Stress Management

Short story
A lecturer was giving a lecture to his student on stress management.
He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, "How heavy do
you think this glass of water is?" The students' answers ranged from
20g to 500gm.
It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long
you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK.
If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm.
If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.
It is the exact same weight, but the longer
I hold it, the heavier it becomes.
If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later,
we will not be able to carry on,
the burden becoming increasingly heavier.
What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before
holding it up again. We have to put down the burden periodically, so
that we can be refreshed and are able to carry on.

So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of
work down. Don't carry it back home. You can pick it up tomorrow.
Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it
down for a moment if you can. Pick it up again later when you have
rested.
Stress

Researchers define stress as a physical, mental,

or emotional response to events that causes
bodily or mental tension. Simply put, stress is
any outside force or event that has an effect on
our body or mind.

Emotional stress usually occurs when people

consider situations difficult or unable to
manage. Different people consider different
situations as stressful.
Types of Stress
• Physical –
This occurs when the body as a whole starts to suffer
as a result of a stressful situation.

Symptoms can manifest in a variety of ways and

vary in their seriousness –

digestive problems insomnia,

fatigue, high blood pressure,
nervousness excessive sweating,
heart disease, strokes hair loss.
• Emotional –

These responses are due to stress affecting the mind and

include –

 anxiety - Anxiety is normally shown as a response to

loss, failure, danger or a fear of the unknown
 anger - Anger is a common response to frustration or
social stress and can become a danger to other
individuals if not kept in check.
 depression - Depression is frequently seen as an
emotional response to upsetting situations such as the
death of a loved one, illness and failure.
 irritability
 frustration
 memory loss and a lack of concentration for any task.
• Psychological –
Long-term stress can cause psychological
problems in some individuals.

Symptoms include –
 withdrawal from society
 phobia
 compulsive behaviors
 eating disorders
 night terrors.
Causes of Stress
Stress at home –

• Death of spouse, family, near relative or friend.

• Injury or illness of any family member.
• Marriage of self or son or daughter or brother or sister.
• Pregnancy or birth of a new baby.
• Children's behavior or disobedience.
• Children's educational performance.
• Hyperactive children.
• Argument or heated conversations family members or friends
or neighbors.
• Not sufficient money to meet out daily expenses or
unexpected expenditure.
• Loss of money in burglary, pick-pocketed or share market.
• Moving house.
• Change of place or change of city or change of country.
Stress at Work –

• To meet out the demands of the job.

• Your relationship with colleagues.
• To control staff under you.
• To train your staff and take work from them.
• Support you receive from your boss, colleagues and juniors.
• Excessive work pressure.
• To meet out deadlines.
• To give new results.
• To produce new publications if you are in research area.
• Working overtime and on holidays.
• New work hours.
• Promotion or you have not been promoted or your junior has
superseded you.
• Argument or heated conversations with co-workers or boss.
• Change of job.
• Work against will.
• Harassment.
• Sexual molestation.
Other Causes of Stress –

• Threats : physical threats, social threats,

financial threat, other threats.
• Uncertainty
• Lack of sleep
• Somebody misunderstands you
• Setback to your position in society
Stress Management

• Stress management encompasses techniques intended to

equip a person with effective coping mechanisms for
dealing with psychological stress.

• Stress management is effective when a person utilizes

strategies to cope with or alter stressful situations.

• methods of controlling factors that require a response or

change within a person by identifying the stressors,
eliminating negative stressors, and developing effective
coping mechanisms to counteract the response
constructively.
Stress Management
• Recognize stress and symptoms
• Diagnose type of stressor
• Learn techniques to be applied
• Reduce negative stress and its effect
• Learn relaxation techniques
Techniques of Stress Management

• Self-understanding
• Self-management
• Conflict resolution
• Positive attitude
• Self-talk
• Breathing
• Meditation
• Exercise
• Diet
• Rest
• Time management