Stress Management Workshop

Stress Management

WorkshopPresented by the Student Success

and Tutoring Center

Stress is… tension felt when faced with a new,

unpleasant or threatening situation. an automatic physical reaction. an unfortunate fact of life. an emotion that can be controlled and

managed with practice.

What is Stress?

A major difference between those who feel overwhelmed by stress and those who do not is not the presence or absence of stress, but the ability to recognize stress when it occurs and to manage it.

Managing Stress

“Sometimes when people are under stress, they hate to think, and it's the time when they most need to think.” – Bill Clinton

Managing Stress

Over-stress reactions include a wide range of symptoms that can manifest through the following types of signs: physical emotional behavioral cognitive (thought process)

Signs of Stress

Perspiration/sweaty hands Diarrhea/indigestion/vomiting

Increased heart beat Butterflies in stomach

Trembling Headaches

Nervous ticks Sleeping problems

Dryness of throat and mouth

Pain in the neck or lower back

Tiring easily Loss of appetite or overeating

Urinating frequently Susceptibility to illness

Physical Symptoms

Moodiness

Anxiety

Irritable or hostile

Fearfulness

Feelings

Stuttering and other speech difficultiesCrying for no apparent reasonActing impulsivelyLaughing in a high pitch and nervous tone of

voiceGrinding your teethIncreasing smokingIncreasing use of drugs and alcoholLosing your appetite or overeating

Behaviors

Low self-esteem

Fear of failure

Inability to concentrate

Embarrassing easily

Worrying about the future

Preoccupation with thoughts/tasks

Forgetfulness

Thoughts

College is in itself inherently stressful.

Stress can have a major impact on a person’s happiness and sense of well-being.

Other sources of stress do not go away because you are attending college.

College can be stressful

Work, especially overwork and changes at workLoss of a family member, friend, petIllnessBirth of a child, demands of child-rearingMovingTravelOver-commitment, taking on too many tasks and

obligations (Sound familiar?)

Other Sources of Stress

If you are experiencing symptoms of serious stress overload, consider what you can do reduce your stress load.

Reexamine your assumptions about how much you expect yourself to handle.

Use time management strategies to prioritize and set limits, especially with you social calendar.

Taking Control of Stressors

Many social obligations can be deferred.

There are only so many hours in the day.

People will understand when you tell them that you are overtaxed by the demands of college.

Taking Control of Stressors:Social Obligations

Even after you've done what you can to control sources of stress, there will probably be "uncontrollable" stressors remaining.

Taking Control of Stressors:

There are many ways you can support your ability to handle and recover from stress:

1) Get adequate sleep. o Seven or eight hours minimum on a regular

schedule. o You may be used to operating on less sleep

and an irregular schedule, but you can't handle stress as well in this mode.

Support Yourself During Stress

2) Exercise every day (at minimum, 3 times/week, 20-30 minutes).

o Exercise releases endorphins which promotes calm and contentment.

o Exercise discharges stress tension from the body.

Support Yourself During Stress

3) Eat three or more small to medium nutritious meals on a regular schedule.o Keep your eating moderate and avoid any drastic

diets.o Take a standard multiple vitamin supplement to

fill-in any nutritional gaps.o Drink a lot of water.

Support Yourself During Stress

4) Take care of your body by avoiding excess sugar, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, drugs, etc.o All of these cause your

system to 'crash'.

Support Yourself During Stress

5) Learn relaxation exercises or meditationo Listen to relaxing

music.o Read for pleasure.

Support Yourself During Stress

6.) Maintain your perspective.o Keep an eye out for your unhelpful and untrue

thoughts. ("I just can't do this.”)o Think through why these thoughts are incorrect

and unhelpful, and adjust your perspective. ("If I just take one thing at a time, I'll accomplish my most important goals. But if I try to think about or do everything at once, I'll get overwhelmed.")

Support Yourself During Stress

7.) Use time management techniques to avoid becoming swamped. oMake lists, get a sense of accomplishment checking off tasks as you get things done.

Support Yourself During Stress

8.) Take care of yourself.oBe sure to have an emotional outlet.oTalk to others about the stress. (Everyone has or

has had stress!) oSet aside time for yourself.

Support Yourself During Stress

If, after trying these suggestions, you still feel excessively over-stressed or run down, you may want to seek some professional

advice.

Take a few minutes to write down a couple of stressors in your life.

How can you work on dealing with these stressors?

What do you think?

Please Contact Us

Georgetown 520-1455Conway 349-7872

Grand Strand 477-2113

Email: [email protected]: http://www.hgtc.edu/sstc

HGTC-Student Success and Tutoring Center

University of Chicago

Brooklyn College

SUNY at Buffalo

Credits