STRESS MANAGEMENT

& SELF DEVELOPMENT

DR. NILANJANA BAGCHI

H.O.D, PSYCHOLOGY

BETHUNE COLLEGE
PEOPLE HAVE ONE THING IN
COMMON;

THEY ARE ALL DIFFERENT

ROBERT ZEND
1=not at all like me, 2=somewhat not like me
3=neither like me or unlike me 4= somewhat like me
5=like me

1.When someone steps in front of me i line , I donot let them

get away with it.
2. I express my opinion without hesitation.
3. Sometimes I just can’t say anything.
4. When at a lecture, I never ask questions
5. I find it tough to say “No” at the needs of others.
6. When I accomplish something important , I always let
others know about it.
7. I express my feelings openly.
8. I have a hard time saying “No”
9. I usually hold in my emotions.
10. I complain about poor services when I am dissatisfied.
11. I often initiate conversation with strangers.
12. I feel uncomfortable calling business establishments and
institutions.
13. If a close friend were annoying to me, I would not express my
feelings.
14. I don’t ask questions because they may sound stupid.
15. I avoid arguing over prices with sales people.
16. Most people seem to speak up more than I do.
17. When I am not happy with a service, I complain about it.
18. If someone asks a favour of me, I have difficult time saying “
no”
19. When I am asked to do something. I will usually ask questions
about it.
20.It seems that people often take advantage of me.
A=strongly agree,
b=agree,
c=disagree,
d=strongly disagree

1.I feel that I’m a person of worth ,at least on an equal basis
with others. abcd

2. I feel that I have a number of good qualities abcd

3.All in all, I am inclined to feel that I am a failure. abcd

4.I am able to do things as well as most people. abcd

5. I feel I do not have much time to be proud of. abcd

6.I take a positive attitude toward myself. abcd

7. On the whole, I am satisfied with myself abcd

8. I wish I could have more respect for myself. abc

d

9.I certainly feel useless at times. abcd

10.At times I think I am no good at all. abcd

Assertiveness

For items 3,4,8,9,12,13,14,15,16,18,20 change scores from 1

to 5,2to 4,4 to 2, or 5to 1.donot change the score if you have
given 3.Total scores can range from 20 to 100.

Scores below 60 =lower assertiveness

Scores above 60=higher assertiveness.

Self esteem

For items 1,2,4,6,7 give yourself 1 point for answer a or b.

For items 3,5,8,9 and 10 give yourself 1 point for answer c or
d.

If score is 5 or above, self esteem is likely to be high.

Scores below 3 indicate low self esteem
 We depend on them when the unthinkable
happens, the men and women who choose to serve
as police officers, to respond to distress calls and
protect the public from violent and invasive crime.
Police work is usually considered among the
country’s 10 most stressful occupations when
annual surveys come out.
For many workers a bad day might mean being
yelled at by the boss or by a customer . A police
officer has a bad day, and it could be life or death.
People expect police officers to be tough and
fearless but stress can be a constant presence during
every shift and on every call.  
 Definition of Stress
 According to Lazarus, “stress is a condition or
feeling that a person experiences when he/she
perceives that the demands exceed the personal
and social resources the individual is able to
mobilize”.
“Stress is arousal of mind and body in response
to demands made on them”-----(Walt Schafer).
Stress is ever present ,a universal feature of life
and it involves virtually every set of organs and
tissues in our body and also the thoughts and
feelings

However, stress depends on an individual’s perception.

STRESS IS LIKE SPICE- IN THE RIGHT

PROPORTION IT ENHANCES THE

FLAVOUR

OF A DISH.

TOO LITTLE PRODUCES A DULL MEAL;

TOO MUCH MAY CHOKE YOU !!!!!

