Stress Management
What is Stress?
Simply put, stress is our body's mental, physical, and chemical reaction to the demands we place on it. The stressor is the event; how we perceive - and respond - to it is our stress reaction. Hence, not everyone's stress reaction is the same. Given the same stressful condition, one person may simply feel concern while another may experience severe anxiety.
It is the stressors we are confronted with everyday, i.e., school, traffic jams, crowded places, job and time pressures, which "sneak up" on us over time and create the condition we refer to as being "stressed out" or distressed. When this occurs, there is an imbalance between the demands of our lives and the resources we have to deal with those demands.
Stress and Performance
Stress by itself is not a bad thing: think of it as "energy". When we are over-stimulated, we tense up and perform poorly. Likewise, when we are under-stimulated, we also perform poorly because we become complacent. The key to making stress work for us to find the optimum balance between over and under stimulation. This energizes and motivates us to do what we need to do.
Six Steps to Less Stress
1. Become knowledgeable
- Identify the major sources of stress in your life.
- Anticipate and plan for stressful periods.
2. Take a systematic approach to problem solving.
- Look beyond the symptoms to clearly define the problem itself.
- Break the problem down into manageable components.
- Develop a list of alternative courses of action.
- Evaluate your options and select the best course.
- Take action
3. Come to terms with your feelings: Acknowledge, accept, and share.
4. Develop effective behavioral skills.
- Commit to Action: Change what you can and learn to adapt a more flexible attitude about what you cannot.
- a. Find the right approach for you.
- b. Make a list of successful techniques and practice them.
- Practice saying "I choose to" rather than "I have to".
- Organize your time.
- Don't blame - yourself or others. Take responsibility for your actions.
- Learn to be assertive.
5. Establish and maintain a strong support network.
- Ask for help and accept it when offered.
- Maintain healthy relationships; break off damaging ones.
- Develop empathy for others.
6. Develop a lifestyle that will buffer against the effects of stress.
- Eat a balanced diet: limit your intake of sugar, salt, white flour, saturated fats, chemicals and caffeine.
- Exercise regularly.
- Engage in some form of systematic relaxation.
- Use alcohol moderately or not at all.
- Don't use tobacco.
- Be patient: Most of the benefits of lifestyle change are long-term, occurring gradually over time.
Suggested Resources
This message is brought to you by the Bergen Community College Counseling Center. We can help. Ask to speak with a Personal Counselor for a confidential appointment, or community referral, A-118, 201-447-7211.
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