Relaxation & Stress Management
STRESS is the result of our need to adapt to change. The sources of change, stressors, can come from one of four basic areas:
The first step to handling stress is to recognize how vulnerable you are to stressful reactions.
The second step is to determine how you experience stress. Stress can be experienced in 4 ways:
The third step is to devise a healthy strategy to manage your stress. There are several resources you can access: Self-help books, websites, your own imagination, a counselor or psychologist, etc. The following are just a few suggestions for healthy ways of managing your stress. There is also a list of unhealthy ways people often use to unsuccessfully manage their stress. How many of the unhealthy ways have you used? What healthy stress management tools can you begin to substitute for your unhealthy behaviors?
- Environmental stressors (e.g., weather, pollution, noise)
- Social stressors (e.g., examinations, daily responsibilities, family demands)
- Physiological Stressors (e.g., illness, injuries, poor nutrition, sleep disturbances)
- Cognitive Stressors (e.g., need to be “perfect”, interpretation of others’ reactions)
The first step to handling stress is to recognize how vulnerable you are to stressful reactions.
The second step is to determine how you experience stress. Stress can be experienced in 4 ways:
- Physical symptoms: headaches, stomachaches, sleep problems, hypertension, etc.
- Emotional symptoms: fear, anxiety, tension, anger, irritation, etc.
- Behavioral symptoms: withdrawing from others, increased irritation with others, etc.
- Cognitive symptoms: irrational thoughts such as “I can’t do anything right”, “I’m a loser”, etc.
The third step is to devise a healthy strategy to manage your stress. There are several resources you can access: Self-help books, websites, your own imagination, a counselor or psychologist, etc. The following are just a few suggestions for healthy ways of managing your stress. There is also a list of unhealthy ways people often use to unsuccessfully manage their stress. How many of the unhealthy ways have you used? What healthy stress management tools can you begin to substitute for your unhealthy behaviors?
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Healthy Ideas
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Unhealthy Behaviors
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