how to manage stress

Management of Stress

STRESS= PRESSURE > RESOURCE

Types of Stress:

1. Positive Stress
2. Negative Stress

• Positive Stress: Stress has positive  effect like spurring motivation and awarness, providing the stimulation to cope with challenging situation. It provides the sense of urgency and alertness needed for survival when confronting threatening situation.
• Negative Stress: Negative Stress is a contributory factor in minor condition such as headaches, digestive problems, insomnia, peptic ulcers. Excessive, unrelieved stress can lead to disturbance in mental, physical & spiritual health.
• Everyone is different in perceptions and reaction to different events of life. Generally most of the stress are self generated because different people react to different events of life differently like somebody will feel threatened, somebody will stimulated, happy & sad.

How to manage Stress

• Time Management: Plan your day, please set achievable goals, don't waste time making excuses for not doing something else
• Ventilation: Develop a support network with friend because always all the events are not stressful but we perceive it.
• Humor: Good humor helps a lot to reduce your stress & please apply it on your workplace & at home.
• Don’t listen when worry calls your name
• Relieve Muscular tension by doing some small exercises
• Improve Breathing
• Mindful awareness. 

1. As you awaken in the morning, bring your attention to your breathing. Instead of letting your mind spin off into yesterday or today, take mindful breaths. Focus on your breathing, and sense the effects of breathing throughout your body.
2. Instead of hurrying to your usual routine, slow down and enjoy something special about the morning; a flower that bloomed, the sound of the birds, the wind in the trees.
3. On the way to work or school, pay attention to how you walk, drive or ride the transit. Take some deep breaths, relaxing throughout your body. 
4. When stopped at a red light, pay attention to your breathing and enjoy the landscape around you. 
5.  When you arrive at your destination, take a few moments to orient yourself. Breathe consciously and calmly, relax your body, then begin. 
6. When sitting at your desk or keyboard, become aware of the subtle signs of the physical tension and take a break or walk around. 
7. Use the repetitive events of the day (the ringing telephone, a knock at the door, walking down the hall) as cues for a mini-relaxation. 
8. Walk mindfully to your car or bus. Can you see and appreciate something new in the environment? Can you enjoy walking without rushing? 
9. As you return home, consciously make the transition into your home environment. If possible, after greeting your family or housemates, give yourself a few minutes alone to ease the transition. 
10. As you go to sleep, let go of today and tomorrow. Take some slow, mindful deep breaths. 

•  Not showing, anger. Many of us have learned to fear the feeling of anger because of past experiences - recalling the terrifying rage of a parent, or having been severely condemned for showing any anger ourselves. These experiences make the very feeling of anger a trigger for anxiety, thereby making it likely that our angry feeling become unconscious.
• Reduce dependency 
• Turning it off. It can be quite difficult to turn off the mind of a worrier. Imagine the mile-aminute super-salesman, for example. He has remarkable drive and also a capacity to fret. His mind travels from one possible problem to another like a pinball that never comes to rest. Even as he goes to bed, his last conscious awareness at night is a worry.
• Manage the body. Taking care of your body by eating right, avoiding alcohol, nicotine, sugar, and caffeine, and exercising is a strikingly ordinary “prescription,” but not doing these things can undermine the effectiveness of other anxiety techniques. A tip to remember for f
• Worry well, but only once. Some worries just have to be faced head-on. For example, what if you were going to receive serious medical news in a few weeks? In cases like this, worrying about the issues the right way can help eliminate secondary, unnecessary worrying. Here’s how that works. 1. You must worry through all the issues 2. Do anything that must be done at the present time 3. Set a time when it’ll be necessary to think about the worry again 4. Write that time on a calendar 5. Whenever the thought pops up again say, “Stop! I already worried!” and divert the thoughts as quickly as possible to another activity. 
• Persistent interruption of rumination. Worrying has a life of its own, consistently interfering with every other thought on the mind. A common technique for interrupting chronic worry is the thought stopping technique. In thought-stopping, negative thoughts are neutralized by visualizing a bright red stop sign and hearing yourself yell “STOP!” in your head
• Learn to plan instead of worry. When we have a worry, we always try to get rid of it by seeking assurances that are unrealistic. The worried mind believes that if it finds the right kind of solution to the problem - the right piece of information or the best reassurance - then it will be rid of worry once and for all. In reality, however, a ruminating brain will simply find some flaw in the most fail-safe reassurance and set us off on the track of seeking an even better one! One good way to get out of the reassurance trap is to use the fundamentals of planning. This simple skill can make a big difference in calming a worried mind. Here are the steps for making a plan: 1. Concretely identify a problem 2. List the problem-solving options 3. Pick one of the options 4. Write out a plan of action You must use the thought-stopping technique during this process, or planning can turn into an endless cycle of re-planning. Once the plan is complete, it will be reassuring for a while. However, the worried mind will start the cycle of seeking reassurance inevitably. In response to this, you must remind yourself that you have already made a plan and do not need to worry any longer about this issue.

38 Stress Busters

1. Start off your day with breakfast. 

2. Occasionally change your routine by meeting a friend or co-worker for breakfast. Allow time to relax and enjoy it 

3. Find some time during the day to meditate or listen to a relaxation CD. 

4. Instead of drinking coffee all day, switch to fruit juice. 

5. Organize your work - set priorities.

6. Don't try to be perfect. Don't feel like you must do everything. 

7. Avoid trying to do two, three, or more things at a time. 

8. Develop a support network. 

9. If possible, reduce the noise level in your environment. 

10. Always take a lunch break (preferably not at your desk). 

11. Optimize your health with good nutrition, sleep and rest. 

12. Get regular exercise. 

13. Celebrate birthdays and other holidays. Turn more events into special occasions. 

14. Look at unavoidable stress as an avenue for growth and change. 

15. Avoid people who are "stress carriers." 

16. Avoid people who are "negaholics." 

17. Don't watch the 11 p.m. news. 

18. Give yourself praise and positive strokes. 

19. Develop a variety of resources for gratification in your life, whether it's family, friends, hobbies, interests, special weekends or vacations. 

20. Treat yourself to "new and good things." 

21. Be assertive. Learn to express your needs and differences, to make requests, and to say "no" constructively. 

22. Seek out the emotional resources available to you such as co-workers, partner, friends and family. 23. Don't be afraid to ask questions or to ask for help. 

24. Allow extra time to get to appointments. 

25. Take deep breaths when you feel stressed. 

26. Try to find something funny in a difficult situation. 

27. Take an occasional "mental health day." 

28. Adopt a pet. 

29. Take a mindful walk. 

30. Understand that we do not all see or do things in the same way. 

31. Practice mindfulness - learn to live in the moment. 

32. Become a less aggressive driver. 

33. Show kindness and consideration. Open a door for someone, pick up litter, etc. 

34. When stressed, ask yourself "Is this really important?" and "Will this really matter a year from now?" 

35. Resist the urge to judge or criticize. 

36. Become a better listener. 

37. Be flexible with change - things don't always go as we planned. 

38. If spiritual, pray; speak to God, a higher power, or your inner guide

References:

• 10 Best STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES Adapted from Wehrenberg, M. (2005). Psychotherapy Networker, Sep/Oct, 47-59. 
• Stress & Stress Management Produced by Klinic Community Health Centre, January, 2010,  14-20,26-28