LESSON MANUSCRIPT

STRESS MANAGEMENT

Stress is what you feel when you have to handle more than you are used to. When you
are stressed, your body responds as though you are in danger. It makes hormones that speed
up your heart, make you breathe faster, and give you a burst of energy. This is called the fight-
or-flight stress response.

Some stress is normal and even useful. Stress can help if you need to work hard or
react quickly. For example, it can help you win a race or finish an important job on time. But if
stress happens too often or lasts too long, it can have bad effects. It can be linked to
headaches, an upset stomach, back pain, and trouble sleeping. It can weaken your immune
system, making it harder to fight off disease. If you already have a health problem, stress may
make it worse. It can make you moody, tense, or depressed. Your relationships may suffer, and
you may not do well at work or school.

Components of Wellness

What is Wellness?

Wellness is an active, lifelong process of becoming aware of choices and making

decisions toward a more balanced and fulfilling life.

Process means that we never arrive at a point where there is no possibility of

improvement.

Awareness means that we are by our nature continuously seeking more information
about how we can improve.

Choices mean that we have considered a variety of options and have selected those that
seem to be in our best interest.

Wellness combines seven dimensions of well-being into a quality way of living. Wellness
is the ability to live life to the fullest and to maximize personal potential in a variety of ways.
Wellness places responsibility on the individual; it becomes a matter of self-evaluation and self-
assessment. Wellness involves continually learning and making changes to enhance your state
of wellness.

The Seven Dimensions of Wellness

Physical (body)

A healthy body maintained by good nutrition, regular exercise, avoiding harmful habits,
making informed and responsible decisions about health, and seeking medical assistance when
necessary. To remain well, physical wellness requires that you take steps to protect your
physical health by eating a well-balanced diet, getting plenty of physical activity and exercise,
maintaining proper weight, getting enough sleep, avoiding risky sexual behavior, trying to limit
exposure to environmental contaminants, and restricting intake of harmful substances

Intellectual (mind)

A state in which your mind is engaged in lively interaction with the world around you.
Intellectual wellness involves unbridled curiosity and ongoing learning. This dimension of
wellness implies that you can apply the things you have learned, that you create opportunities
to learn more, and that you engage your mind in lively interaction with the world around you.

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Emotional (feelings)

The ability to understand your own feelings, accept your limitations, achieve emotional
stability, and become comfortable with your emotions. Emotional wellness implies the ability to
express emotions appropriately, adjust to change, cope with stress in a healthy way, and enjoy
life despite its occasional disappointments and frustrations.

Social (family, friends, relationships)

The ability to relate well to others, both within and outside the family unit. Social
wellness endows us with the ease and confidence to be outgoing, friendly and affectionate
toward others. Social wellness involves not only a concern for the individual, but also an interest
in humanity and the environment as a whole.

Spiritual (values, purpose, intuition, vitality)

The sense that life is meaningful and has a purpose; the ethics, values and morals that
guide us and give meaning and direction to life. Spiritual wellness implies a search for meaning
and purpose in human existence leading one to strive for a state of harmony with oneself and
others while working to balance inner needs with the rest of the world.

Occupational (career, skills)

Preparing and making use of your gifts, skills and talents in order to gain purpose,
happiness and enrichment in your life. Occupational wellness means successfully integrating a
commitment to your occupation into a total lifestyle that is satisfying and rewarding. The
development of occupational satisfaction and wellness is strongly related to your attitude about
your work.

Environmental (air, water, food, safety)

The capability to live in a clean and safe environment that is not detrimental to health.
The quality of today's environment has a direct effect on personal wellness. To enjoy
environmental wellness we require clean air, pure water, quality food, adequate shelter,
satisfactory work conditions, personal safety and healthy relationships.
General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) Mode of Stress

Three Phases of Stress Response

The General Adaptation Syndrome is a model that is comprised of three elements or phases
which describe the body’s response to stress:

1. Alarm Stage

In this phase, the initial reaction of the body to stress is that it labels the stressor
as a threat or danger to balance that is why it immediately activates its fight or flight
response system, and releases the “stress” hormones such as adrenaline, noradrenaline
and cortisol. These hormones enable you to perform activities that you don’t usually do.

