Stress

& How to overcome it

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 What is Stress?
• In a general sense, stress refers to a collection of
physiological, emotional, behavioral and cognitive
reactions that occur in response to environmental
demands.
• Often used interchangeably with a variety of other
terms, such as anxiety, pressure, or strain.
1.2 Stress Levels
• Physical Stress level
Muscles become tense, joints become stiff, breath is shorter, hearts
beats faster, energies are low.

• Emotional Stress level

Feel inferior, tenseness around us and within, feeling state is fragile.

• Mental Stress
Confusion, uncertainty, an inability to make clear decisions, just need
sometime out to regroup.
1.3 Types of Stress
• Acute stress
The pressures of the near future or dealing with the
very recent past. Acute stress is a short term stress and
as a result, does not have enough time to do the
damage that long term stress causes. It is also a good
thing to have some acute stress in life.
• Episodic Stress
Situations which are also short-term but which we find
ourselves in regularly, such as rushing to work or other
recurring stressful experiences in the workplace.
• Chronic Stress
It has a wearing effect on people that can become a
very serious health risk if it continues over a long
period of time. Women are able to take longer
durations of stress than men. Men can deal with
shorter stress duration better than women. But once
hit a certain threshold, the chances of them developing
mental issues increases drastically.
2.0 Sources of Stress
2.1 Work Stressors
• While some workplace stress is normal, excessive stress
can interfere with your productivity and performance,
impact your physical and emotional health, and affect
your relationships and home life. It can even mean the
difference between success and failure on the job.

• You can’t control everything in your work environment,

but that doesn’t mean you’re powerless even when you’re
stuck in a difficult situation.
Top 10 work stresses are:
• Workload
• Feeling undervalued
• Deadlines
• Type of work people have to do
• Having to take on other people's work
• Lack of job satisfaction
• Lack of control over the working day
• Having to work long hours
• Frustration with the working environment
• Targets
Top 10 irritations having to do with colleague
behavior:
• Seeing others not pulling their weight
• Managers changing their minds about what they want to be done
• Lack of support from managers
• Pressure from managers
• Feeling put-upon by managers
• Interruptions by colleagues
• Interruptions by managers
• Bullying behavior by managers
• Lack of support from colleagues
• Bullying behavior by colleagues
2.2 Personal Appearance
• Appearance is your own image that you give out to other
people.
• Concerns over our personal appearance can have an
exaggerated effect on people’s confidence and their self-
image.
• For example,
spots
wrinkles
weight
balding
2.3 Social
• Social stress can be broadly defined as a situation which
threatens one’s relationships, esteem, or sense of
belonging within a dyad, group, or larger social context.
• The stress involved in interacting, socializing and
communicating with other human beings. It revolves
around your relationship with other people.
• Some of these social interactions and relationships can
be very stressful and tension filled experiences in your
life. Others can be enjoyable and positive types of social
stress and social interaction.
• Studying the stress experienced by social minority
groups who are commonly subjected to various forms
of prejudice, such as:
being excluded by the wider community,
bullied or encouraged to internalize discrimination,
2.4 Health Worries
Fears over one’s own health or the wellbeing of a
relative or friend are a common cause of stress.
2.4.1 Health Problems Related to Stress
2.4.1.1 Heart disease
• Stress can directly increase heart rate and blood flow, and
causes the release of cholesterol and triglycerides into the
blood stream.
• It's also possible that stress is related to other problems such
as increased likelihood of smoking or obesity that indirectly
increase the heart risks.
• Sudden emotional stress can be a trigger for serious cardiac
problems, including heart attacks.
• People who have chronic heart problems need to avoid
acute stress and learn how to successfully manage life's
unavoidable stresses as much as they can.

2.4.1.2 Asthma
• Stress can worsen asthma.
• A parent's chronic stress might even increase the risk of
developing asthma in their children.

