OCCUPATIONAL STRESS

AND
STRESS MANAGEMENT
 Statistics
 More people get heart attacks on Monday morning than on any other
day

 Two-thirds of all office visits to physicians are stress related Stress plays
a role in two major killers (heart disease and cancer)

 Long-term stress contributes to ulcers, ADA, cardiovascular disease,

hypertension, immune system disorders, emotional disturbances and
school injuries

Why Stress Management? Stress Related Disorders & Chemical

Dependency Cost Employers Billions $$$$$
 lost productivity
 increased health care expenses
 increased absenteeism
TYPES OF PERSONALITIES

Type A personality
 Tendency to compete and challenge others

 Have sense of urgency of time

 Highly motivated and lose their temper easily

 Strive to accomplish too much

 Aggressive and impatient

 High need of achievement

 Dislike repetitious chores

 Have a personality referred to as coronary prone behavior

pattern.
 Types of personalities cont..

 Type B personality

 Relaxed and easy going

 Goal oriented
 Not aggressive
 Tolerate delays without undue tension
 Have learned to react more calmly to stress
 Seldom lacks enough time
 Moves and speaks slowly
 Seldom impatient
 Work at steady pace
 Not preoccupied with achievement
What is stress?

 Stress is the response of the body to any demand made upon it.
The "demand" can be a threat, a challenge or any kind of change
which requires the body to adapt.

 The response is automatic and immediate.

 Stress creates positive or negative feelings.

 Stress has both physical and emotional effects

SOURCES OF STRESS

THE GOOD

 Get married
 Have children

 Buy a new home

 Go on vacation

 New Job

 Promotion
THE BAD

 Break a leg
 Spouse loses

 Job loss

 trouble

 Lose wallet

 In-laws coming

 Unwanted pregnancy
THE UGLY

 Nasty car accident

 Bankruptcy

 Divorce

 Loved one dying

 Stressors

 Three basic types of stressors:

 1. Frustrations

 2. Pressures

 3. Conflicts
FRUSTRATIONS

 Frustrations occur when there are obstacles that block one from
reaching their goal.
 External obstacles:

 Losing a job

 Lack of enough money to pay bills

 Loss of a friend

 Internal Obstacles:

 Guilt

 Fear

 Loneliness
PRESSURE
 Pressure can be good or bad.

 Stress can come from pressures that force people to achieve

specific goals by speeding up, working harder, or changing the
way they do something.

 It may come from expectations of others. People in recovery

may have external pressures from family and friends to get
better quickly.

 Some may be impatient with their recovery rate, while others

may feel guilty about the time they wasted during their
addiction
CONFLICT

 Conflicts occur when there are two opposing forces–one force

against the other.
 Internal
 External
 Burnout is the emotional exhaustion due to longterm stress
due to frustration that care cannot be delivered in the ideal
manner

 Stages of burnout

 High expectation and idealism

 Pessimism and early job dissatisfaction
 Withdrawal and isolation
 Irreversible detachment and loss of interest
 People suffering from burnout Feel they have
nothing more to offer
 Develop a negative attitude towards
colleagues
 Feel they are less skillful than before
 Some consequences of burnout
 Absenteeism

 Conflicts

 Withdrawal from life activities

 How to Control Burnout

  Personal hardiness

  Sense of personal control rather than powerlessness

  Commitment to personal goals

  Seeing life’s demands and change as challenges rather than

threats
 Causes of stress at work
 Career development

 Life changes

 Discrimination

 Organizational structure and climate

 School environmental conditions

 Changes within an organisation

 Bureaucracies

 Extra organizational sources

 Symptoms of stress
 1. Feelings

 – Anxiety

 – Scared

 – Irritable

 – Moody
 Symptoms of stress cont…
 2. Thoughts

 – Low self esteem

 – Fear of failure

 – Inability to concentrate

 – Embarrassing easily

 – Worry about the future

 – Preoccupied with thoughts

 – Forgetfulness
 Symptoms of stress cont…
 3. Physical

 – Perspiration/sweaty hands

 – Increased heart beat

 – Trembling

 – Dryness of throat and mouth

 – Headaches

 – Susceptibility to illness

 – Pain on the neck or lower back

 – Urinating frequently
 Symptoms of stress cont….
 5. Physiological symptoms

 – Cramps and muscle spasms

 • Nausea

 • Breathlessness

 • Fainting spells

 • Impotency or rigidity

 • High blood pressure

 Mental
 • Loss of interest in people

 • Loss of humour

 • Feeling of neglect

 • Dread of the future

 • Difficult in concentrating

 • Inability to finish tasks

 ABCs of stress management
  Acquire awareness of responses to stress

  Believe one can change their behaviour

  Commitment to taking action to prevent

conflicts
Stress Management Techniques
Methods of helping individual to cope with stress:
 Pharmacotherapy – employs use of drugs that act on the
cerebral sites of mental functions to offer relief.
 Psychotherapy - Doctor offers suggestion,

persuasion, re-education, reassurance, support

etc.
Stress Management Techniques
 • Build rewarding, pleasant cooperative

relationships with employees

 • Don’t bite more than you can chew

 • Build especially effective and supportive

relationships with employees.

 • Negotiate with employees for realistic

deadlines on important projects.

Stress Management Techniques
 • Learn as much as you can about upcoming

events and get as much lead-time as you can to prepare

them
 • Find time for detachment and relaxation

 • Take a walk around to keep the body

refreshed and alert

 • Find ways to reduce unnecessary noise

 • Limit interruptions
Relaxation Techniques
 Abdominal Breathing

 Active Progressive Muscle Relaxation

 Visualization

 Self-Hypnosis

 Meditation

 Music

 Stretching

 Exercise
PSYCHOLOGICAL FIRST AID
 Give the person a chance to speak his
mind to relieve himself
  Listen and offer good advice

  Show understanding

  Show consideration on the person

  Show an interest in the problems of

the person under stress.