For instance, when one’s house is on fire, his body shifts to the alarm stage, his
stress hormones released (particularly adrenaline) and then he lifts a very heavy
appliance outside the burning house. But there’s a catch – your blood pressure starts to
rise after a minute or less, which can predispose you to damage of the brain and heart’s
blood vessels, putting you at risk to stroke or heart attack. The muscles you’ve utilized
might also become painful due to tissue damage.

2. Resistance Stage

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 After the body has responded to the stressor, it is more likely that the stress
level has been eradicated, or simply reduced. What happens next to the fight or flight
response is that you body’s defenses become weaker, as it needs to allocate energy to
the repair of damaged muscle tissues and lower the production of the stress hormones.

Although the body has shifted to this second phase of stress response, it remains
on-guard, particularly when the stressors persist and the body is required to fight them
continuously, although not as stronger as it could during the initial response.

3. Exhaustion Stage

During this phase, the stress has been persistent for a longer period. The body
starts to lose its ability to combat the stressors and reduce their harmful impact because
the adaptive energy is all drained out. The exhaustion stage can be referred to as the
gate towards burnout or stress overload, which can lead to health problems if not
resolved immediately.

Physiological Components of Stress

The following physiological effects of stress occur:

 The brain releases endorphins to relieve pain

 Heart rate increases and heart increases its strength of
contraction to pump more blood
 Blood pressure rises
 Digestion slows so the much needed blood may be diverted to
muscles
 Salivation and mucous secretion decreases - the result is a "cotton
mouth" feeling
 Pupils dilate so that you have a more sensitive vision
 All of your senses - sight, hearing, smell, and taste - become more
acute, ready to identify any threats
 Sweating increases to flush waste and to cool down the body.
 Blood clotting increases to prevent bleeding to death during
physical threat.
 Sugars and fats are released into the blood stream to supply fuel.
 Adrenaline and other hormones are released into the bloodstream
to provide energy.
 Muscle tension increases to prepare for action in the shortest
time.
 Bronchi dilate, allowing for more air into the lungs.
 Breathing gets shallow and faster to supply more oxygen to the
muscles and body tissue

Personality and Stress

We all have certain features to our personality that make us unique as people; however
there are many aspects of our personality that are similar to other people. These similar
personality factors are called Personality Traits.

Research has indicated that certain personality traits can make us more
vulnerable to stress. People with such traits are known as Type A personalities. Type
A's tend to be more competitive, more impatient, have time urgency when compared to
the more relaxed and laid back Type B personalities. It's important to realize that we

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 are all a mixture of type A and B personality traits but if we are excessively type A this
can make us more vulnerable to stress.

We have included a Stress and Personality Self Test at the end of session one in
the course materials for you to fill in.
We can reduce our Type A personality traits through the techniques taught on
this course. Here are some Type A and some Type B Personality Traits:

Type A Personality Traits Type B Personality Traits

Must get things finished Do not mind leaving things unfinished for a
while
Excessively competitive Not excessively competitive
Can't listen to conversations, Can listen and let the other person finish
interrupt, finish other’s sentences speaking
Always in a hurry Never in a hurry even when busy
Can wait calmly Do not like to wait
Very busy at full speed Easy going
Trying to do more than one thing at a Can take one thing at a time
time
Want everything to be perfect Do not mind things not quite perfect
Pressurized speech Slow and deliberate speech
Do everything fast Do things slowly
Hold feelings in Can express feelings
Not satisfied with work/life Quite satisfied with work/life
Few social activities/interests Many social activities/interests
If in employment, will often take If in employment, will limit working to
work home work hours

Perfectionism

Involves a tendency to set standards that are so high that they either cannot be met, or
are only met with great difficulty .Perfectionists tend to believe that anything short of perfection
is horrible, and that even minor imperfections will lead to catastrophe
Perfectionism affects how one thinks, behaves and feels Irrational Beliefs (REBT)

The 12 Irrational Beliefs (iB's) of REBT

1. The idea that it is a dire necessity for adults to be loved by significant others for
almost everything they do--Instead of their concentrating on their own self-respect,
on winning approval for practical purposes, and on loving rather than on being
loved.

