stress prevention in 6 steps -...
TRANSCRIPT
S T E P 3 A P P R A I S E : C O G N I T I V E R E S T R U C T U R I N G
Stress Prevention in 6 Steps
6 steps overview
1. Assess: Raising Awareness
2. Avoid: Unnecessary stress; problem solving
3. Appraise Cognitive Restructuring
4. Accept: Mindfulness
5. Activate: Building resilience
6. Attune: Social Support: using emotional intelligence skills
Introduction
This program is built on a surprising premise...
Most people believe that stress is the result of outside forces they can’t control.
But in truth, a surprising amount of stress, maybe the #1 source of our stress is…
Survey says:
Our own thinking.
Albert Ellis Quote: Mankind is the only animal that can think about his thinking.
Cognitive Restructuring: Changing the way you think about Stress
Define cognitive restructuring
Talk about your stress.
Stress mediators
A+B=C equation
Five methods for changing your thinking during a stressful situation
Using this approach to manage your stress
Most people believe that events & circumstances cause stress
Hans Selye, defined stress as: your body’s reaction to demands placed on it.
It’s not so much what happens to you but how you take it.
Definition of Cognitive Restructuring
Cognitive = Thinking, knowing; relating to your perception.
Restructuring= Reorganizing, rebuilding or changing.
Cognitive Restructuring = Reorganizing the way you perceive the world. (syn.) reframing.
Or: Changing the way you think during a stressful situation
The origins of Cognitive Therapy
• Developed by Dr. Albert Ellis and Dr. Aaron Beck
• Ellis and Beck focused on a patient’s conscious thoughts.
Dr. Albert Ellis
Dr. Aaron Beck
These ideas have been around for over 2000 years:
Epictetus: “People are not disturbed by things but by the views they take of them.
Marcus Aurelius: “If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs you, but your own judgement about it.”
Shakespeare: “There is nothing either good or bad but thinking makes it so.”
What’s your stress?
Make a list
The difference between stress and stressors
Is there a stressor that someone isn’t bothered by?
List of stressors
Traffic jam Flat tire Meetings Difficult boss Deadlines Multiple bosses Angry customers Sick children Snow Losing things Arguments Car repairs Money issues College costs
Stress mediators
Stressors
Stress Sensitivity
Sense of Control
Cognitive Defenses
Physical Coping
Stress You Experience
Introduce next slide
Mind is constantly running an inner dialog
This is a stupid idea
Do we have to do this?
Who’s idea was it to hire this guy?
What could we possibly learn from doing the hokee pokee?
I’m going to talk to Turney at lunch about this guy
This inner dialog goes on about EVERYTHING we do
Internal dialogue and negative self-talk
• We are constantly running a play by play commentary or what Plato called an “internal dialogue” inside our own heads that comments on the success, value, viability, truth, ease and difficulty of every single activity we engage in. A lot of this is negative…
• Psychologists call this: Negative self-talk
Negative self-talk
• This situation is completely hopeless.
• Why does this stuff always happen to me?
• I’ll never get this project finished on time.
Internal Dialog
Can anyone guess what you might say to yourself the first time you try something new like skiing, or learning some new technology or acting in a play?
Now imagine what your internal dialogue would be like if you made a mistake.
Negative self-talk
We have hundreds of negative thoughts a day
It even includes negative self-talk about ourselves.
I’ll never amount to anything.
I’m a complete failure
I’m a terrible parent.
So how do we stop it?
I’m going to make a fool
of myself
Most People believe that A=C
That a flat tire, a lost set of car keys, a traffic jam and an angry boss automatically equals stress.
But now you realize that you have a choice.
That you CHOOSE how you want to think at B.
A+B=C
Introducing the letter D
D stands for dispute or disputing your overly negative thinking.
Where you exaggerate
A+B=C
How to change your thinking at point B
Become aware of your negative self-talk
Talk back to your negative thinking
Keep your stress in perspective
Shift your focus forward
Avoid the blame game
Practice being grateful
Cognitive defenses
Talk back to your negative thinking;
Disputing
Listen for the words always or never
Notice what isn’t true
Cognitive Defenses
Keep Your Stress in Perspective
Will you even remember this in a week?
Think of it on a scale of 1-100
At the end of the day, come back and solve your problem the next morning when you are fresh.
Cognitive Defenses
Shift your focus forward
When we’re stressed we’re problem-oriented
We lose our creative problem-solving ability when we’re stressed
Say to your self: How can I solve this problem
Cognitive Defenses
Avoid the blame game.
When you blame other people for the bad things that happen to you hand over responsibility for fixing it to someone else
Taking responsibility gets your control back.
Cognitive Defenses
Practice Gratefulness
Make a list of what you have to be grateful for.
Treat other people well
Make a point of thanking anyone for any thing.
A+B=C
• The Activating Event + your Beliefs = the Consequence
• An A+B=C sequence:
– Choose an A from the list
– Your Irrational Belief:
– The Consequence of A+B
– What’s your D?
• The Activating Event + your Beliefs = the Consequence
• An A+B=C sequence:
– Choose an A from the list
– Your Irrational Belief:
– The Consequence of A+B
– What’s your D?
A+B=C
All our opportunity for personal growth lies in the small space between stimulus and response.
Stephen Covey
A=Stimulus
C=Response
B is the small space.
Simply recognizing you’re A’s will open up space at B
The difference between CR and positive thinking
Positive thinking puts a positive spin on a negative event
CR only asks you to eliminate overly negative thinking
CR focuses on the truth - never sugar coating bad things.
15%
10%
15%30%
10%
10%
7%
3%
Minor annoyances
you probably
won’t remember
the next day.
Worry-based
stress that will
probably never
happen.
Anger-
based
stress that
is already
over – but
you’re still
holding on
to.
A
perception
problem.Wouldn’t have
occurred if
you’d allowed
more time.
Garden variety
problems requiring
a solution.
Second hand stress
that belongs to
someone else.
Real stress you have to cope with
3%
Copyright 2006 James E. Porter
Stress mediators
Stressors
Stress Sensitivity
Sense of Control
Cognitive Defenses
Physical Coping
Stress You Experience
Negative self-talk We have hundreds of negative thoughts a
day
Internal dialog comments on everything
I can’t stand it. It’s too difficult. This stinks. This is stupid
Who is this guy and why did I come to this stupid program?
Doing the Math is
a stupid idea
A+B=C
The Activating Event + your Beliefs = the Consequence
An A+B=C sequence:
A flat tire is an A
Your belief that flat tires are awful is B.
Kicking the tire in frustration is C
Most people are unaware of B; that A=C
D stands for dispute
To A+B=C, Ellis added: D
You can talk back to your negative thoughts and Dispute them.
You can choose how you want to think and react.
Things upset me.
I upset myself.
Change the way you think about stress.
A+B=C
The Activating Event + your Beliefs = the Consequence
An A+B=C sequence:
Being criticized by your boss is A
Your Negative Beliefs:
The Consequence of A+B
A+B=C
The Activating Event + your Beliefs = the Consequence
An A+B=C sequence:
Getting passed over for a promotion is A
Your Negative Beliefs:
The Consequence of A+B
D stands for dispute
To A+B=C, Ellis added: D
You can talk back to your negative thoughts and Dispute them