Stress

Management
Causes of Stress

Both positive and negative events

in one's life can be stressful.
However, major life changes are
the greatest contributors of stress
for most people.
 some of the major events in the life of the
Causes of individual that cause stress.
Stress  If people have to travel a lot and have to
move from place to place, it can cause
stress.

 Individuals can also be under stress if they

are about to enter some new environment.
They may be going to a new colony. To a
new college or they may be joining a new
organization.

 Some events, which are generally once in a

lifetime can also cause stress. The social
institutions of marriage or divorce can cause
stress. Pregnancy can also generate Stress.

 Some of the untoward incidents like critical

illness or death of a relative can also cause
stress in individuals.
Causes of environmental factors that act as catalyst
Stress cause increment in stress. They are

 Time pressure
 Competition
 Financial problems
 Noise
 Disappointments
Symptoms of Stress
When the individual experience
Stress, he can be exhibits one or
more of the following symptoms

 Feelings

 Behavior and Physiology

 Feelings

The individual becomes anxious

about the outcomes and is scared.
The person feels that he has got
something to loose or something
wrong will take place
Feelings

 In an anxious state the person

does not want to be corrected or
interrupted. He looks out for
other areas where he can forget
about the stress-causing event
for a while. The person
becomes irritable and moody.
Feelings

 During high level of Stress the

individual develops a negative frame
of mind and suffers from low self-
esteem. The person loose faith in his
capabilities and is afraid of the
failures. The individual does not
have a focused approach and is not
able to concentrate and is involved in
his own plans and thoughts
 Physiological and
Behavioral Changes
Physiological
and
Behavioral
Changes
 Speech problems.
 Impulsive Behavior
 Crying for no apparent reason.
 Laughing in a high pitch and
nervous tone of voice.
 Grinding of teeth
 Increasing smoking and use of
drugs and alcohol.
 Being accident-prone
Physiological
and Behavioral
Changes

 Perspiration /sweaty hands

 Increased heart beat
 Trembling
 Nervous ticks
 Dryness of throat and mouth.
 Tiring easily
 Urinating frequently
Physiological
and
Behavioral
Changes
 Sleeping problems
 Diarrhea / indigestion / vomiting/
nausea
 Butterflies in stomach
 Headaches
 Premenstrual tension
 Pain in the neck and or lower back
 Susceptibility to illness
 Loss of appetite or over eating
Stress Management

Stress can be managed if we

understand the reasons that
cause stress and the level of
stress. We should also try to
estimate if we could bring about
any change in the environment
that can subsequently reduce
stress
Stress
Become aware of your stressors and
Management
your emotional and physical reactions

 Notice your distress. Don't ignore it.

Don't gloss over your problems.
 Determine what events distress
you. What are you telling yourself
about meaning of these events?
 Determine how your body responds
to the stress. Do you become
nervous or physically upset?
Stress
Management Recognize what you can change.

 Can you change your stressors by

avoiding or eliminating them completely?
Can you reduce their intensity (manage
them over a period of time instead of on
a daily or weekly basis)? Can you
shorten your exposure to stress (take a
break, leave the physical premises)?
 Can you devote the time and energy
necessary to making a change (goal
setting, time management techniques,
and delayed gratification strategies may
be helpful here)?
Stress
Management
Reduce the intensity of your
emotional reactions to stress
 The stress reaction is triggered by your
perception of danger...physical danger and/or
emotional danger. Are you viewing your
stressors in exaggerated terms and/or taking a
difficult situation and making it a disaster? Are
you expecting to please everyone?
 Are you overreacting and viewing things as
absolutely critical and urgent? Do you feel you
must always prevail in every situation?
 Work at adopting more moderate views; try to
see the stress as something you can cope with
rather than something that overpowers you.
 Try to temper your excess emotions. Put the
situation in perspective. Do not labor on the
negative aspects and the "what ifs."
Stress
Management
Learn to moderate your physical
reactions to stress
 Slow, deep breathing will bring your
heart rate and respiration back to
normal. Relaxation techniques can
reduce muscle tension. Electronic
biofeedback can help you gain voluntary
control over such things as muscle
tension, heartbeat and blood pressure.
 Medications, when prescribed by a
physician, can help in the short term in
moderating your physical reactions.
However, they alone are not the answer.
Learning to moderate these reactions on
your own is a preferable long-term
solution.
Stress
Management Build your physical reserves

 Exercise for cardiovascular fitness three

to four times a week (moderate,
prolonged rhythmic exercise is best,
such as walking, swimming, cycling, or
jogging). Eat well-balanced, nutritious
meals. Maintain your ideal weight.
 Avoid nicotine, excessive caffeine, and
other stimulants. Mix leisure with work.
Take breaks and get away when you
can. Get enough sleep. Be as consistent
with your sleep schedule as possible.
Stress Maintain your emotional
Management
reserves
 Develop some mutually supportive
friendships/relationships.
 Pursue realistic goals that are
meaningful to you, rather than
goals others have for you that you
do not share. Expect some
frustrations, failures, and sorrows.
Always be kind and gentle with
yourself -- be a friend to yourself.
 Stress Management
Techniques
 Stress Diary - Finding Your Optimum Stress
Levels

 Psyching Up' - Raising Stress Levels to

Improve Performance

 Anticipating Stress - Managing Stress by

Preparing For It

 Get a hobby or two relax and have fun: Talk

with friends or someone you can trust about
your worries/problems.

