SUBMITTED BY-
SWATI SINHA
ROLL NO.1028
BBA-3rd SEM
INTRODUCTION
Stress management is the need of the hour. However, hard
we try to go beyond a stress situation, life seems to find
new ways of stressing us out and plaguing us with anxiety
attacks. Moreover, in our anxiety, mind body exhaustion or
our erring attitudes, we tend to overlook causes of stress
and the conditions triggered by those.
Stress can induce risky body-mind disorders. Immediate
disorders such as dizzy spells, anxiety attacks, tension,
sleeplessness and muscle cramps can all result in chronic
health problems. They also affect our immune,
cardiovascular and nervous systems and lead individuals to
habitual addictions, which are interlinked with stress.
INTRODUCTION
Like stress reactions, relaxation responses and stress
management techniques are some of the body’s
important built-in response systems. As a relaxation
response the body tries to get back balance in its
homeostasis. Some hormones released during the
fight or flight situation prompt the body to replace the
lost carbohydrates and fats, and restore the energy
level.
WHAT IS STRESS MANAGEMENT
Stress can be defined as a state of physical
and mental tension caused by certain
external or internal factors in a person’s
life.
In other words, stress is an adaptive response to an
external situation that results in physical,
psychological and behavioral deviations for
organizational participants. The physical or
psychological demands from the environment that
cause stress are called stressors.
The art of stress management is to keep yourself at
a level of stimulation that is healthy and enjoyable.
Life without stimulation would be incredibly dull
and boring.
Life with too much stimulus becomes unpleasant
and tiring, and may ultimately damage our health
or well-being. Too much stress can seriously
interfere with our ability to perform effectively.
Classification of stress
Stress can be classified into two categories-
General
Specific
General stress has two types- positive and negative stress.
Positive stress: it is that stress which includes, or results in
a positive change in shape, understanding, intensity of
emotion and action.
Negative stress: when the desired results are not achieved
or an individual feels overwhelmed, enthusiasm and the
sense of dejection and a general feeling of worthlessness.
This is called negative stress.
Specific stress has several sub types-
Physical stress
Mental stress
Emotional stress
Professional stress
Miscellaneous/environmental stress
Symptoms of stress
Physical symptoms:
Palpitation, chest pain, general discomfort, sleeplessness feeling
of fatigue
Indigestion, constipation
Allergy, asthmatic problems, respiratory difficulties
Backache, headache, neck pain, thyroid problem, muscle pain
Sexual problems
Obesity, arthritis, hypertension, strokes
Mental symptoms:
Lack of concentration
Communication problem
Depression
Hallucination
Emotional symptoms:
Prone to anger and violence
Easily irritated, panicky
Feeling lonely and useless
Guilty, ashamed, anxious
Suffering from phobias, distrustful
Too much of artificial laughter
Behavior symptoms
Excess smoking or drinking
Erratic sleeping time
Poor time management
Aggressive behavior, lethargic
kleptomania
Causes and effects of stress in the
workplace
Stress is caused by many different factors. However, we are
concerned mostly with job related stress. What causes stress in
work settings?
Occupational demands
Conflict between work and non work
Role ambiguity: stress from uncertainty
Over and under load
Responsibility for others: a heavy burden
Major effects of organizational stress
Stress and task performance
Stress as a source of desk rage
Burnout: stress and psychological adjustment
Stress and health: the silent killer
When an individual experiences stress
An individual experiencing stress depends on:
Perception
Past experience
Social support
Individual differences
PERCEPTION: refers to a psychological process
whereby a person selects and organizes stimuli into a
concept of reality.
PAST EXPERIENCE: whether a person experience
stress depends on his or past experience with a similar
stressor.
SOCIAL SUPPORT: the presence or absence of other
people influences how individuals in the workplace
experiences stress and respond to stressors.
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES: differences in
motivation ,attitudes, personality, and abilities also
who is more stressed: men or women
A few years ago, a comprehensive survey was conducted to
address this question by comparing the stressors faced by them
at the workplace. some 900 employees representing 28 different
companies were surveyed. Stress was measured by way of a
sophisticated questionnaire that assessed various causes and
effects of stress.
First, compared to men, women reported facing significantly
greater amounts of many different sources. They encountered
more changes and greater pressure to perform well on the job.
However, women did a better job than men of coping with the
stressors they faced by taking care of themselves.
The triggers of stress reactions in women are different from men.
women show more symptoms of physical stress if the jobs
The triggers of stress reactions in women are different from
men. women show more symptoms of physical stress if the
jobs they face are chaotic or demanding. For men, however,
symptoms of stress are more likely to result when they face
ambiguous demands about what to do or when they work
in a highly competitive atmosphere.
These findings call attention to the importance of taking
steps to alleviate the stressors faced by women in the
workplace. Although, men face many of the same stressors,
women are more inclined to suffer problems. Because of
them, suggesting the importance of including women in
corporate stress management programs.
How to reduce, prevent and cope with
stress
There are many ways to reduce stress.
Unhealthy ways of coping with stress:
Smoking and drinking too much
Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
Withdrawing from friends, family and activities
Using pills or drugs to relax
Sleeping too much
Procrastinating
Dealing with stressful situations: the four A’s:
Change the situation: change the reaction:
Avoid the stressor adapt to the stressor
Alter the stressor accept the stressor
An article was published by David B. Posen, MD of The
Canadian Journal of Continuing Medical Education.
Ten ways of reducing stress:
Decrease or discontinue caffeine
Regular exercise
Relaxation/meditation
Sleep
Time-outs and leisure
Realistic expectations
Reframing
Belief
Ventilation
humor
Appendix
Literature survey
A booklet was written by Scott Brunero, CNC, Liaison
Mental Health Nursing, prince of Wales hospital, Sydney.
According to them, defining stress is much like defining
happiness. Everyone knows what it is, but no one can agree
on a definition. Essentially, stress is the emotional and
physical and response we experience when we perceive an
imbalance between demands placed on us and our
resources at a time when coping is important. What it
means is that we experience stress whenever we are faced
with an event or situation.
According to K. ASWATHAPPA, stress is an adaptive
response to an external situation that results in physical,
psychological and behavioral deviations for organizational
participants. Stress can manifest itself in both a positive
way and a negative way.
According to MEENA NANDA, stress is a mind borne
discomfort that infects us through our thought process and
sense organs. But the point is why we allow stress to infect
us? We allow stress to infect us because of the following
reasons;
We are lonely in the crowd
We don’t trust life
We are non co-operative
Bibliography
Books referred:
Organizational behavior: [Link]
OB: Jerald Greenberg & Robert A. Baron
A handbook on stress management: Meena Nanda
Principles and practices of stress management: Robert L. Wool
folk
Stress management: a comprehensive handbook of techniques
and strategies: Jonathan C. Smith.
Websites used:
[Link]
[Link]
THANKYOU
