Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Management
Understanding Stress
Stress
What is stress?
It’s the spice of life or the kiss of death
depending on how we cope with it. Stress
gives us the means to express our talents
and energies and pursue happiness; it can
also cause exhaustion and illness,
nervous breakdowns, heart attacks,
accidents. Strictly speaking, stress is
simply the body’s non-specific response to
any demand made on it, and is not
necessarily synonymous with nervous
tension or anxiety….
Anxiety
Anxiety or tension is a feeling of
apprehension or fear that lingers. The
source for this uneasiness is not always
known or recognized which adds to the
distress: "Everything stresses me out.“ "I
am always worried."
Fundamentally, it is not the quality or
intensity of the events that counts. What
matters is not what happens to us, but the
way we take it.
Judge how you are taking the stress in
your life at any particular moment; if there
are too many signs of distress in your
feelings or behavior, there are various little
tricks to minimize these
Tips to Reduce Stress
Practice Relaxation:
¨ Meditation
¨ Deep Breathing
¨ Get a Massage
¨ Visualization
Organize your life: ¨ Take a Bath
¨ Manage your time ¨ Try saying the Serenity Prayer
¨ Make to do lists
Take a break
¨ Plan ahead
¨ Breath deeply Stretch
¨ Set mini goals
¨ Sit back and ¨ Stand up and reach
¨ Learn to Plan
relax up
¨ Do something you ¨ Neck stretch: roll
love Communicate: your head in a half circle,
¨ Read a good book ¨ Express your starting at one
¨ Change your emotions side, then dropping
surroundings ¨ Talk to a friend your chin to your
¨ Learn to Play ¨ Eliminate negative chest, then to the
talk other side
¨ Cry ¨ Watch a cat stretch
¨ Laugh and do the same
Other stress management tips:
¨ Learn to live one day at a time
¨ Improve your appearance
¨ Do something for someone else (volunteer
work)
¨ Allow yourself private time everyday
¨ Learn to forgive and forget
¨ Watch a good movie
¨ Listen too your favorite music
¨ Eat well
¨ Be a positive person
¨ Avoid unnecessary competition
Anxiety Exercises
1. What is your definition of anxiety?
2. Write five examples of how students who cope with anxiety in positive ways
might feel, think, and work toward successfully completing their
coursework.
3. Write five examples of how students who cope with anxiety in negative
ways might feel, think, and work towards successfully completing their
coursework.
Analyzing anxiety:
1. Have you ever gotten so stressed on a test that you forgot the material you
knew?
2. Do you have problems with worrying about how you will do even before you
take a test?
3. Do you ever feel like you are getting so much pressure from others that you
can’t concentrate on your coursework?
Then plan to use some relaxation technique the next time you
encounter these situations. With a little planning you will be
able to anticipate and, therefore, better manage your anxiety.
These two questions should help you get started:
2. Unwind early in the evening. Try to deal with worries and distractions several
hours before bedtime.
3. Develop a sleep ritual. Doing the same things each night just before bed
signals your body to settle down for the night.
4. Keep regular hours. Keep your biological clock in check by going to bed
around the same time each morning – even on weekends.
5. Make your bedroom a Sleep Haven. Create a restful place to sleep. Sleep in
a moderate (temperature not too hot or too cold), dark room that is free
from noises that may disturb your sleep. Make sure the mattress and
foundation meet your needs for both comfort and support.
7. Exercise regularly. Regular exercise can help relieve daily tension and
stress – but don’t exercise too close to bedtime or you may have trouble
falling asleep.
Tips to get the a good sleep
8. Cut down on stimulants. Consuming stimulants, such as caffeine, in
the evening can make it more difficult to fall asleep.
9. Don’t smoke. Smokers take longer to fall asleep and wake up more
often during the night.
11. Exercise. Sometimes exercise an hour or two before bed can relieve
you from the stress gained throughout the day. It not only is healthy for
you, but can help you rest better.
13. Herbal tea. There are several brands of non-caffeine herbal teas
available in your local grocers that are natural sleep aids.
Relaxation Techniques
The information below briefly describes several relaxation
techniques. To learn more about these relaxation techniques,
please visit the LAC Blackboard website, which has links to
various websites.