MANAGING STRESS EFFECTIVELY

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TO LEARN: TO RECOGNIZE YOUR STRESS

SYMPTOMS YOU DO HAVE SOME CONTROL OVER

YOUR STRESS HOW TO RECOGNIZE AND USE THIS

CONTROL ADDITIONAL COPING STRATEGIES

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GOALS OF WORKSHOP

Does practicing stress management improve our long-term functioning?

AGREE OR DISAGREE

HOW???

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QUESTION

To reduce wear and tear on ourselves

and our families, we must learn and understand how stress affects each of us.

Many people have symptoms of stress every day and accept it as a part of a normal day, rather than something we should learn to manage.

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STRESS MANAGEMENT BEGINS HERE: UNDERSTANDING

Time, money, and relationships ensure that stress will always be with us

Which sorts or stresses are you here to learn about at the workshop ?

Generate a stress list on flip chart

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STRESS LIST

Anything that places a demand on our personal resources….our time, energy, support, family

Zig Ziglar ~ Many companies have long contended that stress in the home causes productivity loss in the market place.. and it does. But research now reveals that stress on the job causes stress at home. In other words, they feed off each other

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Stress Can Be Viewed As..

ThreatNoveltyUnpredictability/unexpectedThreat to egoLoss of Sense of control

From the Center for Studies on Human Stress at www.humanstress.ca

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STRESS INGREDIENTS

CAUSES OF STRESS FALL INTO TWO CATEGORIES:

Internal External

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CAUSES OF STRESS

- Everyday pressures such as financial problems, arguments with families or colleagues, lack of sleep and work stress

- These are called : DAILY HASSLES- (Kohn and McDonald, 1992)- They can slip below the radar – we

stop noticing - DISCUSSION PT

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DAILY HASSLES ….

THE STRESSOR MAY BE PLEASANT OR UNPLEASANT, OR THE RESULTS ARE GOOD OR BAD

Planning a wedding (good stress) Increased workload at work (bad

stress)

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MAJOR STRESSES

STRESS SCALES CAN HELP US CLUE IN: NUMBER AND TYPES OF STRESSES WE ARE COPING WITH

PERCEIVED STRESS SCALE

Heart and Stroke Foundation – Internet Quiz

AVAILABLE ON THE BREAK…11

STRESS SCALES…

Little control over external stress in the short run

There are parts that you cannot change (other people, certain events, etc)

Recognizing this may free up energy to focus on what you can control

Applying this to a situation: DISCUSSION PT

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IT’S ABOUT WHAT YOU CONTROLAND WHAT YOU DON’T!!

“INSIDE OURSELVES”

Hans Selye ~ Its not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it ~

The way you perceive a situation is more important than the situation itself

The same event can affect us differently depending on how we interpret the situation

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INTERNAL STRESSORS

We attach our own meaning to events (either good or bad) so depending on the meaning, the event is either stressful or not

How event is perceived (internal stress)

Internal stressor can play a major role in the stress of daily life

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INTERNAL STRESS

DO YOU EVER STRESS ABOUT STRESS?!

POSITIVE SELF TALK: LEARN THAT YOU CAN MANAGE A STRESSFUL SITUATION BY WHAT YOU SAY TO YOURSELF, “I CAN HANDLE THIS ONE STEP AT A TIME”.

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STRESS VS INTERPRETATION

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What kind of self-talk do you use in managing these stresses?

1. Leaky toilet 2. Cuts you off, driving 3. Partner loses wallet 4. Argument with a friend

Are you aware if and when you do that? Stress vs Interpretation

(cartoon)

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STRESS AND INTERPRETATION

ON THE BREAK: TRY OUT A FEW THINGS:

BREATHING< STRESS BALLS> MEDITATION SAYING NO ETC

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TAKING TIME TO MANAGE STRESS

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STRESS RESPONSE CURVE(Yerkes- Dodson Law)

Performance increases with arousal, only to a point; then it diminishes.

WHAT YOU NOTICE: HEART RATE SPEEDS UP BP RISES BREATHING SPEEDS UP BLOOD TO MUSCLES SWEATING BLOOD SUGAR INCREASESPLUS RELEASE OF STRESS HORMONES

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INCREASE IN SYMPATHETIC NERVOUS SYSTEM ACTIVITY

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HOW DO YOU REACT TO STRESS?

MUSCLE TENSION NAUSEA CHANGES IN APPETITE HEADACHES JAW, NECK & BACK PAIN DIARRHEA SLEEP DISTURBANCES DRY MOUTH, SWEATY PALMS UPPER RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS COLD HANDS BREATHING CHANGES (E.G., SHALLOW, SIGHING)

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PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS

Relaxation Massage Exercise : Specifics?