2. The idea that certain acts are awful or wicked and that people who perform such
acts should be severely damned --Instead of the idea that certain acts are self-
defeating or antisocial, and that people who perform such acts are behaving
stupidly, ignorantly, or neurotically, and would be better helped to change. People's
poor behaviors do not make them rotten individuals.

3. The idea that it is horrible when things are not the way we like them to be--Instead
of the idea that it is too bad, that we would better try to change or control bad
conditions so that they become more satisfactory, and, if that is not possible, we had
better temporarily accept and gracefully lump their existence.

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 4. The idea that human misery is invariably externally caused and is forced on us by
outside people and events--Instead of the idea that neurosis is largely caused by the
view that we take of unfortunate conditions.

5. The idea that if something is or may be dangerous or fearsome we should be terribly

upset and endlessly obsess about it--Instead of the idea that one would better
frankly face it and render it non-dangerous and, when that is not possible, accept
the inevitable.

6. The idea that it is easier to avoid than to face life difficulties and self-
responsibilities--Instead of the idea that the so-called easy way is usually much
harder in the long run.

7. The idea that we absolutely need something other or stronger or greater than
ourselves on which to rely --Instead of the idea that it is better to take the risks of
thinking and acting less dependently.

8. The idea that we should be thoroughly competent, intelligent, and achieving in all
possible respects-- Instead of the idea that we would better do rather than always
need to do well, and accept ourselves as a quite imperfect creature, who has general
human limitations and specific fallibilities.

9. The idea that because something once strongly affected our life, it should
indefinitely affect it --Instead of the idea that we can learn from our past
experiences but not be overly-attached to or prejudiced by them.

10. The idea that we must have certain and perfect control over things --Instead of the
idea that the world is full of improbability and chance and that we can still enjoy life
despite this.

11. The idea that human happiness can be achieved by inertia and inaction --Instead of
the idea that we tend to be happiest when we are vitally absorbed in creative
pursuits, or when we are devoting ourselves to people or projects outside ourselves.

12. The idea that we have virtually no control over our emotions and that we cannot
help feeling disturbed about things --Instead of the idea that we have real control
over our destructive emotions if we choose to work at changing the “musturbatory”
hypotheses which we often employ to create them.

Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) was developed by Dr. Albert Ellis in 1955. It
has since flourished and spawned a variety of other cognitive-behavior therapies. REBT's
effectiveness, short-term nature, and low cost are major reasons for its popularity.

REBT utilizes something called the "ABC's" to help show how events in our lives trigger
certain behaviors. An ABC worksheet is used to keep track of such. Go here to see the ABC
worksheet.

REBT's comprehensive approach works best for individuals desiring a scientific, present-
focused, and active treatment for coping with life's difficulties, rather than one which is
mystical, historical, and largely passive.

REBT is a type of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and is based on a few simple principles
having profound implications:

 You are responsible for your own emotions and actions,

 Your harmful emotions and dysfunctional behaviors are the product of
your irrational thinking,
 You can learn more realistic views and, with practice, make them a part
of you.

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 Spirituality and Stress Relief

Taking the path less traveled by exploring your spirituality can lead to a clearer life
purpose, better personal relationships and enhanced stress management skills.

Some stress relief tools are very tangible: exercising more, eating healthy foods and
talking with friends. A less tangible — but no less useful — way to find stress relief is through
spirituality.

What is spirituality?

Spirituality has many definitions, but at its core spirituality helps to give our lives
context. It's not necessarily connected to a specific belief system or even religious
worship. Instead, it arises from your connection with yourself and with others, the
development of your personal value system, and your search for meaning in life.