 Other Techniques:
Stress
Management Stress Diary - Finding Your
Techniques
Optimum Stress Levels
 How to use tool: Keeping a stress
diary is an effective way of finding
out what causes you stress, the level
of stress you prefer, and your
effectiveness under pressure. In this
diary keep track of your stress levels
and your feelings, everyday. In
particular, note down stressful
events. Record the following
information:
Stress
Management At a regular interval, for example every
Techniques hour, record routine stress. Note:

 The time
 The amount of stress that you feel (perhaps on
a scale of 1 to 10)
 How happy you feel
 How efficiently you are working
 When stressful events occur, write down:
 What the event was
 When and where did it occur?
 What important factors made the event
stressful?
 How stressful was the event?
 How did you handle the event?
 Did you tackle the cause or the symptom?
 Did you deal with the stress correctly?
Stress
Management
Techniques Analyzing the Diary:
 After a few weeks you should be able to analyze this
information. It may be interesting as you carry out the
analysis to note down the outcomes of the jobs you were
doing when you were under stress. This should give you
two types of information:

 You should be able to understand the level of stress you

are happiest with, and the level of stress at which you
work most effectively. You may find that your
performance is good even when you feel upset by stress.

 You should know what the main sources of unpleasant

stress in your life are. You should understand what
circumstances make stresses particularly unpleasant,
and should be able to see whether your strategies for
handling the stresses are effective or not.
Stress
Management . Psyching Up' - Raising Stress
Techniques
Levels to Improve Performance
 How to use tool: Where you are
not feeling motivated towards a
task, either because you are
bored by it, or because you are
tired, then you may need to
'psych yourself up'. This will
increase your arousal so that
you can perform effectively. You
can try the following:
Stress
Management
Psyching Up' - Raising Stress
Techniques Levels to Improve Performance

 Focus on the importance or urgency of

the task
 Set yourself a challenge - e.g. to do the
job in a particular time or to do it to a
particularly high standard
 Break job down into small parts, do each
part between more enjoyable work, and
take satisfaction from the successful
completion of each element.
 Use suggestion: e.g. 'I can feel energy
flowing into me'
 Get angry about something!
Stress
Management Anticipating Stress - Managing
Techniques
Stress by Preparing For It
How to use tool: By anticipating stress you can prepare
for it and work out how to control it when it happens. You
can do this in a number of ways:

 Rehearsal:

 Planning:

 Avoidance:

 Reducing the Importance of an Event:

 Reducing Uncertainty:
Anticipating Rehearsal:
Stress

 By practicing for a stressful

event such as an interview or a
speech several times in
advance you can polish your
performance and build
confidence.
Stress
Management
Techniques Planning:
 By analyzing the likely causes of stress,
you will be able to plan your responses
to likely forms of stress. These might be
actions to alleviate the situation or may
be stress management techniques that
you will use. It is important that you
formally plan for this - it is little use just
worrying in an undisciplined way - this
will be counterproductive. Formal
planning of responses to stress is a
technique used by top-level athletes to
ensure that they respond effectively to
the stresses of competition.
Stress
Management
Techniques Avoidance:

 Where a situation is likely to be

unpleasant, and will not yield
any benefit to you, it may be one
you can just avoid. You should
be certain in your own mind,
however, that this is the case,
and that you are not running
away from problems.
Stress
Management Reducing the Importance of
Techniques
an Event:
 If the event seems big, put it in its place along the path to
your goals. Compare it in your mind with bigger events
you might know of or might have attended.
 If there is a financial reward, remind yourself that there
may be other opportunities for reward later. This will not
be the only chance you have. Focus on the quality of
your performance. Focusing on the rewards will only
damage your concentration and raise stress.
 If members of your family are watching, remind yourself
that they love you anyway. If friends are real friends, they
will continue to like you whether you win or lose.
 If people who are important to your goals are watching
then remind yourself that you may well have other
chances to impress them.
 If you focus on the correct performance of your tasks,
then the importance of the event will dwindle into the
background.
Stress
Management Reducing Uncertainty:
Techniques
 Uncertainty can cause high levels of stress.

Causes of uncertainty can be:

 Not having a clear idea of what the future holds

 Not knowing where your organization will be going

 Not having any career development plans

 Not knowing what will be wanted from you in the future

 Not knowing what your boss or colleagues think of your

abilities

 Receiving vague or inconsistent instructions

Stress
Management Get a hobby or two relax and have
Techniques fun:

 Talk with friends or someone you can trust

about your worries/problems.

 Learn to use your time wisely:

 Evaluate how you are budgeting your time.
 Plan ahead and avoid procrastination.

Make a weekly schedule and try to follow it.

 Set realistic goals and priorities

 Practice relaxation techniques

Stress
Management
Techniques Other Techniques:

 Meditation can also be a good

effort to bring down the stress
levels.

 2. Taking exercise

 3. Effective time Management

 4. Good Food and nutrition.

Conclusion

When we discuss Stress and its

management, we should understand that
this is not the exhaustive list of the stress
factors and the various techniques.
Stress can be confronted and reduced if
and only if we understand ourselves
better, analyze the behavior and identify
the stressors. The stress management
techniques will work if we are honest
with ourselves and adopt the techniques
in their fullest spirit
Thanks