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MANAGING PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS

REDUCED CONCENTRATION MOODINESS, ON EDGE, DEFENSIVE TROUBLE MAKING DECISIONS RACING THOUGHTS NIGHTMARES CLOSE TO TEARS FORGETFULNESS LONELINESS DISORGANZED

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EMOTIONAL/MENTAL SYMPTOMS

BECOMING AWARE CAN HELP:

UNDERSTAND IMPORTANCE OF TAKING TIME TO DO THINGS TO FEEL BETTER

SEEK SUPPORT STOP DOING THINGS THAT AGGRAVATE

THE STRESSMINDFULNESS BASED STRESS

REDUCTION

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MANAGING EMOTIONS

TARDINESS SERIOUS APPEARANCE NERVOUS BEHAVIOR/HABITS RUSHING/PACING YELLING OR OVERREACTING MORE ACCIDENTS/CLUMSY WASTING TIME REDUCED PODUCTIVITY USE OF ALCOHOL?SUBSTANCES TO FEEL

BETTER

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BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS

How many people experience stress at work?

How many people carry that stress home?

Also the Psychology Foundation has free information on workplace resilience at www.psychologyfoundation.org

Some of their brochures are here to look at over the break

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WORK AND STRESS

MOST OF US BOUNCE BACK. UNDER PROLONGED LONG-TERM STRESS AND LACKING SUPPORT AND EFFECTIVE COPING:

OUR PERSONALITIES CAN CHANGE MAY BECOME DEPRESSED, FEEL

HELPLESS/HOPELESS OR BECOME EXPLOSIVE/IMPULSIVE

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LONG TERM EFFECTS MAY BE HARMFUL

THERE ARE THINGS YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE YOUR STRESS (EVEN WHEN IT SEEMS OVERWHELMING)

SIMPLE STEPS CAN GO A LONG WAY

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STRESS MANAGEMENT BASICS

TAKE CHARGE: 1. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR

MAKING YOUR LIFE WHAT YOU WANT.2. ACCEPT WHAT YOU CAN’TCONTROL3. ACTIVELY MANAGE YOUR STRESS

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THREE STEPS TO REDUCE STRESS

WHAT HAVE YOU TRIED BEFORE THAT HELPSDECREASE YOUR STRESS? (emotional/behavioural/physical/thoughts?)

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Where To Start

GET ORGANIZED: USE CALENDERS OR “TO DO LISTS”

KNOW YOUR LIMITS: BE REALISTIC

CHANGE ATTITUDE: LEARN TO SEE STRESSFUL

SITUATIONS AS CHALLENGESTALK IT OVER:

TALK THE SITUATION OVER WITH A FRIEND

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NUTS AND BOLTS

LEARN TO SAY “NO”: THERE ARE SOME DEMANDS THAT WE HAVE NO CONTROL OVER. SEPARATE THOSE FROM ACTIVITIES OVER WHICH WE HAVE SOME CONTROL, AND LEARN TO SAY “NO” TO DEMANDS.

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NUTS AND BOLTS 2

DEEP BREATHING PROGRESSIVE MUSCLE RELAXATION BIOFEEDBACK MEDITATION BEGIN AN EXERCISE PROGRAM LAUGH! FIND A BALANCE IN YOUR LIFE

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NUTS AND BOLTS 3 :RELAX

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BUT HOW CAN I RELAX WHEN BAD THINGS ARE HAPPENING?

WORKING WITH A COUNSELLOR WE CAN

ADJUST OUR EXPECTATIONS OF SELVES & OTHERS ;

REAPPRAISE OUR PRIORITIES LEARN OTHER STRATEGIEGRADUALLY IMPROVE HOW YOU COPE

WITH STRESS

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LONG TERM GROWTH CAN REDUCE STRESS

There are now proven short-term OHIP covered stress courses in hospitals that teach meditation and stress reduction (See handout)

Mindfulness has been shown to reduce not only anxiety but also symptoms associated with chronic stress (psoriasis)

The person who researches and developed this approach is John Kabbat Zinn

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MINDFULNESS

BREAK DOWN STRESSINTERNAL/EXTERNAL

Become aware of (physical, behavioral, mental, emotional :

Stress interpretations/stress reactions) Identify what we can and cannot control Take time to cope with those areas we have

some control SEEK SUPPORT

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LET”S SUMMARIZE WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED

REALIZE THAT MUCH STRESS COMES FROM WITHIN, NOT WITHOUT.

TAKE TIME TO SMELL THE FLOWERS AND TASTE THE STRAWBERRIES.

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STRESS MANAGEMENT

QUESTIONS?

Materials Available at www.safht.ca

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR ATTENTIVENESS

Kimberley Boyle and Carol Garson

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STRESS MANAGEMENT

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