For many, spirituality takes the form of religious observance, prayer, meditation
or a belief in a higher power. For others, it can be found in nature, music, art or a
secular community. Spirituality is different for everyone.
How can spirituality help with stress relief?

Spirituality has many benefits for stress relief and overall mental health. It can
help you:

Feel a sense of purpose. Cultivating your spirituality may help uncover what's
most meaningful in your life. By clarifying what's most important, you can focus less on
the unimportant things and eliminate stress.

 Connect to the world - The more you feel you have a purpose in the
world, the less solitary you feel — even when you're alone. This can lead
to a valuable inner peace during difficult times.
 Release control - When you feel part of a greater whole, you realize that
you aren't responsible for everything that happens in life. You can share
the burden of tough times as well as the joys of life's blessings with those
around you.
 Expand your support network - Whether you find spirituality in a church,
mosque or synagogue, in your family, or in nature walks with a friend,
this sharing of spiritual expression can help build relationships.
 Lead a healthier life - People who consider themselves spiritual appear to
be better able to cope with stress and heal from illness or addiction
faster.

Discovering your spirituality

Uncovering your spirituality may take some self-discovery. Here are some questions to
ask yourself to discover what experiences and values define you:

 What are your important relationships?

 What do you value most in your life?
 What people give you a sense of community?
 What inspires you and gives you hope?
 What brings you joy?
 What are your proudest achievements?

The answers to such questions help you identify the most important people and
experiences in your life. With this information, you can focus your search for spirituality

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 on the relationships and activities in life that have helped define you as a person and
those that continue to inspire your personal growth.

Cultivating your spirituality

Spirituality also involves getting in touch with your inner self. A key component is self-
reflection. Try these tips:

 Try prayer, meditation and relaxation techniques to help focus your

thoughts and find peace of mind.
 Keep a journal to help you express your feelings and record your
progress.
 Seek out a trusted adviser or friend who can help you discover what's
important to you in life. Others may have insights that you haven't yet
discovered.
 Read inspirational stories or essays to help you evaluate different
philosophies of life.
 Talk to others whose spiritual lives you admire. Ask questions to learn
how they found their way to a fulfilling spiritual life.

Nurturing your relationships

Spirituality is also nurtured by your relationships with others. Realizing this, it's essential
to foster relationships with the people who are important to you. This can lead to a
deepened sense of your place in life and in the greater good.

 Make relationships with friends and family a priority. Give more than you
receive.
 See the good in people and in yourself. Accept others as they are,
without judgment.
 Contribute to your community by volunteering.

Pursuing a spiritual life

Staying connected to your inner spirit and the lives of those around you can enhance your
quality of life, both mentally and physically. Your personal concept of spirituality may change
with your age and life experiences, but it always forms the basis of your well-being, helps you
cope with stressors large and small, and affirms your purpose in life.

Practicing Optimism

Practicing Optimism as a strategy to increase happiness has a good deal in common with
practicing gratitude as both focus on the positive side of life. Optimism is not only about the
past and present but about anticipating a wonderful future.

 Focusing on the Good

“Feelings change. Sometimes sorrow, sometimes joy. But beneath it all remember the innate
perfection of your life unfolding. That is the secret of unreasonable happiness.”

 Find Happiness Now

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There is only one moment in which we can experience happiness and that moment is now.
That’s because now is the only moment there is. That may seem obvious to you when you hear
it. But if we are being totally honest, most of us have been plagued by the constant pursuit,
believing that to find happiness you need chase after it.

 Gratitude creates abundance

“When you focus on the things that you are grateful for then it opens you to the Source of all
those things that came into your life that for which you are grateful.” if we put aside a minute
of two every day to express gratitude for our lives it as far-reaching and positive consequences.
research showed that, when compared to a control group, those who had a regular gratitude
practice, not only appreciated life more, but had measurably higher levels of wellbeing, greater
health, experienced more positive emotions, and happier .

 Positive Thinking Will Boost Your Happiness

It would seem to be common sense to believe that positive thinking will boost your happiness.
Having a positive outlook doesn’t have to mean you deny the negative, that world events, both
natural and those created by the human race.

