Unit-3

Stress Management

Introduction to Stress:
Stress is a part of day-to-day living. It is a common human phenomenon and
part of life. As college students you may experience stress meeting academic
demands, adjusting to a new living environment, or developing friendships. The
stress you experience is not necessarily harmful. Mild forms of stress can act as
a motivator and energizer. However, if your stress level is too high, medical and
social problems can result. Everyone in his or her job, at some time experiences
pressure.
Too much pressure over a sustained period can however result in stress, that is,
unless it is managed properly. Stress has been called the ‘invisible disease’ and
can affect you, your employer, your colleagues and those closest to you. It is
important therefore that you understand what it is and how you can manage
your working life in order to minimize its occurrence. Definition Hans Selye
was one of the founding fathers of stress research. His view in 1956 was that
“stress is not necessarily something bad – it all depends on how you take it. The
stress of exhilarating, creative, successful work is beneficial; while that of
failure, humiliation or infection is detrimental.” Selye believed that the
biochemical effects of stress would be experienced irrespective of whether the
situation was positive or negative. Since then, a great deal of further research
has been conducted, and ideas have moved on. Stress is now viewed as a "bad
thing", with a range of harmful biochemical and long-term effects.

These effects have rarely been observed in positive situations. The most
commonly accepted definition of stress (mainly attributed to Richard S Lazarus)
is that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that
“demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to
mobilize.” In short, it's what we feel when we think we've lost control of events.
Stress is the “wear and tear”, our minds and bodies experience as we attempt to
cope with our continually changing environment. We can say, S = P > R Stress
occurs when the pressure is greater than the resource How can we know that
one is under stress?
Signs and Symptoms of Stress:
To get a handle on stress, you first need to learn how to recognize it in yourself.
Stress affects the mind, body, and behaviour in many ways— all directly tied to
the physiological changes of the fight-or-flight response. The specific signs and
symptoms of stress vary widely from person to person. Some people primarily
experience physical symptoms, such as low back pain, stomach problems, and
skin outbreaks.
In others, the stress pattern centres on emotional symptoms, such as crying or
hypersensitivity. For still others, changes in the way they think or behave
predominates. The following table lists some of the common warning signs and
symptoms of stress. Use it to identify the symptoms you typically experience
when you’re under stress. If you know your red flags, you can take early steps
to deal with the stressful situation before it—or your emotions— spiral out of
control.
Stress Warning Signs and Symptoms:

Cognitive Symptoms:
• Memory problems
• Indecisiveness
• Inability to concentrate
• Trouble thinking clearly
• Poor judgment
• Seeing only the negative
• Anxious or racing thoughts
• Constant worrying
• Loss of objectivity
• Fearful anticipation
Emotional Symptoms:
• Moodiness
• Agitation
• Restlessness
• Short temper
• Irritability, impatience
• Inability to relax
• Feeling tense and “on edge”
• Feeling overwhelmed
• Sense of loneliness and isolation
• Depression or general unhappiness

Physical Symptoms:
 Headaches or backaches
• Muscle tension and stiffness
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Nausea, dizziness
• Insomnia
• Chest pain, rapid heartbeat
• Weight gain or loss
• Skin breakouts (hives, eczema)
• Frequent colds

Behavioral Symptoms:

• Eating more or less

• Sleeping too much or too little
• Isolating yourself from others
• Procrastination, neglecting responsibilities
• Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
• Nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)
• Teeth grinding or jaw clenching
• Overdoing activities (e.g. exercising, shopping)
• Overreacting to unexpected problems
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Causes of Stress
Top Ten Stressful Life Events:
1. Spouse’s death
2. Divorce
3. Marriage separation
4. Jail term
5. Death of a close relative
6. Injury or illness
7. Marriage
8. Fired from job
9. Money concerns
10. Retirement

Major Life Changes or Major life events are stressors:

Whether it be a divorce, a child leaving home, a move to a new town, a career
change, graduating from college, or a diagnosis of cancer, the faster or more
dramatic the change, the greater the strain. Furthermore, the more major life
changes you’re dealing with at any one time, the more stress you’ll feel.
Daily Hassles and Demands:
While major life changes are stressful, they are also relative rarities. After all,
it’s not every day that you file for divorce or have a baby. However, you may
battle traffic, argue with your family members, or worry about your finances on
a daily basis. Because these small upsets occur so regularly, they end up
affecting us the most. Daily causes of stress include:
• Environmental stressors – Your physical surroundings can set off the stress
response. Examples of environmental stressors include an unsafe neighborhood,
pollution, noise (sirens keeping you up at night, a barking dog next door), and
uncomfortable living conditions. For people living in crime-ridden areas or war-
torn regions, the stress may be unrelenting.
• Family and relationship stressors – Problems with friends, romantic
partners, and family members are common daily stressors. Marital
disagreements, dysfunctional relationships, rebellious teens, or caring for a
chronically-ill family member or a child with special needs can all send stress
levels skyrocketing.
• Work stressors – In our career-driven society, work can be an ever-present
source of stress. Work stress is caused by things such as job dissatisfaction, an
exhausting workload, insufficient pay, office politics, and conflicts with your
boss or co-workers.
• Social stressors – Your social situation can cause stress. For example, poverty,
financial pressures, racial and sexual discrimination or harassment,
unemployment, isolation, and a lack of social support all take a toll on daily
quality of life. Internal Causes of Stress Not all stress is caused by external
pressures and demands.
Your stress can also be self generated. Internal causes of stress include:
• Uncertainty or worries
• Pessimistic attitude
• Self-criticism
• Unrealistic expectations or beliefs
• Perfectionism
• Low self-esteem
• Excessive or unexpressed anger
• Lack of assertiveness
Managing Stress:

