manage your stress
TRANSCRIPT
Manageyour Stress
Part 1- What is the nature of stress?
Part 2- Is stress good or bad? The stress continuum
Part 3- 6 techniques to monitor stress?
Authentic-Happiness.com
Do you know your Happiness Score? Get your Life Satisfaction Report. Free, no registration required. I Contact
Part 1- The nature of stress
* Stress is your mind andbody’s response or reaction toa real or imagined threat,event or change.
* The threat, event or changeare commonly called stressors
* Those can be external, created by your environment, or internal, i.e. generated by your mind
2
77%: the % of people who regularly experience physical symptoms caused by stress (1)
(1) Source: US Stress Statistics, http://www.statisticbrain.com/stress-statistics
Part 1- The nature of stress
Let's look at common stressors
3
EXTERNAL STRESSORS
* Physical Environment* Social* Interaction* Organisational* Major Life Events* Daily Hassles
Part 1- The nature of stress
Let's look at common stressors
4
INTERNAL STRESSORS
* Lifestyle choices* Negative self - talk* Mind traps* Personality traits
Part 1- The nature of stress
What contributes the most to stress?
Studies outcomes show that hassles such as an argument, a fight or temporary trouble are a more powerful predictor of psychological symptoms like stress than life events (external stressor)
5
Actually, hassles contribute to psychological symptoms whatever life events have happened.
Click on the screen
Part 2- Stress continuum
No stress Eustress Distress
6
* positive stress
* occurs when your level of stress ishigh enough to motivate you to moveinto action to get things accomplished.
No stress Eustress Distress
Part 2- Stress continuum 7
* negative stress
* occurs when your level of stress is either too high or too low and yourbody and/or mind begin to respond negatively to the stressors
No stress Eustress Distress
Part 2- Stress continuum 8
* As you begin to experience a stressful eventor perceive something to be stressful psychological changes occur in your body
* This experience or perception disrupts your body’s normal balance and immediately yourbody begins to respond to the stressor(s) as effectively as possible.
The alarm stage
No stress Eustress Distress
Part 2- Stress continuum 9
* your body tries to cope or adapt to the stressors by beginning a process of repairing any damage the stressor has caused.
* Your friends, family or co-workers may notice changes in you before you do so it is important to examine their feedback to make sure you do not reach overload.
The resistance stage
Part 2- Stress continuum
The good news...Studies with control groups demonstrated that having the control to terminate aversive stimuli reduces the stressful impact of those stimuli.
Awareness of the alarm & resistance stages combined with control are powerful solutions to reduce the adverse effects of stressors.
10
What is your level of stress?None, positive/balanced, resistance stage, distress?
Take a free life stress test
Part 3- Stress Management Techniques
There are 2 main models to cope with stress:
1) The transactional model, introduced by Richard Lazarus and Susan Folkman in 1984:* identify the stressor (awareness during alarm stage)* identify and implement an "intervention" to controlthese stressors (resistance stage)* The following ABC strategy is an example of transactional model
2) The health realization/innate health model* focus on the nature of thoughts* learn to disengage and access natural positive feelings* Mindful meditation
11
Part 3- Stress Management Techniques 12
What are the stressors?* internal* external
How does your body react?* sleep* concentration
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control
Part 3- Stress Management Techniques 13
* Are you in the already in the resistance stage?
* How do you regulate stress between negative and positive stress>
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control
Part 3- Six techniques to control stress 14
1- Control the negative effects of stress (stressors): less caffeine, better sleep, meditation, avoid stress factors, ...
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control Click to access learning module
Part 3- Six techniques to control stress 15
2- Reframing* It is about changing the meaning of an event or experience, in the way that placing a picture in a different picture frame somehow changes the look of it.
* Human beings are meaning making machines, "framed" from an early age from our individual culture and the significant others in our lives.
* These have a significant impact on how we respond to events.
* Reframing is about changing the way you look at thing, make them look better.
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control
Part 3- Six techniques to control stress 16
3- Be Assertive* Lack of assertiveness = low self esteem & low self confidence.* Key to assertiveness is verbal and non-verbal communication.* Improving communication skillswill improve assertiveness
Assertive Skills* Establish good eye contact* Sit quietly, don’t fidget* Talk in a firm, steady voice* Use body language* Concise and to the point* Use facts and data to make your point
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control
Part 3- Six techniques to control stress 17
4- Get better organized* Structured approaches offer security against ‘out of the blue’ problems.* Prioritising objectives,duties and activities makes them manageable and achievable.* Prioritize your tasks and meetings* Learn to say "No" (see assertiveness)* Organisation will help avoid personal and professional chaos.* Create a weekly routine"My Ideal Week", including time for fitness, social events, relaxing time at work, enough sleep, ...
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control
Part 3- Six techniques to control stress 18
5- "Unplug" when you can !
* Use humour as a stress relieverand tension breaker.* Add Dilbert cartoon or funny picture at the beginning of your presentation* Humour relieves muscular tension, improves breathing and pumps endorphins into the bloodstream
* Take time out, use up your vacation* Get away from things that bother you
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control
Part 3- Five techniques to control stress 19
6- Change your lifestyle* Eat healthy food, prepare great meals yourself* Stop smoking and drinking* Exercise at the finess or add physical activities ton your routine: walking, stairs, gardining, walking the dog, ...* Sleep at the least 7 hours* Take one Friday off every month* Explore, learn, grow, achieve and appreciate
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control
* Did you take the stress test? What are your strongestinternal stressors?
* Identify and write down your most stressful times overthe course of a regular week (external stressors)?
* Who/what are these stressors? How will you remember to anticipate and be aware of these situations?
* Which techniques tactics will you apply to handle these difficult situations?
* What will you change, add, remove in your idealweek?
Personal Action Plan / My Take-away's
What did you learn about yourself? How will this be changing your routine or unconscious behaviors?
21
Click on the screen
* wikipedia.com
* Work (Johansson et al. (1978) ‘Social psychological and neuroendocrine stress reactions in highly mechanised work’, Ergonomics
* Hassles and life events (Kanner et al. (1981) ‘Comparison of two modes of stress measurement’, Journal of Behavioural Medicine;
* Lack of control (Geer, J. and Maisel, E. (1972) ‘Evaluating the effects of the prediction-control confound’, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
* Stress management at work from Nanice Salah
* http://www.wisconsinjobcenter.org/publications/9441/9441.htm
Sources & References 22