 DISPELLING SOME COMMON MYTHS
ABOUT STRESS
 ALL STRESS IS BAD

  THE GOAL OF STRESS MANAGEMENT

SHOULD BE TO ELIMINATE STRESS

 THE “GOOD LIFE”SHOULD BE FREE OF

STRESS

  A PERSON CAN ALWAYS ADAPT TO

DIFFICULT CIRCUMSTANCES IF HE OR
SHE TRIES HARD ENOUGH
• SOME PEOPLE ARE DESTINED BY THEIR
HERITAGE TO BE HIGHLY STRESSED.
 
• DISTRESS HAS ONLY HARMFUL
EFFECTS
 
• PHYSICAL EXERCISE DRAINS ENERGY
THAT COULD BE OTHERWISE USED
TO COPE WITH STRESS.
 
• STRESS AFFECTS ONLY ADULTS.
 Types of stress
Neustress (Morse and Furst,1979)

A condition where the mind and body are

aroused but a little or no impact is produced
from these demands.

Eustress

Moderate, helping one to occasional

elevations of anxiety contributing to creativity
and motivation to perform.
 
 The General Adaptation Syndrome
Hans Selye (1956) identified along term general response to
stressors as the “General Adaptation Syndrome”.(GAS).
It consists of 3 stages.
•The Alarm Phase- the body identifies and reacts to the
•stressor.
• In the Resistance Phase, a rebound called “countershock”
occurs when resistance to stress picks up ; adrenal cortex
enlarges and hormone release increases. Combating to stress
begins, stress hormones flood the body, blood pressure,
heart rate temperature and respiration rates shoot up.
If the efforts succeed ,body returns to normal resting phase .
If not, individual moves to the next phase.
•Exhaustion-Body collapses and vulnerability to
disease increases.
 HYPOTHALAMUS
SYMPATHETIC DIVISION PITUITARY SECRETES ACTH

OF ANS

• STIMULATION OF  STIMULATION OF ADRENAL

ADRENAL MEDULLA CORTEX

• RELEASE OF ADRENALIN • RELEASE OF

AND NORADRENALIN CORTICOSTEROIDS

• PHYSIOLOGICAL  LIVER RELEASES STORED

GLUCOSE, TISSUE
REACTIONS OF FIGHT OR INFLAMMATION INHIBITED,
FLIGHT INCREASES ACTIVITY OF
IMMUSYSTEM
 Fight or Flight ( by Walter Cannon in 1932)

A short term Physiological reaction to

threat in which the ANS mobilizes the
organism for attacking or fleeing.

Tend or Befriend ( SHELLY TAYLOR,2000)

Distress
When one’s well being is endangered and one is
uncertain of his or ability to handle it.
Symptoms of distress (Warning Signs…Indicates
that something is wrong and needs to be changed)
 Poor Concentration
 Short Temperedness
 Trembling Hands
 Churning Stomach
 Tight Shoulders
 Sore Lower Back
 Anxiety
 Depression
 Irritability
 Fuzzy Thinking
 POST TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

FOLLOWS A TRAUMATIC INCIDENCE

RE-EXPERIENCED THROUGHTS, FEELINGS, DREAMS ETC.

PERSISTENT SYMPTOMS OF INCREASED AROUSAL.

 TROUBLED SLEEPING, IRRITABILITY, OUTBURSTS OF

ANGER

 TROUBLE CONCENTRATING

 SYMPTOMS LAST FOR MORE THAN A MONTH

 SYMPTOMS INTERFERE WITH A PERSONS

SOCIAL,OCCUPATIONAL OR OTHER AREAS OF
 Locus of Control

  Internals have low stress because they believe they

control their own destiny.Externals believe that their
lives are controlled by external forces and therefore they
feel more helpless and stressed.

Type A Behaviour

Aggressively involved in chronic , incessant struggle

to achieve more and more in less and less time and suffer
from a sense of urgency and excessive competition are
stress prone.
Psychological Hardiness----
A Personality style characterized by sense of commitment (rather
than alienation), control (rather than powerlessness) and
perception of problems as challenging (rather than threats)

Learned Helplessness----
-If individuals feel that they have little control over their own lives
and outcomes, they are more likely to experience stress.