One can learn to manage stress. The first step is understanding yourself better—
how you react in different situations, what causes you stress, and how you
behave when you feel stressed. Once you’ve done that, take the following steps:
Set priorities. Use the time-management tips you learned in Section 1. Make a
To-Do list. Decide what is really important to get done today, and what can
wait. This helps you to know that you are working on your most immediate
priorities, and you don’t have the stress of trying to remember what you should
be doing. Practice facing stressful moments. Think about the event or situation
you expect to face and rehearse your reactions. Find ways to practice dealing
with the challenge. If you know that speaking in front of a group frightens you,
practice doing it, perhaps with a trusted friend or fellow student.

If the pressure of taking tests causes you to freeze up, buy some practice tests at
the school bookstore or online and work with them when there are no time
pressures. Examine your expectations. Try to set realistic goals. It’s good to
push yourself to achieve, but make sure your expectations are realistic. Watch
out for perfectionism. Be satisfied with doing the best you can. Nobody’s
perfect—not you, not your fellow Cadet, nobody. Allow people the liberty to
make mistakes, and remember that mistakes can be a good teacher. Live a
healthy lifestyle. Get plenty of exercise. Eat healthy foods. Allow time for rest
and relaxation. Find a relaxation technique that works for you—prayer, yoga,
meditation, or breathing exercises. Look for the humor in life, and enjoy
yourself.
Learn to accept change as a part of life. Nothing stays the same. Develop a
support system of friends and relatives you can talk to when needed. Believe in
yourself and your potential. Remember that many people from disadvantaged
backgrounds have gone on to enjoy great success in life. At the same time,
avoid those activities that promise release from stress while actually adding to
it. Drinking alcohol (despite what all those TV commercials imply), drinking
caffeine, smoking, using narcotics (including marijuana), and overeating all add
to the body’s stress in addition to their other harmful effects. Here are some
other strategies for dealing with stress:

• Schedule time for vacation, breaks in your routine, hobbies, and fun activities.
• Try to arrange for uninterrupted time to accomplish tasks that need your
concentration. Arrange some leisure time during which you can do things that
you really enjoy.
• Avoid scheduling too many appointments, meetings, and classes back-to-back.
Allow breaks to catch your breath. Take a few slow, deep breaths whenever you
feel stressed. Breathe from the abdomen and, as you exhale, silently say to
yourself, “I feel calm.”
• Become an expert at managing your time. Read books, view videos, and attend
seminars on time management. Once you cut down on time wasters, you’ll find
more time to recharge yourself.
• Learn to say “no.” Setting limits can minimize stress. Spend time on your
main responsibilities and priorities rather than allowing other people’s priorities
or needs to dictate how you spend your time.

• Exercise regularly to reduce muscle tension and promote a sense of well-

being.
• Tap into your support network. Family, friends, and social groups can help
when dealing with stressful events.
Types of stress:
1. Eustress: It is healthy, positive and developmental stress response. This is a
motivational stress that leads a person to work hard enough to get ample amount
of success in life.
2. Distress: It is a negative stress. It is caused due to tension and unhealthy
relationships. Errors increase and this result in bad decision making that causes
uneasiness.
3. Hyper stress: This is also a part of negative stress. It occurs when the
individual is unable to cope with the workload. This results in headaches,
person gets irritate on small-small issues.
4. Hypo stress: Hypo stress is an extreme low side of Eustress. This stress
occurs when a person has nothing to do with his/her time and feels constantly
bored and unmotivated. This reduces productivity of a person and causes
idleness.

Consequences of Stress:
a. Physiological symptoms: Stress, Anxiety, Depression
b. Psychological symptoms: Mental Problem, Dissatisfaction, Nervousness,
Irritability, Tension, Boredom, Low self esteems.
c. Behavioral Systems: Personality Changes, Over Eating, Under Eating,
Sleeplessness, Increase Smoking or Drinking, Drug Abuse, Loosing sense of
humor, Reduction in productivity.

Burn Out:
Burn out basically means the reduction of a fuel or substance to nothing
through use or combustion. In stress management, burn out means a feeling of
physical and emotional exhaustion, due to stress from working with people
under difficult demanding conditions. Burn out is not considered as a separate
disorder because it overlaps significantly with depression. Burn out is followed
by sign such as chronic fatigue, quickness to anger & suspicion and
susceptibility to cold, headache and fever.