10 Relaxation Techniques That Zap Stress Fast

Relax. You deserve it, it's good for you, and it takes less time than you think.

1. Meditate

A few minutes of practice per day can help ease anxiety. “Research suggests
that daily meditation may alter the brain’s neural pathways, making you more resilient
to stress,” says psychologist Robbie Maller Hartman, PhD, a Chicago health and wellness
coach.

It's simple. Sit up straight with both feet on the floor. Close your eyes. Focus
your attention on reciting -- out loud or silently -- a positive mantra such as “I feel at
peace” or “I love myself.” Place one hand on your belly to sync the mantra with your
breaths. Let any distracting thoughts float by like clouds.

2. Breathe Deeply

Take a 5-minute break and focus on your breathing. Sit up straight, eyes closed,
with a hand on your belly. Slowly inhale through your nose, feeling the breath start in
your abdomen and work its way to the top of your head. Reverse the process as you
exhale through your mouth.

“Deep breathing counters the effects of stress by slowing the heart rate and
lowering blood pressure,”

3. Be Present

Slow down.

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 “Take 5 minutes and focus on only one behavior with awareness,” Notice how
the air feels on your face when you’re walking and how your feet feel hitting the
ground. Enjoy the texture and taste of each bite of food.

When you spend time in the moment and focus on your senses, you should feel
less tense.

4. Reach Out

Your social network is one of your best tools for handling stress. Talk to others --
preferably face to face, or at least on the phone. Share what's going on. You can get a
fresh perspective while keeping your connection strong.

5. Tune In to Your Body

Mentally scan your body to get a sense of how stress affects it each day. Lie on
your back, or sit with your feet on the floor. Start at your toes and work your way up to
your scalp, noticing how your body feels.

6. Decompress

Place a warm heat wrap around your neck and shoulders for 10 minutes. Close
your eyes and relax your face, neck, upper chest, and back muscles. Remove the wrap,
and use a tennis ball or foam roller to massage away tension.

“Place the ball between your back and the wall. Lean into the ball, and hold
gentle pressure for up to 15 seconds. Then move the ball to another spot, and apply
pressure,”

7. Laugh Out Loud

A good belly laugh doesn’t just lighten the load mentally. It lowers cortisol, your
body’s stress hormone, and boosts brain chemicals called endorphins, which help your
mood. Lighten up by tuning in to your favorite sitcom or video, reading the comics, or
chatting with someone who makes you smile.

8. Crank Up the Tunes

Research shows that listening to soothing music can lower blood pressure, heart
rate, and anxiety. “Create a playlist of songs or nature sounds (the ocean, a bubbling
brook, birds chirping), and allow your mind to focus on the different melodies,
instruments, or singers in the piece,” You also can blow off steam by rocking out to
more upbeat tunes -- or singing at the top of your lungs!

9. Get Moving

You don’t have to run in order to get a runner’s high. All forms of exercise,
including yoga and walking, can ease depression and anxiety by helping the brain
release feel-good chemicals and by giving your body a chance to practice dealing with
stress. You can go for a quick walk around the block, take the stairs up and down a few
flights, or do some stretching exercises like head rolls and shoulder shrugs.

10. Be Grateful

Keep a gratitude journal or several (one by your bed, one in your purse, and one
at work) to help you remember all the things that are good in your life.

“Being grateful for your blessings cancels out negative thoughts and worries,”

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 Use these journals to savor good experiences like a child’s smile, a sunshine-
filled day, and good health. Don’t forget to celebrate accomplishments like mastering a
new task at work or a new hobby.

When you start feeling stressed, spend a few minutes looking through your
notes to remind yourself what really matters.

What is Time Management?

Time is our most precious asset, and yet we let it slip away.

It seems that there is never enough time in the day. But, since we all get the same 24
hours, why is it that some people achieve so much more with their time than others? The
answer lies in good time management.

