Stress Management Among Students in Universities

At what age do students have the greatest stress? Young parents might say preschoolers have the greatest stress. They are leaving their parents for the first time, and have many reasons to be afraid. Older parents say middle school students have the most stress, having just entered adolescence. Still others will cite secondary school as the time of greatest stress. