Managing Stress
Coping in a Fast-Paced
World
Stress
Reduces the national economy
by $500 billion
Leaves almost half of all
adults with health problems
Causes between 60% and 80%
of industrial accidents
In the workplace, stress is
primarily caused by
incompetent management
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People Who Experience
Stress...
selectively perceive information
fixate on a single approach to a
problem
adopt a crisis mentality
consult and listen to others less
rely on old habits
are less able to generate creative
thoughts
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Stress
What is stress?
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Stress
Has there been an increase in
stress in people’s lives?
Change ambiguity
uncertainty
Pressure time, workload,
expectations
Changes in organizational
in Work structure, nature
of work, technology
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When Is Stress Bad?
When the imbalance can’t be resolved
role conflict
role ambiguity
When the stress is long-term
burn-out syndrome
When the individual’s stress reaction is
ineffective
coping that “numbs” the experience of
stress
coping that doesn’t change the situation
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Reactions to Stress
Alarm
increase in anxiety, fear, sorrow
or loss
Resistance
attempt to control stress using
defense mechanisms
Exhaustion
stop trying to defend against
stress; stress related pathology
occurs in this stage
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Stress and the Individual
Assumption: Stress is
something one does to
oneself
stress is internally generated by
worry, doubt, anxiety
some individuals experience
stress as a chronic state, or
generate stressful experiences
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Stress as a Person/Situation
Interaction
Assumption: Events trigger stress,
but people respond to stress
differently
Resiliency factors moderate stress
Resiliency
Stressors Reaction
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Personal Characteristics
Influencing Stress
Hardiness:
commitment, challenge, internal locus of
control
Physiological resiliency:
cardiovascular health, dietary control, rest
Social Support:
close emotional ties, common experiences,
supportive interactions, mentors, teams
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Managing Your Own Stress
Recognize and observe your own stress
reactions (e.g. irritability, muscle
tightness, fatigue, sleep disorder,
distractibility, confusion, etc.
Learn to reframe
Do you realize that
Isn’t it great that
Events can trigger but it’s the meaning we
place on the words or event which causes
the stress
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Developing Resiliency
Some stressors will not go away
Resiliency increases capacity to
withstand negative effects of stress
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Managing Your Own Stress
(cont.)
Take care of yourself
balance your life, align what’s most important to
you...
build physical resiliency through exercise, diet and
rest
build psychological resiliency through hardiness,
small wins, and relaxation
process and integrate thoughts and feelings
through writing and spiritual activities
build social resiliency by developing supportive
relationships
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The Ten slices of life
(Nathanson)
Study (education)
Health (sleep/exercise)
Community (volunteer)
Wage (primary job)
Family (time with family)
Home (duties at home)
Fee (what you can sell)
Hobby (spare time)
Leisure (doing nothing)
Mind (brain work)
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The Ten slices of life cont.
Add up the available hours in a
month (672)
Figure out the hours and % for each
category
Look at where you spend your time
now
Look at where you plan to spend
your time 5 years from now?
Observations?
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Managing Your Own Stress
(cont.)
Align your goals with what you
prize the most
Create 3-5 five year, < one
year and daily goals which align
to what you prize the most
Follow your vocational passion
Your perfect day! Talk about it
Laugh at yourself
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Summary
Stress is always present
The challenge is how you deal with it
How you recognize it
How you react to it
How prepared you are for it
What you do to deal with it and
lower your reaction to it
The good news is the strategies you use
are up to you
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