Life events and daily Hassles----

People who experience clusters of stressful life events are more
likely to become stress prone than they normally would be.

Conflict ----
Approach-Approach, Avoidance-Avoidance, Approach-
Avoidance.
We become chronically overloaded because we
leave too little margin in our lives (Swensen,1992).

Marginless is being thirty minutes late to the

doctor’s chamber because you were twenty minutes
late getting out of the office because you had last
minute transaction with your boss and left your
mobile phone at your desk and the car ran out of
petrol while you were on your way to pick up your
wife to the doctor’s chamber.
Margin on the other hand is having breath left at
the top of the staircase ,money left at the end of the
month and sanity left at the end of adolescence .
Sources of Police Stress
• Desired versus Actual Level of Workload
• Responsibility
• Role Ambiguity-intra-role, inter-role conflict and
conflict between personality and role.
• Job Dissatisfaction
• Political Pressure
• Goal conflict
• Nature of the job-where always in the purview of
others criticism, being evaluated, risk of family members
involved, erratic and hectic time schedule that inhibits
devoting time for the family.

•One study revealed that having to complete paper work

is more for many police officers than the danger
associated with pursuing criminals.
Constant exposure to people suffering
distress and pain

Threats to an officer’s safety or health

The quickly alternative pace of the job

The responsibility of owning a weapon

The responsibility of protecting the lives of
citizens

Having to be in control of emotions even

when provoked
Symptoms of Police Stress
Overload can lead to Burnout
 A state of physical and emotional exhaustion
that includes a hopeless feeling, chronic fatigue
and low energy.

 Most likely among people who deal with

others in highly emotional situations and have
limited control over the behavior of others or over
the outcomes.

 Burnout usually occurs not because of one or

two traumatic events but because of gradual
accumulation of everyday stressors.
Insomnia and Restlessness

In a job that requires as much alertness and

concentration as that of a police officer, getting
satisfactory rest is vital for both physical and
emotional well-being.
Restlessness and insomnia can develop
into a vicious cycle, leaving an individual never
fully rested and never able to relax and
recharge.

Lowered sex drive

Drinking too much
BIRDS SING AFTER A STORM.

WHY SHOULD’NT WE?

Individual Coping

Strategies
 Lazarus’s concept of appraisal
Primary Appraisal ----
In primary appraisal, individuals interpret
whether an event involves harm or loss that
has already occurred, a threat of some future
danger, a challenge to be overcome.
 
Secondary Appraisal----
Individuals evaluate their resources and
determine how effectively they can be used to
cope with an event.
The living self has one purpose only:

To come into its own fullest of being,

as a tree comes into full blossom , or a

bird

Into spring beauty, or a tiger into lustre .

 Know yourself- SWOT Analysis

Prepare a chart that mentions your strengths and

weaknesses. Now concentrate on the latter and find
ways to improve upon the same. Do not forget to
strengthen your strengths.
  Develop Self Efficacy

 View events as challenges to overcome

rather than stressful forces that immobilize and
emotionally blunt you.

 Engage in Problem Focused Coping

Reduce or Eliminate Avoidance Strategies

Practice Thought Stopping

 Engage in active cognitive strategies
 See the positive side of the situation.
 Draw on your past experiences
 Step back from the situation to view it more
objectively
 Go over the situation and try to understand it.

Engage in Self Control

 Define the problem
 Commit to change

 Don’ t go on to a frenzied state where your will not

be able to think clearly. Don’t act impulsively.
  Follow a Disinhibition strategy
 Open up and talk about your stressful
experiences. Engage in some activities you enjoy
instead being immobilized and feeling sorry for
yourself.

 Humour can help

 Seek Social Support

•Try to avoid using alcohol, nicotine and
caffeine
as coping mechanisms in an attempt
to ease the stress. 

