become motivated to complete it. If not, you have still managed to achieve
completing 5 minutes of the task.
 Set mini deadlines, helping to break the task up into manageable chunks. Instead of
focusing on the entire task and how arduous it might feel, allow yourself to only fo-
cus on one stage at a time.
Consider how your thinking style might be impacting
 Focus on how good it will feel when you’ve completed the task. Challenge thoughts
that aren’t helping. Remember, sometimes adequate is okay, it doesn’t always need
to be done perfectly.
Plan incentives
 Plan a reward for when you have completed the task
 Make the task more pleasurable. If the task doesn’t require lots of concentration,
listen to music or a podcast. (eg. put some headphones in to listen to music whilst
hoovering)
List the pros and cons (advantages and
disadvantages) of doing the task
 This will help you decide whether the task
is worth your time. It can be helpful to put
pen to paper and see this laid out visually,
as sometimes we can focus on the disad-
vantages of completing a task, ignoring the
advantages.
Make a plan
 Use a to do list
 Schedule in time to complete the task
 Problem Solving
Due to the increase in stress hormones when feeling low or stressed, our natural problem
solving ability is reduced. Problem solving can help to get it back up and running, to think
outside the box.

Step 1: Identify one problem

Often there may be multiple problems causing us stress. Selecting just one problem allows
us to focus our efforts. Be clear about exactly what aspect of the situation makes it a prob-
lem.

Step 2: List all possible solutions

Without thinking about practicalities, or how likely a solution is to work, try to come up with
as many solutions to your problem as you can, no matter how wacky they might be. Per-
haps ask friends or family to help you think up solutions. It is important at this stage not to
judge these solutions at all.

Step 3: List the pros and cons for each solution

Now is the time to think about the advantages or disadvantages of each solution from step
2. Consider the likelihood of success, what resources you might need, or whether you’d re-
quire other people to help, when thinking of pros and cons.

Step 4: Select one solution

Once you have reviewed the pros and cons of each solution select one solution to move for-
ward with. If one solution doesn’t stand out as the best one consider the time or resources
which would be required for each.

Step 5: Develop an action plan

Before going into the solution it is good to plan a step by step action plan of how the solution
will be carried out. Ask; what is the first step I need to take? Who might be involved? Where
will I be? When will I carry it out? What do I need to prepare beforehand? Be specific about
each step.

Step 6: Carry out the action plain

Carry out the plan as you devised it in step five.

Step 7: Review the outcome

Once the plan has been carried out evaluate how effective the solution was. Think about what
went well, or what you might do differently in the future. If the solution did not fully fix the
problem then consider whether the action plan needs to be revised in some way. You can al-
ways return to step four and select a different solution to try.
 The Role of Unhelpful Thinking
It is vital that we are aware of the role of our thoughts when managing stress. Our internal
voice can serve to maintain the symptoms. Negative thoughts can maintain the cycle of
stress and often leads to unhelpful behaviours such as withdrawal, procrastination and
avoidance.

STOP Technique

Initially it may be difficult to capture our thoughts as it is not something we do in our day to
day lives. By using the technique below we can begin to capture the thoughts that are caus-
ing us to feel low or anxious. When you notice you are feeling low or anxious;

Stop
Stop what you are doing and take a moment.

Time to breathe
Pay attention to your breathing.

Overview
Ask yourself some questions to get an overview of what is happening:
“What am I telling myself right now?”
“What is making me feel this way?”
“What bad thing am I predicting will happen?”

Perspective
Record the thoughts going through your mind to get a better perspective.
Some useful questions to help identify your unhelpful thoughts are;
“What is the bigger picture here?”
“How important is this? How important will it be in 6 months time?”
“Is there another way of looking at this situation?”
“What advice would I give a friend?”
“Is this a fact or an opinion?”
 Distorted Thinking
Sometimes the way that we process information and evaluate situations can become
distorted overtime. This can lead to unhelpful thinking habits or “thinking traps” result-
ing in negative thinking. To help us reframe the way we are thinking it can be helpful to
learn to identify the common “thinking traps”. It is important to remember that our
thoughts are not facts, they are constructed by our perception of the situation.

See below a list of some of the common “Thinking traps”:

CATASTROPHISING
Jumping to the worst case scenario and believing the worst possible thing will happen
Ask yourself: How likely is it that will happen? What tools do you have to cope if it
does? Is it helpful to imagine the worst case scenario? Have you imagined this before to
find it doesn’t actually happen?

ALL-OR-NOTHING
Seeing things as black and white, without any grey area, such as seeing things as good or
bad with nothing in between
Ask yourself: Is it possible for there to be a spectrum. Instead of 0 and 10, whereabouts
are you in between? “Im bad at my job” might become “I’m not the worst or the best at my
job, there are areas I need to improve”.

CRITICAL SELF
Placing too much blame on yourself when things go wrong and believing you are responsible
for things you may not be entirely responsible for.
Ask yourself: Are you entirely to blame? Is it helpful to be self-critical? If we make a mis-
take is it more helpful to bully ourselves or to learn from the mistake and encourage our-
selves to try another approach. What would you say to a friend?
 Distorted Thinking
“Thinking traps” continued:

SHOULD AND MUST STATEMENTS

‘Should and must’ thinking places unrealistic expectations on ourselves and others. “I
should be able to do this” or “I must do the laundry today” can lead to feeling frustrated
and pressured.
Ask yourself: Am I placing too much pressure on myself or others? What would be more
realistic?

