Stress Management

Stress Management
Presented by Arturo Rivera
HUN 1201
SAT 8:30-11:15 AM
Professor: Monique Riviere MS, RD/LD

OBJECTIVES:
Understand why stress management is important.
Define stress.
List the areas of the body affected by stress.
Identify causes of stress (positive and negative).
List the steps to manage stress effectively.
Learn techniques to manage stressful situations.Importance of Stress Management

Why is Stress Management important?
Stress management is an important skill that all adults need in order to improve themselves as problem solvers and to be more in control of their lives.

What is stress?

Stress is the body’s nonspecific response to any demand placed upon it.
Nonspecific responses include:
physical, emotional, and behavioral reactions
Demandsplaced upon the body include:

Circumstances or events that:

Frighten, irritate, confuse, endanger, or excite us.



Causes of Stress

Stress can be positive also known as good stress or eustress.
Promotions
Weddings
Vacations
Winning the lottery

Stress can be negative also known as bad stress or distress.
Car accident
Health problems
Divorce

Financial problems

Steps toManage Stress
Identify the sources of stress (Self-Awareness).

Look at how you currently cope with stress.

Develop a strategy to cope with stress by:
Changing the situation:
Avoiding the stressor.
Altering the stressor.
Changing your reaction:
Adapting to the stressor.
Accepting the stressor.

Make time for fun and relaxation.

Adopt a healthy lifestyle.

Self-AwarenessIn order to manage stress effectively a person must have self-awareness of what is happening inside their mind and body.

Sigmund Freud

Freud believed that humans maintain a level of (instinctual) tension that arises from both internal sources (instinctual impulses) and external sources that attack our ego or identity.

The ego copes with stress through the use of a host of defensemechanisms, including denial, repression, projection, rationalization, displacement, and humor.

Some of Freud’s Defensive Mechanisms
Denial (I didn’t do it.)
Repression (I don’t remember doing it.)
Projection (He did it.)
Rationalization (Everyone does it.)
Displacement (He made me do it.)
Humor (I did it and a year from now I’ll laugh about it!)

How do you currently cope with stress?Smoking
Drinking too much
Overeating or under eating
Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities
Using pills or drugs to relax
Sleeping too much
Procrastinating
Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems
Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

Human Instinctsto Deal With Stress
Fight or Flight

Avoid Unnecessary Stress
Not all stress can be avoided, and it’s not healthy to avoid a situation that needs to be addressed. You may be surprised, however, by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate.

Learn how to say “no” – Know your limits and stick to them. Whether in your personal or professional life, refuse to accept addedresponsibilities when you’re close to reaching them. Taking on more than you can handle is a surefire recipe for stress.

Avoid people who stress you out – If someone consistently causes stress in your life and you can’t turn the relationship around, limit the amount of time you spend with that person or end the relationship entirely.

Take control of your environment – If the evening news makesyou anxious, turn the TV off. If traffic’s got you tense, take a longer but less-traveled route. If going to the market is an unpleasant chore, do your grocery shopping online.

Avoid hot-button topics – If you get upset over religion or politics, cross them off your conversation list. If you repeatedly argue about the same subject with the same people, stop bringing it up or excuse yourself...