Managing Stress and Wellness

1. Managing Stress and Wellness

2. Stress • The rate of wear and tear within the body (Selye) • The anxious or threatening feeling that comes when we interpret or appraise a situation as being more than our psychological resources can adequately handle (Lazarus, 1999)

3. Stress • Eustress—pleasant, desirable stress—strengthens us for immediate physical activity, creativity and enthusiasm • Distress—unpleasant, objectionable stress—causes us to constantly readjust or adapt

4. Sources of Stress • Life changes—any life change, even if it is positive and anticipated, brings about stress • Anticipated life events • Unexpected life events • Accumulating life events

5. Sources of Stress • Hassles—small problems of daily living that accumulate and sometimes become a major stress. • Burnout—Physical, emotional, and mental exhaustion attributable to long-term involvement in emotionally demanding situations

6. Cognitive Appraisal • In order to feel stress we must • Perceive there is some kind of demand or threat present • Conclude that you may not have adequate resources available to deal with that threat

7. Thought Stopping • A method of controlling our thoughts developed by Joseph Wolpe • When faced with unwanted thoughts, we learn to suddenly stop the thought pattern and empty our mind • Then a positive thought is used to replace the unwanted thought.

8. General Adaptation Syndrome (Selye) • In the face of severe stressors: • Alarm reaction—body is mobilized to defend (sympathetic nervous system) • Resistance stage—arousal remains high as body tries to defend against and adapt to the stressor (cortisol) • Exhaustion stage—resources are very limited; ability to resist may collapse

9. Stress and the Body • When under stress, the body responds to increase heart rate, available energy and heighten awareness. • The body acts to release fat and glucose from the body’s stores in order to make this energy available to the body

10. Stress and Serious Illness • Cancer—stress is linked to the development in cancer through the suppression of the immune system that accompanies release of cortisol • Cardiovascular disease—in stress, the increased heart rate and release of fat and glucose into the bloodstream cause stress on the heart and fatty deposits of unburned fat may develop

11. Personality Types • Type A—behavior characteristics including intense ambition, competition, exaggerated time urgency, and a cynical, hostile outlook • Type B—behavior characteristics consistent with a calm, patient, relaxed attitude toward life

12. Coping with Stress • Coping—active efforts to master, reduce or tolerate the demands created by stress • Emotion-Focused—coping strategies based on changing one’s perceptions of stressful situations • Defense mechanisms—unconscious strategies used to distort reality and relieve anxiety and guilt

13. Defense Mechanisms • Rationalization—providing a socially acceptable, rational explanation for socially unacceptable, irrational behaviors • Repression—the exclusion of painful, unwanted or dangerous thoughts and impulses from the conscious mind

14. Defense Mechanisms • Projection—attributing our own feelings, shortcomings or unacceptable impulses to others • Reaction Formation—impulses are not only repressed but also controlled by emphasizing the opposite behavior

15. Defense Mechanisms • Sublimation—we redirect our basic desires toward a socially-valued activity • Displacement—redirecting strong feelings from one person or object to another that seems more acceptable and less threatening.

16. Gender and Stress • Males tend to fight or flee • Females tend to tend and befriend

17. Hardiness • Commitment—strong sense of commitment to myself and my work, purposeful activity and problem solving • Control—I see myself as being in control of my life rather than a victim of circumstances • Challenge—change is an opportunity for growth and improvement. I welcome the challenge because I welcome the growth

18. Three Coping Options • Change Environments • Change the Environment • Change Me

19. The Power of Self Talk • Albert Ellis—Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy—it is not the event which causes stress but rather our beliefs about the event that cause stress • A + B = C • Activating Event + Beliefs = Consequences • Common Irrational and Rational Beliefs

20. According to Ellis • Irrational Beliefs—result in inappropriate emotions, behaviors and more stress • Rational Beliefs—result in appropriate emotions and behaviors—help the individual attain desired goals

21. Characteristics of Irrational and Rational Self-Talk • Should statements—make absolute demands or moral imperatives (ought, have to, must)—imply that things in your world need to be as you want them to be • Awfulizing Statements—we say that things or people are “awful” when they are not different than we think they should be • Overgeneralizations—we make overgeneralizations based on a single incident—all, every, none, never, etc.—frequently lead to human worth statements

22. Disputing Irrational Beliefs • Monitor your emotional reactions • Describe the activating event • Record your self-talk • Dispute your irrational beliefs

23. 20 Tips for Managing Stress • Work off stress • Have fun • Talk it out • Give in occasionally • Do something for others • Have some real close friends • Eat sensibly • Get organized • Rehearse • Do it now

24. 20 Tips for Managing Stress • Learn to say “No” • Learn to accept what you cannot change • Avoid self-medication • Live a balanced life • Get enough sleep or rest • Make yourself available • Shun the “perfect” urge • Develop a regular exercise program • Take care of yourself • Learn to relax

25. Relaxation • Sit or recline comfortably • Breathe deeply • Slowly exhale • If thoughts intrude, do not dwell on them; allow them to pass and return to focusing on your breathing