MIND-READING
Assuming we know what other people are thinking. For example, if two people were whis-
pering and looking in your direction, you might automatically assume they are saying some-
thing bad about you.
Ask yourself: Is it ever possible to know what others are thinking? Could I be making an
assumption?

MENTAL FILTER
Having a mental filter involves only seeing what fits with our perspective. For example if we
think “People don’t like me” and a large number of people demonstrate evidence that they
do like you, however one person frowns at you. You only take in that negative evidence as
it fits your theory.
Ask yourself: Am I wearing “gloomy specs”? Is there any other evidence to the contrary?
What would be a more realistic thought?

PREDICTING THE FUTURE

This refers to believing we know what will happen in the future. Often we might start to be-
have as though this has already happened or we know that it will definitely happen in the
future.

Ask yourself: Do I know for certain what will happen in the future? Am I thinking and be-
having as though something that has not happened, has happened? If so, is that helpful?
Am I predicting the future?
 Unhelpful Thinking
Sometimes our thoughts are facts. Sometimes people make errors in judgement or mis-
takes. Reflection on our errors can be helpful, when we are asking ourselves how the
mistake occurred and how we might avoid a reoccurrence. However, being overly critical
on yourself and taking too much responsibility for your role in the error can feed back in
to the vicious cycle of stress.

Critical self-talk analogy:

If we think of the example of “Little Johnny” who

scores an own goal at his football match.
Coach A berates Johnny in front of his team, shouting and telling him he’s useless and
has cost them the game.
Coach B takes Johnny to one side later on and reassures him that everyone makes mis-
takes, he discusses it with Johnny to find where the error occurred and helps Johnny to
improve by putting in some extra practise with him.

Which coach do you think was more helpful? Which coach are you to yourself?

Can you think of any examples of a time that you were like coach A?

Was that helpful?_________________________________________________

Did that help to resolve the problem? ________________________________
What did you learn from that? ______________________________________

What could you have said to yourself instead that may have been more helpful?
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 Relaxation
Relaxation can be defined as a state free from tension and anxiety and often in-
volves resting our minds and our bodies. Structured relaxation exercises target
the systems in our body which cause our physiological stress reaction.

How does relaxation work?

Stress is a state of physiological arousal governed by our bodies' inbuilt survival mecha-
nism, our “fight or flight” response. Being stressed over a long period of time can take a
toll on our bodies. Our central nervous system controls the stress response, releasing
stress hormones, adrenaline and cortisol, when activated. These hormones increase our
heartrate and breathing, sending blood into our muscles and heart, tenses our muscles
ready for action, and slows down digestion.

In a threatening situation these changes allow us to be ready to run or fight. More often
than not our stress response is triggered outside of a threatening situation, perhaps due to
day to day stressors or worry.

How to relax

What we find relaxing can differ from person to person, some relaxing activities might in-
clude reading, meditation, going for a walk, talking to a friend or playing games. Relaxa-
tion can also be practiced through relaxation exercises. Structured relaxation exercises can
help to turn off our stress response, reducing our heart and breathing rates or relaxing
tense muscles. It is important to find a type of structured relaxation that fits for you. We
offer free structured relaxation exercises accessible on our website at:

www.talkplus.org.uk/mp3downloads

It is important not to just use relaxation when we are stressed but to practice being able to
relax, much like you would with an instrument or sport. Practicing structured relaxation
techniques frequently allows us to learn to relax ourselves in times of stress. Often setting
aside time every other day for practicing relaxation can help us develop a useful skill.
 Exercise
Exercise can be very helpful in relieving stress and improving our sleep. The NHS recom-
mended weekly amount of activity for adults aged 19– 64 includes at least:
 150 minutes moderate aerobic activity or 75 minutes vigorous aerobic activity or a
mix of moderate and vigorous aerobic activity per week.

Types of Exercise
Light exercise: normal walking, housework, light gardening
Moderate exercise: brisk walking, gentle swimming, gentle cycling, mowing the lawn
Vigorous exercise: fast walking, running, cycling, high intensity interval training , competi-
tive sport, circuit weight training

Exercise Top Tips

 Prepare the day before e.g. getting sport clothing and equipment ready or booking a
class the evening before
 Follow the 5 minute rule: set yourself 5 minutes of engaging in activity to start with.
Often we find once we start we will continue longer than expected!
 Set yourself a goal: This can help with getting that sense of achievement! SMART
goals (specific, measureable, achievable, realistic and within a time limit) can be real-
ly helpful.
 Make time for exercise– even if it’s a 5 minute walk down the street!
 Planning: if we schedule things in, we can make sure to find the time and will be more
likely to carry out these plans
 Join a group/club or ask a friend to train with you
 Problem solve difficulties/barriers to getting active
 Make it a habit– e.g. the same time
every week Ask yourself:
 Tell others your plans  What do I want to achieve?
 What goals could I set myself?
 What could help encourage me to exer-
cise?
 Is there anyone who could join me?
 How do I need to prepare?

The NHS website have video modules on Aerobic exercise, strength and resistance, Pilates
and yoga and various other fitness plans. These are free to access and can be found at:
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/nhs-fitness-studio/?tabname=strength-and-resistance
 Relapse Prevention
Maintaining progress

Thinking back to the stress bucket described in the beginning of this booklet, does this
look different now?
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What are the tools you have to cope with stress?

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What helped?
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What are your future goals?

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How will you achieve these?

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