•Pick your battles

Try to avoid any unnecessary conflict
both at home and in the work environment.
Rather than trying to win unwinnable
arguments, seek a solution that is amiable for
both parties and move on with your day.
Wasting precious energy on trivial matters is
bound to cause unneeded stress.
• Take time off. Many law enforcement personnel
opt for additional shifts and overtime hours, which
can only increase the effects of stress.

• Let down your guard and try to find the lighter

side of life. While difficult, this is particularly
important for professionals who often confront an
especially grisly side of the job and extreme
situations.

• Do not feel stressed about having a dual

responsibility of family and work.
 It is okay if you do not work until midnight,
and do not get a promotion. Nobody
remembers their job designation on their
dying day…

 Try being the best….but do not take the

responsibility of proving it to the others.

 
 Give your body a message of love and
value….
Effective Self Development Strategies to Help
You
Improve Yourself

 Accept personal responsibility for your own growth;

no one can do it for you. What you do today will
determine your readiness for tomorrow.
 As long as you are still alive, you are capable of
changing and growing. You can do anything you want
to do, be anything you want to be.

  Take time every day to do something for yourself.

 Be hungry for what life has to

offer and go for it.
 Decide what you really desire to do-then do it.
•Be yourself

• Be honest to yourself& to others

• Exercise your potential to the fullest

 LOVE & RESPECT YOURSELF…

 CULTIVATE YOUR ASSETS

 Smile. And smile some more. It adds to your face
value and to your personality as well.

 Spend some time alone concentrating on you and

yourself alone.

 Have an opinion

 Do not live a monotonous life. Be creative and do

something new all the time.
 Share a little, care a little
Learn to be more compassionate! The next time you or
somebody else commits an error, let them off the hook without
holding a grudge. Broaden your perspective that we all are
evolving continuously and that no one’s perfect. This outlook
will help you accept yourself and others better.

 Praise the one in front of you

When we praise someone’s qualities out of the feeling of
completeness, then it elevates our consciousness and brings
enthusiasm and energy. It helps the same qualities blossom in us
too and we become better individuals.

 The art of prioritizing is getting things done without

allowing stress and anxiety to take over. Panic usually occurs
when we try and juggle all our tasks – all at once. Prioritizing is
essential to personal & professional success.
 
 Take classes to stay current in your field of
expertise. The world is changing rapidly and you
must learn to manage change to avoid
obsolescence. The way Will Rogers put this was
that "Even if you are on the right track, if you just sit
there you will get run over.“

 Never look back to the past-you only can control

your actions in this instant, so what should you be
doing right now?

 Work for balance in your life goals: family,

financial, professional, social, spiritual, recreational.
 Learn from "other people's experience" rather then
having to try everything for yourself. It shortens the time
needed to learn.

 Develop yourself as a resource for others by networking.

Find out who does what, when, and for whom. You may find
excellent contacts for your future needs and for the needs of
others you meet.

 Identify some "models" and observe their style and

actions. Do not copy them but learn from their experiences.
 Analyze, in a non-judgmental way,
mistakes in which you were involved. It will
help you to prevent these in the future.

 Develop a "master mind" group of four or five

people with whom you can openly discuss ideas in
a nonjudgmental way.

 Find a nonjudgmental mentor who will help you

by providing feedback, suggestions, challenges and
support.
  Never say something can't or won't be done. Keep
looking for ways to do it.

 Reward yourself when you catch yourself working on

the most important priorities.

 After attending a seminar, report to your boss or other

people in your organization, what the most important things
are that you learned from the program.

 Eliminate one time waster a week from your life.

 Always keep your goals in mind as you start a new activity.
 
   Do more than your "self doubts" say you can.

 Do not be afraid of failing at something.
 


Ask yourself, "How can I manipulate my
fate?“

 Remain flexible and constantly adaptable.

