1. S T R E S S AND ITS M A N A G E M E N T

2. What is Stress?
Stress is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience as we adjust to our continually changing environment.
It has physical and emotional effects on us and can create positive or negative feelings.

3. Stress & Its Effects
As a positive influence, stress can help compel us to action
As a negative influence, it can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression, which in turn can lead to health problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.

4. Recognizing Stress Which of these is stress? Promotion at work.
Car has a flat tire.
Party that lasts till 2:00 a.m.
Dog gets sick.
New bedroom set is being delivered.
Your best friend and his wife come to stay at your house for a week.
You get a bad case of asthma.
All of the above.

5. ALL OF THESE ARE STRESS
If you are used to thinking that stress is something that makes you worry, you have the wrong idea of stress.
Stress is many different kinds of things: happy things, sad things, allergic things, physical things.
Many people carry enormous stress loads and they do not even realize it!

6. ALL OF THESE ARE STRESS
TO MOST OF US, stress is synonymous with worry. If it is something that makes you worry, then it is stress.
TO YOUR BODY, STRESS IS SYNONYMOUS WITH CHANGE.
Anything that causes a change in your life causes stress. It doesn't matter if it is a "good" change, or a "bad" change, they are both stress.

7. ALL OF THESE ARE STRESS Even IMAGINED CHANGE is stress.
Anything that causes CHANGE IN YOUR DAILY ROUTINE is stressful.
Anything that causes CHANGE IN YOUR BODY HEALTH is stressful.
IMAGINED CHANGES are just as stressful as real changes.

8. Emotional Stress
When arguments, disagreements, and conflicts cause CHANGES in your personal life -- that is STRESS.

9. Emotional Stress ILLNESSES including
Catching a cold, breaking an arm, a skin infection, a sore back, are all CHANGES in your body condition.

10. Pushing Your Body Too Hard
A major source of stress is overdriving yourself. If you are working (or partying) 16 hours a day, you will have reduced your available time for rest.
Sooner or later, the energy drain on your system will cause the body to fall behind in its repair work. There will not be enough time or energy for the body to fix broken cells, or replace used up brain neurotransmitters. CHANGES will occur in your body's internal environment.

11. Environmental Factors Of Stress
Very hot or very cold climates can be stressful.
Very high altitude may be a stress.
Toxins or poisons are a stress.
Each of these factors threatens to cause CHANGES in your body's internal environment.

12. Tobacco Use
Tobacco is a powerful toxin!! Smoking destroys cells that clean your trachea, bronchi, and lungs. Smoking causes emphysema and chronic bronchitis, which progress to slow suffocation. The carbon monoxide from cigarette smoking causes chronic carbon monoxide poisoning. Tobacco use damages the arteries in your body, causing insufficient blood supply to the brain, heart, and vital organs. Cigarette smoking increases the risk of cancer 50 fold. It is a powerful source of added stress to one's life.

13. Life Stress Event Scale
DEATH OF SPOUSE DIVORCE
MENOPAUSE
SEPARATION FROM LIVING PARTNER
JAIL TERM OR PROBATION
DEATH OF CLOSE FAMILY MEMBER OTHER THAN SPOUSE
SERIOUS PERSONAL INJURY OR ILLNESS
MARRIAGE OR ESTABLISHING LIFE PARTNERSHIP
FIRED AT WORK
MARITAL OR RELATIONSHIP RECONCILIATION
RETIREMENT
CHANGE IN HEALTH OF IMMEDIATE FAMILY MEMBER
WORK MORE THAN 40 HOURS PER WEEK
PREGNANCY OR CAUSING PREGNANCY
SEX DIFFICULTIES
GAIN OF NEW FAMILY MEMBER
BUSINESS OR WORK ROLE CHANGE
CHANGE IN FINANCIAL STATE
CHANGE IN NUMBER OF ARGUMENTS WITH SPOUSE OR LIFE PARTNER
MORTGAGE OR LOAN FOR A MAJOR PURPOSE
SOCIAL ACTIVITIES (more or less than before)

14. OVERSTRESS OVERSTRESS will make you sick. Brain OVERSTRESS
Fatigue, aches and pains, crying spells, depression, anxiety attacks, sleep disturbance.
Gastrointestinal Tract
Ulcer, cramps and diarrhea, colitis, irritable bowel.
Glandular System
Thyroid gland malfunction.

