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TO LEARN:  TO RECOGNIZE YOUR STRESS SYMPTOMS  YOU DO HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER YOUR STRESS  HOW TO RECOGNIZE AND USE THIS CONTROL  ADDITIONAL COPING STRATEGIES 2

Does practicing stress management improve our long-term functioning? AGREE OR DISAGREE HOW??? 3

To reduce wear and tear on ourselves and our families, we must learn and understand how stress affects each of us. Many people have symptoms of stress every day and accept it as a part of a normal day, rather than something we should learn to manage. 4

 Time, money, and relationships ensure that stress will always be with us  Which sorts or stresses are you here to learn about at the workshop ? Generate a stress list on flip chart 5

Anything that places a demand on our personal resources….our time, energy, support, family Zig Ziglar ~ Many companies have long contended that stress in the home causes productivity loss in the market place.. and it does. But research now reveals that stress on the job causes stress at home. In other words, they feed off each other 6

Threat Novelty Unpredictability/unexpected Threat to ego Loss of Sense of control From the Center for Studies on Human Stress at 7

CAUSES OF STRESS FALL INTO TWO CATEGORIES:  Internal  External 8

- Everyday pressures such as financial problems, arguments with families or colleagues, lack of sleep and work stress - These are called : DAILY HASSLES - (Kohn and McDonald, 1992) - They can slip below the radar – we stop noticing - DISCUSSION PT 9

 THE STRESSOR MAY BE PLEASANT OR UNPLEASANT, OR THE RESULTS ARE GOOD OR BAD  Planning a wedding (good stress)  Increased workload at work (bad stress) 10

STRESS SCALES CAN HELP US CLUE IN: NUMBER AND TYPES OF STRESSES WE ARE COPING WITH PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE Heart and Stroke Foundation – Internet Quiz AVAILABLE ON THE BREAK… 11

 Little control over external stress in the short run  There are parts that you cannot change (other people, certain events, etc)  Recognizing this may free up energy to focus on what you can control  Applying this to a situation: DISCUSSION PT 12

“INSIDE OURSELVES” Hans Selye ~ Its not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it ~ The way you perceive a situation is more important than the situation itself The same event can affect us differently depending on how we interpret the situation 13

 We attach our own meaning to events (either good or bad) so depending on the meaning, the event is either stressful or not  How event is perceived (internal stress)  Internal stressor can play a major role in the stress of daily life 14

DO YOU EVER STRESS ABOUT STRESS?! POSITIVE SELF TALK: LEARN THAT YOU CAN MANAGE A STRESSFUL SITUATION BY WHAT YOU SAY TO YOURSELF, “I CAN HANDLE THIS ONE STEP AT A TIME”. 15

16 1. Leaky toilet 2. Cuts you off, driving 3. Partner loses wallet 4. Argument with a friend

 Are you aware if and when you do that?  Stress vs Interpretation  (cartoon) 17

 ON THE BREAK: TRY OUT A FEW THINGS:  BREATHING MEDITATION SAYING NO ETC 18

19 Performance increases with arousal, only to a point; then it diminishes.

WHAT YOU NOTICE:  HEART RATE SPEEDS UP  BP RISES  BREATHING SPEEDS UP  BLOOD TO MUSCLES  SWEATING  BLOOD SUGAR INCREASES PLUS  RELEASE OF STRESS HORMONES 20

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 MUSCLE TENSION  NAUSEA  CHANGES IN APPETITE  HEADACHES  JAW, NECK & BACK PAIN  DIARRHEA  SLEEP DISTURBANCES  DRY MOUTH, SWEATY PALMS  UPPER RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS  COLD HANDS  BREATHING CHANGES (E.G., SHALLOW, SIGHING) 22

 Relaxation  Massage  Exercise : Specifics? 23

 REDUCED CONCENTRATION  MOODINESS, ON EDGE, DEFENSIVE  TROUBLE MAKING DECISIONS  RACING THOUGHTS  NIGHTMARES  CLOSE TO TEARS  FORGETFULNESS  LONELINESS  DISORGANZED 24

BECOMING AWARE CAN HELP: UNDERSTAND IMPORTANCE OF TAKING TIME TO DO THINGS TO FEEL BETTER SEEK SUPPORT STOP DOING THINGS THAT AGGRAVATE THE STRESS MINDFULNESS BASED STRESS REDUCTION 25

 TARDINESS  SERIOUS APPEARANCE  NERVOUS BEHAVIOR/HABITS  RUSHING/PACING  YELLING OR OVERREACTING  MORE ACCIDENTS/CLUMSY  WASTING TIME  REDUCED PODUCTIVITY  USE OF ALCOHOL?SUBSTANCES TO FEEL BETTER 26

How many people experience stress at work? How many people carry that stress home? Also the Psychology Foundation has free information on workplace resilience at Some of their brochures are here to look at over the break 27

MOST OF US BOUNCE BACK. UNDER PROLONGED LONG-TERM STRESS AND LACKING SUPPORT AND EFFECTIVE COPING:  OUR PERSONALITIES CAN CHANGE  MAY BECOME DEPRESSED, FEEL HELPLESS/HOPELESS OR BECOME EXPLOSIVE/IMPULSIVE 28

 THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE YOUR STRESS (EVEN WHEN IT SEEMS OVERWHELMING)  SIMPLE STEPS CAN GO A LONG WAY 29

TAKE CHARGE: 1.TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR MAKING YOUR LIFE WHAT YOU WANT. 2. ACCEPT WHAT YOU CAN’TCONTROL 3. ACTIVELY MANAGE YOUR STRESS 30

WHAT HAVE YOU TRIED BEFORE THAT HELPS DECREASE YOUR STRESS? (emotional/behavioural/physical/thoughts?) 31

GET ORGANIZED: USE CALENDERS OR “TO DO LISTS” KNOW YOUR LIMITS: BE REALISTIC CHANGE ATTITUDE: LEARN TO SEE STRESSFUL SITUATIONS AS CHALLENGES TALK IT OVER: TALK THE SITUATION OVER WITH A FRIEND 32

LEARN TO SAY “NO”: THERE ARE SOME DEMANDS THAT WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER. SEPARATE THOSE FROM ACTIVITIES OVER WHICH WE HAVE SOME CONTROL, AND LEARN TO SAY “NO” TO DEMANDS. 33

 DEEP BREATHING  PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION  BIOFEEDBACK  MEDITATION  BEGIN AN EXERCISE PROGRAM  LAUGH!  FIND A BALANCE IN YOUR LIFE 34

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WORKING WITH A COUNSELLOR WE CAN ADJUST OUR EXPECTATIONS OF SELVES & OTHERS ; REAPPRAISE OUR PRIORITIES LEARN OTHER STRATEGIE GRADUALLY IMPROVE HOW YOU COPE WITH STRESS 36

 There are now proven short-term OHIP covered stress courses in hospitals that teach meditation and stress reduction (See handout)  Mindfulness has been shown to reduce not only anxiety but also symptoms associated with chronic stress (psoriasis)  The person who researches and developed this approach is John Kabbat Zinn 37

 BREAK DOWN STRESS INTERNAL/EXTERNAL  Become aware of  (physical, behavioral, mental, emotional : Stress interpretations/stress reactions)  Identify what we can and cannot control  Take time to cope with those areas we have some control  SEEK SUPPORT 38

REALIZE THAT MUCH STRESS COMES FROM WITHIN, NOT WITHOUT. TAKE TIME TO SMELL THE FLOWERS AND TASTE THE STRAWBERRIES. 39

QUESTIONS? Materials Available at THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTIVENESS Kimberley Boyle and Carol Garson 40

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