Home
About Sky
Self Mutilation
Depression
Suicide
ANGER
Abuse
ALCOHOL
Losing A Loved One
Crisis Intervention
Codependency
Personal Goals
Foster Care
Life in Foster Care
Self Esteem
Stress
Communication Skills
Bipolar
Mistakes in Thinking
HEALING
POETRY
Astrology
mypictures
Mike
Family
Wanda Barron
MEMORIAL PAGE
Linkz

Stress

Stress is defined as any change that you must adapt to in the world. Stress is any demand (force, pressure, strain) placed on the body and the body’s reaction to it. Stress is experienced by everyone regardless of any factors. Stress ranges in intensity from the negative extreme of being in physical danger to the excitement of achievements and successes. It is important to identify how you respond to stress and stressful events. This will determine the impact that these experiences have on your life. All stress is not bad.

Signs of stress: Physical symptoms of stress include increased heart rate and blood pressure, rapid breathing, tense muscles, sleeping poorly, and changes in appetite. Emotional reactions include irritability, anger, losing your temper, and lack of concentration.

4 Stress Relieving Methods:

1. Assess your current stressors and explore ways that you respond to them

Generate a list of current events that produce stress in your life.
(i.e., moved to new location, work or school demands, balancing priorities, job promotion)

Brainstorm how you cope with stressful experiences. Assess if you have a healthy or unhealthy coping style. For example:

Healthy Coping Styles Unhealthy Coping Styles
-exercise -alcohol or drug use
-down time for self care -avoidance of eventt
-balancing work and play -procrastination -time management- initiate schedule -overeatting

2. After identifying stressors and coping styles, you can begin to modify your behavior. 

Be aware of your physiological and emotional reaction to stress.

Recognize what you can change (your reactions to stress, internal thoughts).

Utilize healthy coping skills.

Incorporate good coping skills into your repertoire, increasing your options.

Practice healthy coping skills daily even when intense stress is not present (this prepares you for times when you may feel overwhelmed.

3. RELAXATION TECHNIQUES

• Recognize what activities you consider relaxing.
• Be specific when exploring your options:
  –going for walks
  –meeting with friends
  –reading for pleasure
  –listening to music
  –taking a bath
• Be realistic about the amount of time that you can dedicate to "downtime".
• This time should be incorporated into your daily routine.
• Remember this is called BALANCE- not be used as a procrastination tactic.
• Begin practicing relaxation techniques
  –meditation
  –guided imagery
  –deep breathing exercises
  –progressive relaxation (muscle relaxation)
• Decide which relaxation technique works for you and practice daily.
• Find several techniques that work for you so you have an array of options.

4. STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES

• BODY:

• Along with improving your ability to relax, you must assess diet and other strains on your body.
• Aerobic exercise can reduce anxiety up to 50%.
• Good nutrition (a well balanced diet) will improve your ability to appropriately respond to stress.
• Get an adequate amount of rest each night.
• Reducing caffeine intake will help you manage your anxiety (2 ½ cups of coffee doubles the epinephrine level).
• Smoking cessation is important, as nicotine is also a stimulant.
• Biofeedback techniques can help up to 80% of migraine sufferers.
• Acupuncture has also shown promise.

MIND:

• If you have multiple stressors you must prioritize your time.
• Initiating a time management schedule remains a positive way to reduce stress and anxiety.
• Break large demands into small, manageable parts. Work through one task at a time.
• Do what needs to be done first, leaving other things for tomorrow.
• Identify your goals and work toward them.
• Take direct action when stress arises- identify your needs and articulate them; Be intentional about what you can do.
• Acknowledge your thoughts and feelings concerning the stressors in your life.
• Develop a support network to rely on in times of need.

What can you do to avoid stress:

Help others.

Listen to music that you find soothing while at a quiet, calm place.

Reduce noises around you

Get regular exercise

Get as much sleep and rest as you can

Drink at least 8 glasses of water each day

Eat healthy foods. Avoid foods high in fat and sugar.

Eat at regular times. Don't skip meals

Take a vitamin/mineral supplement that gives 100% of "Daily Values" for nutrients. Don't take ones marked "Stress Formula" on the label. High doses of some nutrients in these, such as vitamin B₆, can be harmful

Limit caffeine. It causes anxiety and increases the stress response. Avoid nicotine and other stimulants, such as No-Doz and diet pills

Don't drink alcohol or take drugs to deal with stress. Have a warm cup of herbal tea.

Balance work and play. Plan social and extracurricular activities in the time you have left after class, work, and sleep. Don't take on more activities than you can reasonably do in a given day or week.

Set priorities

Reward yourself with little things that make you feel good at the end of the day or week.

Take charge. Although you can't control other people's actions, you can control your response, "This is not going to get me down"   DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF

You can't please everyone so don't waste all of your time trying, think about yourself first.

If you are a student, set up and maintain good study habits. Get prepared for tests and papers in advance. If you have employment paperwork or things due, set up time to do them in a relaxed area ahead of time. 

Don't neglect a good cry. Tears can help cleanse the body of substances that form under stress. Tears also release a natural pain-relieving substance from the brain.

Do relaxation exercises daily. Good ones include visualization (imagining a soothing, restful scene), deep muscle relaxation (tensing and relaxing muscle fibers), meditation, and deep breathing.  

Modify your environment to get rid of or manage your exposure to stress.  

Rehearse for stressful events. Imagine yourself feeling calm and confident in an anticipated stressful situation.  

View changes as positive challenges. Don't get down on yourself.

Escape for a little while. Watch a movie, visit a museum, etc.

When a difficult problem is out of control, accept it until changes can be made.

Count to 10 when you're so upset you want to scream. This gives you time to reflect on what's bothering you and helps to calm you down.  

Keep a sense of humor and Laugh a lot.

Take a warm shower or bubble bath.

Read a good book or write letters, stories, poems, etc...