15. EFFECTS OF OVERSTRESS Cardiovascular
High blood pressure, heart attack, abnormal heart beat, stroke.
Skin
Itchy skin rashes.
Immune System
Decreased resistance to infections and neoplasm.

16. EFFECTS OF OVERSTRESS
OVERSTRESS is caused by brain CHEMICAL MALFUNCTION.
Trillions of messages are sent and received by the brain.
The messages that are happy, are carried by the brain's "HAPPY MESSENGERS" (technically known as Biogenic Amine/Endorphin System).
Other messages are somber and quieting. They are carried by the brain's "SAD MESSENGERS".

17. EFFECTS OF OVERSTRESS
As the stress continues, the happy messages begin to fail.
Important nerve centers then receive mostly SAD MESSAGES, and the whole brain becomes distressed.
The person enters a state of brain chemical imbalance known as -- OVERSTRESS.

18. EFFECTS OF OVERSTRESS

19. Low Stress Tolerance -- The Inherited Factor
Everyone inherits a certain ability to make and use Happy Messengers in the brain.
The amount of stress that you can tolerate before your Happy Messengers malfunction is referred to as your "Stress Tolerance". Your Stress Tolerance is set by your genetic inheritance.

20. Individual Stress Tolerance
ONE in TEN persons have inherited a Low Stress Tolerance
Ten percent of your friends, your acquaintances, your employees, your co-workers, your employers... everywhere around you there are persons who are not able to cope with the stress of daily life.

22. OVERSTRESS
With SAD MESSAGES overwhelming the happy messages, a person feels "overwhelmed" by life.
People complain of being tired, unable to fall asleep or to obtain a restful night's sleep.
They have plagues of aches and pains, lack of energy, lack of enjoyment of life. They feel depressed, anxious, or just unable to cope with life.

23. Pick-Me-Up's are the wrong way to handle overstress!!!!
Sugar
Caffeine
Alcohol
Tobacco, Marijuana, Amphetamines
Your Own Adrenalin - The workaholic is
terribly OVERSTRESSED.

24. Pick-Me-Up's are the wrong way to handle overstress!!!!
DESPITE THE USE OF PICK-ME-UP'S, A PERSON WHO IS SUFFERING FROM OVERSTRESS WILL CONTINUE TO FEEL "UNBALANCED".
Depression, anxiety attacks, Hypochondriasis, Alcoholism, Compulsive gambling, Insomnia, stress-o-holism, these are all names given to SYMPTOMS of OVERSTRESS.

25. What you should do is...
Stop using the Pick-Me-Up's, lower your stress level, and give your body a chance to re-balance itself.
Then you can achieve balance, feel well, and STAY well.
OVERSTRESS IS TREATED BY
REDUCING YOUR STRESS LOAD

26. Stress & Performance

27. TEN SIMPLE WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR STRESS LOAD....
1. MAKE YOUR LIFE REGULAR... as "clock work"
2. GIVE YOURSELF A BREAK TODAY
3. LIGHTEN UP YOUR LOAD OF SOCIAL ENGAGEMENTS
4. POSTPONE MAKING ANY CHANGES IN YOUR LIVING ENVIRONMENT
5. REDUCE THE NUMBER OF HOURS YOU SPEND AT WORK OR SCHOOL

28. TEN SIMPLE WAYS TO REDUCE YOUR STRESS LOAD....
6. THE OVERSTRESS DIET
7. REDUCE YOUR USE OF PICK-ME-UP'S
8. AVOID ALLERGIES
9. START AN ENJOYABLE EXERCISE - REST YOUR MIND
10. STOP YOUR PUT-ME-DOWN'S

29. Unconventional Stress-Relievers
Cleaning
Gardening
Playing With Kids
Singing. Loudly.
Sex
Holidays

30. DO YOU HAVE THIS ??? Excessive headaches, nausea and abdominal pain;
Tendency to worry a lot;
Low self-esteem
Sleep disturbances;
Excessive anger;
Moodiness;
Difficulty concentrating;
Having a delicate equilibrium / being easily upset.

31. IF YES
YOU NEED TO REDUCE
YOUR
STRESS LEVELS