2.4.1.3 Obesity
• Excess fat in the belly seems to pose greater health risks
than fat on the legs or hips -- and unfortunately, that's just
where people with high stress seem to store it.
 2.4.1.4 Diabetes
• Stress can worsen diabetes in two ways.
First, it increases the likelihood of bad behaviors, such
as unhealthy eating and excessive drinking.
Second, stress seems to raise the glucose levels of
people with type 2 diabetes directly.

2.4.1.5 Headaches
• Stress is considered one of the most common triggers
for headaches not just tension headaches, but migraines as
well.
 2.4.1.6 Depression and anxiety

2.4.1.7 Gastrointestinal problems.

• Stress is also a common factor in many other GI
conditions, such as chronic heartburn (or gastroesophageal
reflux disease, GERD) and irritable bowel syndrome
(IBS).
2.5 Financial Worries
• Financial problems or financial pressure is a situation where
money worries are causing you stress.
• Financial worries can have a significant effect on our lives
and lead to unnecessary stress which can be a burden to
yourself and those close friends and family.

2.5.1 Signs you may need help with finances and Debt
• Late bill payments or often seeking extensions
• Minimum or missed payments on credit cards
• Spending less money on necessities e.g. food
• Increasing debt from credit cards or loans
• Legal action for debt recovery
• Fear of eviction by being behind in rent or loan
repayments
• Not enough money coming in to cover required spending

2.5.2 The impact of financial problems on your health

& relationships
• Worrying a lot or feeling anxious over money
• Arguing with loved ones over money
• Headaches
• Feeling unwell
• Being afraid to open the mail
• Difficulty sleeping
• Feeling guilty spending money on non-essentials
2.6 Bereavement
• Bereavement is the process of grieving and letting go of a
loved one who has died.
• The shock or enduring worry of losing a friend or relative can
lead to stress, especially when the person we lose is a relative
or close friend.

2.6.1 Symptoms
A wide and confusing range of emotions may be
experienced after a loss. There are:
• Denial, disbelief, numbness
• Anger, blame
• Bargaining (for instance, "If I am cured of this cancer, I
will never smoke again")
• Depressed mood, sadness, and crying
• Acceptance, coming to terms
How Does Stress Affect Us

One of the difficulties with stress is that

people experience stress in different ways.
This contributes to stress manifesting itself
differently. So it would be wrong to over
generalize when giving advice on how to
identify stress in others. However, what we
can say is that because stress has negative
effects, it will usually manifest itself one way
or another.
It will be changes in the stressed person

These changes may be emotional, physical

or behavioral, or a combination of all three.
So, the key thing is to look out for negative
changes of any kind. Bear in mind that the
negative changes are also likely to have
knock-on effects e.g. reduced performance
at work.
 Cognitive

Cognitive is "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and

understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses
processes such as :
Poor Judgement
Inability to Concentrate
‘Brain Fog’
Indecision
Starting many tasks but achieving little
 Emotional

Emotion is any conscious characterized by intense mental activity and a

certain degree of pleasure or displeasure. . Scientific discourse has drifted to
other meanings and there is no consensus on a definition. Emotion is often
intertwined with mood, temperament, personality, disposition, and motivation.
 Depression
 Moodiness
 Irritability
 Fatalistic Thinking
 Panic
 Cynicism
 Anxiety
 Feeling Overwhelmed
 Physical

Physical health is critical for overall well-being and is the most visible of the
various dimensions of health, which also include social, intellectual, emotional,
spiritual and environmental health. Some of the most obvious and serious signs
that we are unhealthy appear physically. Addressing this dimension is crucial for
anyone attempting to sustain overall health and wellness.
o Rapid Heartbeat
o Aches and Pains
o Frequent Colds
o Skin Complaints
o Indigestion
o High Blood Pressure
 Behavioral

Behavior (American English) or behavior (Commonwealth English) is the range

of actions and mannerisms made by individuals, organisms, systems, or artificial
entities conjunction with themselves or their environment, which includes the
other systems or organisms around as well as the (inanimate) physical
environment. It is the response of the system or organism to various stimuli or
inputs, whether internal or external, conscious or subconscious, overt or covert,
and voluntary or involuntary.
• Increase Intake in Alcohol, Cigarettes and Caffeine to Relax
• Isolating Yourself from Others
• Sleeping too Little or too Much
• Demotivated
• Loss of sense of humors
 How to
overcome
stress
Be happier, healthier, and more productive.
Understanding
Your Stress
 “ How do you recognize when
stress have become a
problem in your life?

