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"Managing Stress

The document discusses the importance of managing stress by identifying its causes and implementing coping strategies. It lists common symptoms of stress and offers ten practical tips for stress management, including being realistic, exercising, and asking for help. The overall goal is to help individuals reduce stress to improve their well-being and performance in various aspects of life.

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TECNICAL GURU
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17 views3 pages

"Managing Stress

The document discusses the importance of managing stress by identifying its causes and implementing coping strategies. It lists common symptoms of stress and offers ten practical tips for stress management, including being realistic, exercising, and asking for help. The overall goal is to help individuals reduce stress to improve their well-being and performance in various aspects of life.

Uploaded by

TECNICAL GURU
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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“Managing Stress

• Determine what causes your stress and find ways to reduce it.
Some stress won’t hurt you. In fact, you should expect to experience stress now and
then. For example, in Chapter 12, you learned that it is normal to feel a little anxious
before getting up in front of a group to speak. You want to do your best, and you may
be wondering whether you will be able to remember everything you want to say. Once
you get started, this anxiety should pass quickly as you begin to focus your attention
on giving the speech. As explained in Chapter 11, it is also normal to feel a little anxiety
on the day of an exam. But once you have the exam in front of you and get down to the
business of taking the test, the anxiety should pass. Real stress is unrelieved anxiety
that persists over a long period of time. Stress is especially harmful if you are unable to
manage it. Unrelieved stress can weaken you physically so that you become vulnerable
to disease, and it can impair your ability to think clearly so that your performance in
class and at work suffers.
Many warning signs can tell you if your stress is getting out of control. Look at the
brief list that follows, and see whether you have any of these common symptoms of
stress. The more of these symptoms that you have, the more likely it is that you need to
learn some strategies for coping with stress.
-Depression
-Difficulty falling asleep
-Extreme tiredness, fatigue
-Feelings of anger or resentment

-Loss of pleasure in life


-Increase or decrease in appetite
-Muscular aches for no apparent reason
-Stomach or intestinal disturbances

-Sweaty palms
-Impatience
-Inability to concentrate

-Frequent absence from work or classes


-Tension headaches
-Test anxiety

Many students find adjusting to college and meeting course requirements extremely
stressful, especially if they are also working, raising a family, or trying to cope
in an environment in which they feel out of place. Some students are chronically
anxious about tests, and their nervousness prevents them from doing their best. Test
anxiety is a special kind of stress related to testing situations. Chapter 11 explains
test anxiety and how to overcome it.
It is important that you find ways to manage stress so that you can reach your goals
and enjoy yourself in the process. Try the following tips for managing stress.

Ten Stress Beaters


1. Be realistic. You know what you can and cannot do. Don’t waste
energy worrying about matters that are out of your control. Instead,
use your energy to alter those situations that you have the power to
change. Unrealistic goals, perfectionism, and believing you have to
do everything right the first time will set you up for failure. Be reasonable about what you
expect of yourself, and don’t be afraid to make
mistakes.
2. Exercise tensions away. When you are under stress, your muscles
tense involuntarily. Exercise has a natural calming effect that is
accompanied by a positive feeling. For example, you may have heard
about or experienced “runner’s high,” the feeling of euphoria and the
sudden burst of energy runners get after they have been running for a
long time.
To help you relax, try the desktop relaxation technique explained
in Chapter 8. Also try this simple deep-breathing technique for
calming yourself in any situation: Breathe slowly through your nose,
filling your lungs. Ten slowly exhale through your mouth. As you
take 10 deep breaths in this manner, think to yourself: “I am relaxed;
I am calm.” Another stress reliever to try is the chair-seat relaxation
method, demonstrated in Figure 13.2 with four photographs. As shown
in the first photo, sit up straight with your feet together on the floor. As
shown in the second photo, close your eyes and pull up hard on the
chair seat with your hands. At the same time, press your feet firmly
into the floor until you can feel all your muscles tensing. While you are
doing this, count slowly to 10 as you breathe deeply in and out. When
you get to 10, relax as shown in the third photo. Let your arms hang
limply at your sides; but with your eyes still closed, visualize yourself
as calm and stress-free. Ten, as shown in the fourth photo, open your
eyes and return to your work feeling positive and relaxed.
3. Learn to say no. For whatever reason, many of us have difficulty saying no. When you
are under stress because of work, family, course
requirements, and other obligations, the last thing you need is to take
on more responsibilities. When someone makes demands on your
dwindling time, ask yourself, “Do I really want or need to do this?” If
the answer is “no,” don’t be afraid to say so. If you have trouble saying
no, you may need to become more assertive, as explained later in this
chapter.

4. Ask for help. Some problems may be more than you can handle by
yourself, so you may need to seek financial, medical, or some other type of help or advice. If
you are the kind of person who hates to ask
for help, try to get over this attitude. Many times we worry needlessly and cause ourselves
even more stress by living with problems
that we consider unsolvable when asking for and getting help might
bring a solution. For example, see the nearby Computer Confidence
box about Internet addiction. Help is available for these kinds of
issues.

5. Learn to deal with negative people. People who display negative


attitudes, a pessimistic outlook on life, and a constant state of nervousness can make you
experience negative feelings that add to your
stress. If you can eliminate negative people from your life, do so. If
they are friends or family members, try to counter their negative
remarks with positive ones of your own. When they do behave in a
more positive way, comment on what you like about their behavior, thereby positively
reinforcing a behavior that you want them to
continue.
6. Lose yourself in activity. When you are under stress, engage in some
positive and healthful activities that cause you to lose all track of time.
During those moments, you can forget your worries and experience
happy, calming feelings. Reading, playing a sport, and spending time
pursuing a hobby or special interest are all activities in which you can
lose yourself.

7. Reward yourself. Ideally, you should always be prepared for tests,


complete assignments on time, and follow your study schedule. Realistically, however, you
may fall short of meeting these goals.
When that happens, get back on track as soon as you can; then reward
yourself with a break or another treat. A completed task followed by a
reward is a great stress reducer.

8. Get your life in order. You’ve probably been meaning to do this


anyway. If you are off schedule or behind in your courses, resolve to get organized. Make
out a new study schedule that includes time
to catch up on work you’ve missed. Make a list of all the other tasks
that need doing; then tackle them one at a time. Don’t worry if it
takes you a while to get organized. After all, it took a while to get off
schedule.
9. Make a wish list. We all have a tendency to say to ourselves, “If only
I had the time, I’d do _____________.” How would you complete this
sentence? Make a list of all the things you’d do if you had the time.
When stress has become more than you can handle and you have to
get away for a while, do one of your wish-list activities.
10. Help someone else. It’s no secret that doing something for someone
else can make you feel good and can take your mind off what is worrying you. Take the
opportunity to help a friend who has a problem.
Volunteer or participate in service learning projects. T e things you do
for others not only help them but also help you build self-esteem, an
important personal quality”

Create 4 points on each page and one introduction page and one conclusion page

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