Stress Management

Stress Management CDR Mark Mittauer

Enabling Objectives • Identify causes of stress • Discuss the harmful effects of stress • Discuss how to eliminate avoidable sources of stress • Discuss how to adjust to unavoidable sources of stress

Enabling Objectives (cont.) • Discuss techniques for improving assertiveness • Discuss techniques for better anger management • Describe and practice three stress management exercises

Causes of Stress • What are sources of stress in your life? • Stress may result from daily hassles • Stress may result from major life events • Stress may result from welcome life events (e.g., promotion, marriage) • CHANGE is a major source of stress

Harmful Effects of Stress • Illness - infections, cancer progression, high blood pressure, obesity from overeating, heart disease, ulcers • Fatigue - that may lead to mistakes and injury or death

Useful Stress • Stress can be helpful when it motivates us to accomplish a task now!

Symptoms of Stress • Physical • Emotional • Cognitive • Behavioral

Physical Symptoms of Stress • muscle tension • headache • fatigue • sleep problems • gastrointestinal problems • high blood pressure

Emotional Symptoms of Stress • irritability • arguing • anxiety • depression • lack of enjoyment • mood swings • suicidal thoughts • homicidal thoughts

Cognitive Symptoms of Stress • inattention • distractibility • forgetfulness • confusion • poor concentration

Behavioral Symptoms of Stress • social isolation • work problems • conflicts with coworkers, friends, and loved ones • unhealthy habits - overeating, alcohol misuse, nicotine use, caffeine misuse, workaholism • aviator: conflicts with peers, disregarding rules and checklists

Better Stress Coping • Eliminate avoidable causes of stress • Handle unavoidable causes of stress more effectively

Avoidable Causes of Stress • Nicotine • Alcohol • Overeating • Caffeine • Sleep problems

Nicotine • Chewing tobacco (“dip”) can cause mouth or lip cancer • Exhaled “secondhand” smoke can cause lung cancer, heart disease, and respiratory infections in nonsmoking bystanders • Smokers miss twice as much work as nonsmokers due to illness

Nicotine (cont.) • The medical effects of nicotine use should be well known • Children exposed to smoke develop colds, ear infections, asthma, bronchitis, and pneumonia • To stop smoking - talk to a medical department representative about smoking cessation classes and nicotine replacement products

Alcohol • Medical problems from alcoholism - depression, liver disease, ulcers, high blood pressure • Almost one half of sailors who suicide are drunk • A blood alcohol level of .15 increases your chance of a car wreck 24 times • NATOPS 3710.7Q: no alcohol within 12 hours of flight planning; no hangover!

Alcohol (cont.) • Drinking only two drinks at bedtime causes less restful sleep - leading to fatigue the next day • If you drink too much - talk to your command DAPA or medical department representative, or visit Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)

Overeating • Medical problems from overeating - obesity, high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high lipid levels • Strict dieting or fasting does not result in sustained weight loss - your metabolism slows and you regain weight when you resume “normal” eating • Overeaters’ Anonymous may help

Overeating (cont.) • Commercial weight reduction programs and diets are costly and no more effective • Eat three meals a day - to avoid evening binges • Select a high fiber, low fat diet • Cut calories by using sugar substitutes, sugar-free sodas, fat-free salad dressing, and skim milk; avoid gravy, deserts • Healthy snacks - carrots, celery, pickles, lettuce, fruit

Caffeine • Caffeine increases your alertness for several hours - but then causes increased fatigue • Health problems from caffeine use - high blood pressure, anxiety, irritability, withdrawal headaches, sleep problems • Insomnia may result from any caffeine use after noon • Mountain Dew, chocolate, and tea have caffeine

Caffeine (cont.) • Decrease your caffeine intake to two or less cups of coffee (or the equivalent) per day • Decrease your caffeine use by eliminating one cup of coffee from your daily intake every few days

Sleep Problems • 80% of Americans do not get enough sleep • Poor sleep causes fatigue, irritability, depression, work inefficiency, and accidents • Optimal sleep - 8 to 8.5 hours per night (need minimum of 5 hours to avoid performance difficulties - especially for sedentary persons making complex decisions or needing to be attentive)

More Sleep Facts: • Causes of fatigue: 1) sleep debt 2) circadian rhythm disruption 3) prolonged effort (mental, physical) • Myths about sleep: 1) cannot “bank” sleep 2) wakeful rest does not replace sleep

Even More Sleep Facts: • Symptoms of sleep deprivation: 1) hallucinations (REM intrudes into day) 2) excessive yawning 3) impaired concentration and memory 4) head bobbing (due to “microsleep”) • Remedy for sleep deprivation: 1) caffeine 2) naps for 60 minutes max (if longer, allow 20 minutes to reach alert state)

How to Improve Sleep • avoid heavy exercise and alcohol before bed • avoid caffeine use after noon • go to bed and awaken at the same time • if unable to fall in 30 minutes, arise and read until you feel sleepy • avoid naps longer than 30 - 60 minutes • relax for 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime • relaxation techniques may induce sleep • do not check your alarm clock during night

