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Mission and Goals > Dr. Dennis McIlnay > Stress Managment

 

Stress Management

STUDENT STRESS TEST 

SCORES:

If your score is below 130 points, you are considered to be under average stress.

If your score is between 131 and 280, you have a better than average chance of showing some symptoms of stress.

If your score is more than 280, you have a strong likelihood of experiencing a serious change in health and/or behavior.

If you feel you are experiencing unmanageable stress or if your score is above 131, please seek assistance from the Academic Center for Enrichment's academic counselor or a personal counselor in the Counseling Center.

 

STRESS MANAGEMENT

All of us experience stress when positive and negative events happen around us.  Whether you've answered the phone to hear a loved one has died or you received an A on a final examination, you experience a level of stress.  The physical evidence of stress is always the same:  your heart pounds and you breathe harder; your blood pressure rises and the pupils of your eyes dilate, your palms become sweaty and your stomach ties in knots.

The old adage is to avoid stress at all costs.  However, in the past few years other authorities have begun talking about "freedom from stress is death!"  Avoiding stress can be detrimental to your health.  We should learn to master and use stress to benefit ourselves.  In fact, it is stress that makes life interesting and challenging.

It is becoming increasingly recognized that we live in an "age of stress."  Everyone seems to be pressured from every side on a daily basis.  Many of us attempt to escape the grip of stress by heavy use of alcohol, tranquilizer, and sedatives.

Stress is with us everywhere - at home, school, work and in the streets.  It strikes all ages and both sexes.  The most chronic "stress disease" is the peptic (stomach) ulcer.  More than five million American are affected yearly.  Don't be fooled - ulcers are not the disease of only wealthy business persons.  This problem affects homemakers, and children as young as three years old.  Think about it.

As stated earlier the causes of stress can be good or bad. Watching TV can create stress! Many causes of stress are unavoidable parts of our lives.

To look at stress in a positive way consider this. Stress is the mobilization of bodily defenses in response to a physical, psychological or social threat. It is an alarm reaction. Stress is the key to psychological maturity. Every new situation you face produces STRESS. When you master the problem which caused the stress it will be easier for you to resolve the next problem at a lower level of stress.

After you graduate from high school, numerous personal decisions must be made. Do you want to go to college, trade school, etc.? Do you want to get a job, rent an apartment, etc.? Those are only a few decisions you have to make. Each causes stress.

Controlling your personal stress is important. Remember to use stress in a positive manner that will benefit you. Here are a number of suggestions for managing stress:

1. When you find yourself in a situation that is unbearable for months on end such as a job, the simplest method for reducing this stress is to find another job that would be more rewarding and positive.
2. Relax as much as possible. Since most people adapt to a stressful situation eventually, there is no point in getting worked up.
3. Realize that stressful situations can be useful and positive and not only destructive.
4. If the same stressful situation occurs daily and at the same time you can adjust quickly just knowing that the situation will occur. There is no surprise in this case.
5. Techniques of relaxation are easily learned by most people.
   Try some of these techniques when you feel stress or pressure:

• take a brisk walk around pleasant surroundings
• take a hot bath
• have someone give you a neck and back massage
• play a sport you enjoy
• read a good book
• biofeedback
• yoga

 

Stress Management

WHAT IS IT? HOW CAN IT BE ELIMINATED?

 

Enrolling in too many demanding courses Sleeping less than 7 or 8 hours a night An overload of extracurricular activities Too much partying and socializing Breaking up with a friend Fighting with a friend

Receiving a low grade on a test Roommate problems Leaving home School acceptance Money management Bad weather Internal pressures Reestablishing personal morals/goals

Signs of Stress (along list)

 

Irritability Pounding heart Impulsive behavior Tearfulness Inability to concentrate Weakness Dry mouth Stuttering Grinding of the teeth Insomnia More prone to accidents

Dizziness Easily fatigued Anxious Nervous laughter Seating Indigestion Queasy stomach Headaches Poor appetite Increased smoking Excessive alcohol consumption

Ways to Eliminate Stress

1. Seek professional counseling

2. Behavior modification techniques (goal setting)

3. Relaxation exercises

4. Take charge of your college environment

• assess institution prior to enrollment

• meet with instructors

• question fellow students regarding a specific course

5. Become involved in an activity or organization to help others.

 

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE SELF MANAGEMENT OF STRESS

1. Look around and see if there is really something you can do about the stressful situation instead of worrying about it.

2. Don’t overwhelm yourself by fretting about your entire workload.  Take each thing as it comes, and tell yourself you can handle it.

3. Fight the fallacious assumption that you have to be perfect.  Give yourself messages as to how well you can cope rather than how horrible everything is going to be.

4. Reduce the number of events going on in your life, and you’ll reduce the circuit overload.

5. Set realistic goals for yourself.  Learn how to do nothing.

6. Don’t sweat the small stuff.  Remember, it’s all small stuff.

7. Work off stress with physical activity, whether it’s jogging, tennis, gardening, or whatever.

8. Get enough sleep.  Lack of rest just aggravates your stress problems.

9. Balance your work and recreation.

10. Remove yourself from the stressful situation if only for a few moments daily.  Give yourself a break, more than likely you deserve it.

11. Avoid self medication.  Alcohol and drugs can mask stress symptoms, but they don’t help deal with the problems.

12. Make a point of learning how to best relax yourself.

 

If you have any questions or if you have a disability which requires accommodations, please call 814-472-3024.

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