The highest achievers manage their time exceptionally well. By using the time-
management techniques in this section, you can improve your ability to function more
effectively – even when time is tight and pressures are high.

Good time management requires an important shift in focus from activities to results:
being busy isn’t the same as being effective. (Ironically, the opposite is often closer to the
truth.)

Spending your day in a frenzy of activity often achieves less, because you’re dividing
your attention between so many different tasks. Good time management lets you work smarter
– not harder – so you get more done in less time.
What is “Time Management?”

“Time management” refers to the way that you organize and plan how long you spend
on specific activities.
It may seem counter-intuitive to dedicate precious time to learning about time
management, instead of using it to get on with your work, but the benefits are enormous:

 Greater productivity and efficiency.

 A better professional reputation.
 Less stress.
 Increased opportunities for advancement.
 Greater opportunities to achieve important life and career goals.

Failing to manage your time effectively can have some very undesirable consequences:
 Missed deadlines.
 Inefficient work flow.
 Poor work quality.
 A poor professional reputation and a stalled career.
 Higher stress levels.

Time Management Techniques:

1. Make a list of the tasks you need to accomplish. But before you can manage your time,
you need to know what it is you must manage. A list of tasks, from the mundane to the
critical, will help you get a handle on what needs to get done.
Assign realistic priorities to each task:
Priority 1: due today by 6pm
Priority 2: due tomorrow by 6pm
Priority 3: due by the end of the week
Priority 4: due during next week

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You can further prioritize tasks within this grouping by adding a decimal place. For example, a
Priority 1.0 task needs to be done immediately, whereas a Priority 1.5 task simply needs to be
done by the end of day.

2. Manage Your Time, balance your effort. Work on small portions every day of work that
will be due by the end of the week, starting with the most important tasks first.

3. Do today's tasks. Concentrate On what is at hand, do not allow yourself to lose focus.
Then move on to the next daily task. Once today's tasks are completed, mark them as
such, and proceed to tomorrow's tasks. When tomorrow's tasks are complete, work on
the other tasks due by the end of the week, and when those are complete, work on the
tasks due early next week. A small portion of each is better than one huge, laborious
task and will keep your time managed more efficiently and reduce stress and eliminate
burn-out. Make one of your final daily tasks the completion of tomorrow's task list. Each
day should be ended with a new task sheet for tomorrow to keep you on track.

Focus on your most productive time of day. Some people work better in the morning,
and some are more focused in the evening.

4. Manage time in increments. Play a game with yourself by competing against the clock.

5. Work in fifteen minute, half hour or hour intervals, scientifically it is known that 45
minutes work followed by a 10 minutes rest is the best for the average studier.

6. Give yourself a time goal to complete a portion of a task or the entire task.

7. Take a break. Clear your mind and refresh yourself to refocus. Decide beforehand on a
5, 10 or 15 minute break and stick to that decision. Breaks provide incentive by giving
you something to look forward to having.

8. Keep track of your progress. Cross things off the list as they are completed. You'll feel
more relieved and relaxed just by getting through the daily tasks. Not only will you be
getting things done, finishing tasks will give you a sense of accomplishment and spur
motivation.

9. Reassess the list. Rewrite and prioritize your list on a regular basis. Add new tasks to
the list. This should be done on a daily basis, especially when you are just getting
started with a time management regimen. Eliminate or adjust tasks that are completed,
or fall in priority

10. Delegate tasks to others. Contrary to popular belief, you don't need to do it all. You can
be much more effective if you can delegate tasks as necessary.

11. Use technology to complete tasks more quickly, efficiently or accurately. Today's mobile
technology features dozens, if not hundreds of apps that will help you manage—and
even accomplish—your tasks efficiently.

12. Leave time for fun. While there are times when we just need to power through a large
project, it's important to give yourself time to let loose. Not only will it refresh your
mind, it's good for your body, too. It doesn't have to be a lot of time but make sure that
you do!

13. Sleep for 7-8 hours every night. Getting the proper amount of sleep will help keep you
alert and energetic, able to think clearly, and function at a high level.

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