How to Approach Unavoidable Stress • Try specific stress management techniques discussed later • Change your outlook on how you view stress

Specific Stress Management Techniques • Talk to someone (friend, chaplain, mentor, Family Service Center counselor, flight surgeon) • Create a support network of friends • Schedule fun activities - noncompetitive hobby, reading, music, sightseeing • Schedule down time when you have no other activities planned • Introduce spirituality into your life

Specific Techniques (cont.) • Volunteer to help someone - your life will feel meaningful • Aerobic Exercise (biking, running, walking, swimming, aerobics) at least 30 minutes three times a week - improves mood and mental alertness and relieves tension • Unclutter your brain - keep an appointment book; write down tasks and prioritize them • Allow extra time (arise 10 minutes earlier)

Improve Time Management • review your calendar and list of tasks daily • prioritize your tasks • tackle difficult or irksome tasks first • have an agenda for meetings - develop time limits for each agenda item • avoid taking office work home • work efficiently - you do not have to complete all tasks perfectly • make a “plan of attack” and set milestones

Reduce Job Stress • Remember that your job is important (hull technician example) • Be cheerful - the world will not end if you are grim and serious all the time! • Praise your coworkers often - with formal and informal awards • Take “fun breaks” at work - talk to someone or review pictures of momentos of fun times

Reduce Job Stress (cont.) • Divide the work day into “time chunks” • Plan a fun activity after work • Delegate work to others • If you fall behind, request help and inform your supervisor • Set limits on what you are asked to do • Establish realistic goals • If you feel overwhelmed, do something!

Change Your Outlook on Stress • When you feel stressed - take a break, breathe slowly, walk around • View life as a challenge or opportunity to excel - and not as a crisis • When something goes wrong - think of three ways the situation could be worse • Live life “one day at a time” - do not dwell on past mistakes, worry about the future, or wait (miserably) for future happiness

Change Your Outlook (cont.) • Learn to enjoy the simple pleasures of life • Do not wait for others to make you happy (maintain an internal locus of control) • You cannot control how you feel - but you can control what you do with those feelings and how long you keep them (example: when you are angry, do something fun after 30 minutes) • Find the positive part of every situation

Change Your Outlook (cont.) • Stop wasting time worrying - develop a plan to approach the problem and do something • Be prepared to wait - carry book to read, a portable cassette player, or hobby materials • Be wary of “the grass is always greener” syndrome before you leave your current situation • Always have a back-up plan • Decide now what is really important

Faulty Thinking Causes Stress • Catastrophizing - anticipating a terrible outcome; overexagerating the importance of a situation • “I can’t stand it” - deciding that you cannot handle a situation, without trying - alternative: “I can handle this!” • “Should” statements e.g. “I should always be happy” - alternative: “I’m human. I am allowed to make a mistake or have a bad day.”

Faulty Thinking (cont.) • “Beating yourself up” about past mistakes that you cannot change • Worrying about situations over which you have no control, or cannot change e.g., “If only I had 20/20 vision” • Overgeneralizing - viewing one negative event as predicting a never-ending pattern of defeat e.g., “My girlfriend dumped me. I will never date again!”

Faulty Thinking (cont.) • Emotional reasoning - thinking, “I feel it, so it must be true.” e.g., “I am anxious today, so something terrible will happen!” • Personalizing - blaming yourself for something that is not your fault • Fairness fallacy - becoming angry when something disappoints you because you think, “life is supposed to be fair!”

How to Correct Faulty Thinking • Recognize your faulty thought patterns • Replace irrational ideas with more accurate and realistic ideas

Anger Management • You can choose to control how you express your anger (others won’t respect you if you curse, yell, or use violence - and you are too important to let situations control you) • Speak calmly when disagreeing • If you are about to lose control - count to “10” slowly, breathe deeply, and walk away if necessary

Anger Management (cont.) • Set limits on how long you choose to be angry - then do something nice for yourself • When you disagree with someone, stick to the present issue (and avoid dredging up past hurts) • Criticize someone’s behavior, not their character

Assertiveness/Better Communication • Ask for what you desire • Refuse a “tasker” if you do not really want to do it, or if you lack the time to do it well • When you make a request, give a reason • Be specific with your request (tell the receiver exactly what you want done) • Be a good listener - give your full attention, show interest, and summarize what you heard

Relaxation Techniques • Slow deep breathing • Progressive muscle relaxation • Guided imagery

Slow Deep Breathing • Inhale slowly through your mouth or nose for 5 seconds, while allowing your stomach to push out • Without pausing, exhale slowly for 5 seconds, and tell yourself to relax • Perform this techniques for at least 5 minutes whenever you feel stressed, angry, anxious, overwhelmed, or unable to sleep

Progressive Muscle Relaxation • Sit in a comfortable chair or lie down • Practice slow deep breathing for several minutes • Then, tighten and relax each major muscle group in turn (you may choose to relax each muscle group twice)

Guided Imagery • Practice slow deep breathing for several minutes • Then, practice progressive muscle relaxation • Finally, imagine yourself in a pleasant, relaxing setting (example, the beach) • Use all of your senses to observe your surroundings

Any Questions?

Finis

Stress Management