  Keep a record of what you accomplished
the previous day(s)/week. If you did not
accomplish as much as you wanted, it gives
you extra incentive to do better in the next
time period.
 PERSON KNOWS PERSON DOES NOT
ABOUT THE KNOW ABOUT THE
OTHER OTHER

OPEN SELF HIDDEN SELF

PERSON KNOWS
ABOUT HIMSELF
OR HERSELF

PERSON DOES NOT UNDISCOVERED

KNOW ABOUT BLIND SELF SELF
HIMSELF OR
HERSELF
 Meditation and Relaxation

How to Meditate
• Quiet Place

• Comfortable Position

• Eyes Closed

• Accepting, Non Critical Attitude

• Repeated Mental Focus

• When aware of mind wandering, gently return to mental focus .

6 SECOND QUITENING RESPONSE
 
DO IT MANY TIMES A DAY
 
First push your stomach out, and then draw a deep, long
breath.

Hold for 2 to 3 seconds

Exhale with a long breath, slowly and completely.

As you exhale, let your jaw and shoulders drop.

Feel the relaxation flow from your neck and shoulders

down to your arms to your fingertips.
 PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION (PMR)
Edmund Jacobson (1929).
 
Especially useful when experiencing tightness in any body
part.

 1. Find a quiet place where you can recline or sit comfortably

2. Begin with a 6 second quieting response.

Squeeze each of the following, hold for 10 seconds, then release

and draw a deep breath.

 
 
 When finished at one location, move on to the
other.
•  Right Fist
• Right Forearm
• Right upper Arm
• Left Fist
• Left Forearm
• Left Upper Arm
• Shoulders and Neck
• Head and Face
•  Feet and legs, then to your abdomen.

4.As you proceed be aware of

 the contrast between tension and calm.
 Be aware of the pleasant sensation of relaxation.
 Be aware of your power to produce deep quiet.
 Assertiveness Training

• Involves teaching individuals to acting their

own best interests, to stand up for their legitimate
rights and to express their views directly and
openly.

• You have the right NOT to offer reasons or

excuses to justify your behavior, and to judge
whether a reason is necessary in a situation.

• You have the right to change your mind.

 ASSERTIVENESS
• You have the right to be wrong.

• You have the right to say “I don’t know”.

• You have the right to make mistakes and to be

responsible for your mistakes.

• You have the right to be illogical.

• You have the right to say “I don’t care”.

•. You have the right to say NO.

 Time Management

 Review your current accomplishment goal plans and

think about new items that demand your time.
 Write down the activities you want to accomplish
tomorrow mark an * beside those that must be
accomplished.
 Number these activities in order of importance.
 Estimate the time required to accomplish each
activity
Schedule the activities for specific times (Your
Earned Time) of the day.
 GETTING CRITICISED
 TAKE CRITICISM AS OPPORTUNITY
RATHER THAN THREAT

 BE THICK SKINNED

 LISTEN ATTENTIVELY

• UNDERSTAND FULLY

 ASK FOR MORE INFORMATION

 ACKNOWLEDGE GRAINS OF TRUTH

• ASSESS THE SOURCE

 WHEN YOU CAN’’T FIGHT, AND YOU
CAN’T
FLEE…

FLOW.

THANK YOU
WHAT GOOD STRESS MANAGERS DO,?
1.They anticipate, monitor and regulate stressors in
so far as possible.
2. Good copers believe they can influence events
and their reactions o those events.
4. They practice daily deep relaxation in order to
balance chronic excitation of the stress response
with recovery, as well as to keep arousal at a lower
level most of the time.
5. Effective stress managers use mental and
physical on -the- spot tension reducers to control
arousal when confronted with threatening stressors.
6. They maintain positive health buffers –daily exercise,
good eating habits, adequate sleep and healthy pleasures –to
build stress resistance and prevent stress build up.

7. They recognize early warning signs of mental and
physical distress.

8. They develop and maintain a strong sense of meaning in

their lives-meaning that provides direction and coherence in
their lives.

9. They get involved in contributing to the well being of
other persons, organizations and communities.