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 STRESS
MANAGEMENT: FOUR
A’S
Change the situation
/Change your reaction

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 STRESS MANAGEMENT:
FOUR A’S

AVOID ALTER
⊷ Learn how to say ⊷ Communicate
“NO” your feelings
⊷ Avoid people who openly.
stress you out. ⊷ Create a
⊷ Take control of balanced
your environment. schedule.
⊷ Reduce your to- ⊷ Be more
do list. organized.

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 STRESS MANAGEMENT:
FOUR A’S
ADAPT ACCEPT
⊷ Adjust your ⊷ Simply tell
standards. yourself: “It is
⊷ Practice what it is, and
thought- I cannot
stopping. change it right
⊷ Look at big now.”
picture.
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 RELAXATION TECHNIQUES

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 Benefits of
Exercise /
Physical Activity
⊷ Reduce stress
⊷ Lower blood pressure
⊷ Improving concentration
⊷ Increases endorphins

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 Starting an exercise
program
Find a
Specific friend. Exercise in
Measurable increments.
Knowing that
someone is
Attainable waiting for you
Relevant to show up at
the gym or the
Time-limited park can be a
powerful
motivative.
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 Benefits of Meditation
⊷ Focusing on the present
⊷ Increasing self-awareness
⊷ Increasing patience and
tolerance
⊷ Gaining a new perspective
on stressful situations
⊷ Reducing negative
emotions
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 Listen to the music

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 Connect with
others
Touch is a powerful, direct
means by which we give to
others. Touch can considerably
reduce stress, lowering our blood
pressure and heart rate, boosting
our immune system in the
process, and relieving pain. It
makes us happier, less anxious
and re-affirms bonds within
40 relationships.
 Talk to someone

⊷ Talking can help you to

build healthy relationships.
Social interaction is
important for mental health
and wellbeing.

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 Benefit of Hugs
and kisses
• Hugs reduce stress by
showing your support
• Hugs can make you happier
• Hugs may protect you
against illness
• Hugs may boost your heart
health
• Hugs help reduce your fears
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 Quality time
with your pet
⊷ People with pets are less
likely to say they feel
loneliness, which is one
common source of stress.
Animals provide
companionship and because
they encourage friendly
interactions with other people.
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 Healthy
Lifestyle

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 Eat well
⊷ Reduce alcohol and caffeine
Drinking too much caffeine and alcohol
may increase your levels of cortisol.
Cortisol is known as the stress hormone.
⊷ Keeping your blood sugar levels
stable
Unstable blood sugar can make you feel
the same as you would feel when an
event makes you angry.

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 Sleep well
Not getting enough sleep will
backfire and affect your mood
the next day.
When you are tired, you are
less patient and easily
agitated which can increase
stress. Most adults need 7-8
hours of sleep per night.
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 Time
management
It helps you feel more in control.
Mastering time management skills
will allow you to maintain a healthy
work-life balance. Knowing you're in
control will reduce the amount of
unhealthy stress you feel, regardless
of what requests, demands and
distractions you have to face.
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 Taking breaks
and vacations
Try stretching, walking, a
relaxation technique such as
progressive muscle relaxation,
or even a few yoga postures
during these break times to get
your energy moving again.

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CONCLUSION
To manage stress it is important to understand from
where the stress is coming from. What are the reasons
that are causing you stress. Understanding the reason
of stress and then finding ways to reduce it.
END