Stress Management

Stress in students Stress: The human reaction to events in our environment Han Selye defines stress as wear and tear on the body

STRESS!!! Eustress: Good Stress Getting into college Getting engaged Winning the lottery

STRESS !!! Distress: Stress from bad sources Difficult work environment Overwhelming sights and sounds Threat of personal injury

FOUR TYPES OF STRESS 1. General Stress: Everyone has this kind of stress It resolves itself within a day or two No intervention is necessarily required

FOUR TYPES OF STRESS 2. Cumulative Stress: Stress builds up in your body It becomes more difficult to alleviate your symptoms You may have more serious physical symptoms You may have more serious mental anguish

FOUR TYPES OF STRESS 3. Acute Traumatic Stress: Critical Incident Stress Produces considerable psychological distress A normal reaction to abnormal events

FOUR TYPES OF STRESS 4. Post Traumatic Stress: Severe stress produced by severe psychological trauma Created by unresolved Critical Incident Stress Produces lasting changes

General Adaptation Syndrome Stage I - Alarm Reaction The “fight or flight” response which causes you to be ready for physical activity However, it decreases the effectiveness of the immune system which makes you more susceptible to illness

General Adaptation Syndrome Stage II – Stage of adaptation If stress continues, the body adapts to the stressors it is being exposed to If the stressor is starvation, the person experiences a reduced desire for physical activity to conserve energy, and the absorption of nutrients from any food intake is maximized

General Adaptation Syndrome Stage III – Stage of Exhaustion Stress persists for a long time The body’s resistance may be reduced or collapse quickly People who experience long-term stress may have heart attacks, severe infections, or chronic pain or illness

Short Term Physical Stress Symptoms Dry mouth Cool skin Cold hands and feet Increased sweating Rapid breathing Faster heart rate Tense muscles Feelings of nausea Butterflies in your stomach Diarrhea A desire to urinate

Long Term Physical Stress Symptoms Insomnia Change in Appetite Sexual disorders Aches and pains Frequent colds Feelings of intense and long-term tiredness Prone to illness

BEHAVIORAL STRESS SYMPTOMS Yawning Talking too fast Talking too loud Fiddling Twitching Nail biting Grinding teeth Drumming fingers Pacing Over reacting Emotional Defensive Irritable Irrational Hostile Critical Aggressive

BEHAVIOR STRESS SYMPTOMS These symptoms will have a negative affect on your performance By reducing your effectiveness Making you accident prone Causing you to be forgetful Causing you to be very negative You may neglect your appearance You may make poor judgments Causing you to make more mistakes Increasing your absenteeism

PERFORMANCE STRESS SYMPTOMS You may not make good decisions Your fine motor skills are affected You may no longer enjoy your work Your attention span may be affected You may have more negative thoughts Your self confidence will suffer You may have difficulty concentrating All of your positive energy is consumed

Legal Overview of Stress at Work HEALTH AND SAFETY IN EMPLOYMENT ACT 1992 (sect 6) Every employer shall take all practicable steps to ensure the safety of employees while at work.

HEALTH AND SAFETY IN EMPLOYMENT ACT 1992 (sect 7) Every employer shall ensure that there are in place effective methods for identifying existing hazards, and (if possible before they arise) new hazards to employees at work.

Types of Stressors Family- death, chronic illness, divorce, adultery Environmental- living alone, racism, poverty Educational- illiteracy, lack of employment skills Occupational- unemployment, layoffs, shift work Housing- unsafe neighborhood, landlord issues, homelessness Financial- credit card problems, bankruptcy, bill payments. Health- lack of services, health problems.

STRESS RELATED ILLNESSES Stress is not the same as ill-health, but has been related to such illnesses as: Depression Sleeping Problems Chronic Pain Anxiety

COSTS OF STRESS The costs of stress related problems is something which is often overlooked within organizations. There are both direct and opportunity costs involved as a result of stress in the organization: Up to 40% of absence is related to stress. When stressed, performance can be reduced by up to 70%

Stress at Work Work related stress means the process which arises where work demands of various types of combinations which exceed the person’s capability to cope. Work related stress is a significant cause of illness and disease and is known to be linked with high levels of sickness absence, staff turnover and other indicators of organizational underperformance including human error.

FACTORS INFLUENCING WORK STRESS Top 10 Work Stress Factors: Working long hours at the office Exposure to traumatic incidents at work Finding it hard to say no to a task for fear of loosing your job Feeling undervalued at work Boredom Frustration Having little control of your working day Fear of redundancy Workplace victimization or bullying Dealing with constant change in the workplace

Stress Management

CAUSES OF STRESS External Stresses Internal Stresses

External – Organization (work)

EXTERNAL STRESSES - MAJOR LIFE EVENTS Divorce Marriage Death of someone Buying Property Pregnancy Starting or ending school Retirement

INTERNAL STRESS Nutritional Status Attitudes Feelings of anger, fear, worry, anticipation Emotional well-being Sleeping Patterns Thoughts

HEALTHY LIVING TO CONQUER STRESS Examine your diet Lower your salt intake Lower your intake of refined sugars and carbohydrates Lower your caffeine intake Add to your diet Vegetables Fruits Complex Carbohydrates Vitamins Water

Ways to Conquer Stress

HEALTHY LIVING Rest: Get an approximate minimum of six hours of continuous rest

HEALTHY LIVING Exercise: At least twenty minutes, five times a week break a sweat, to release endorphins

HEALTHY LIVING Talk things out with someone you trust - a family member or a good friend

HEALTHY LIVING Make an increased effort to organize your life Ask for help Delegate things when you need to

HEALTHY LIVING Learn to manage your anger Anger affects your health Anger causes you to over react to many situations

HEALTY LIVING We get angry often because someone did not do what we thought they should Rethink the situation and learn to be more flexible

HEALTHY LIVING Fill your life with fun things to do!!!! Keep your sense of humor!!!! We call it : PLAY THERAPY

HEALTHY LIVING Take charge of your life. Act appropriately -don’t simply react to stressful situations Find balance in all that you do.

HEALTHY LIVING Too many people look for an easy answer to stress management by misusing Alcohol Drugs Marijuana Medicines & Pills

HEALTHY LIVING We all need a lengthy list of things that will help us relax….. I love horse back riding.

HEALTHY LIVING Relaxing needs to be part of your daily routine.

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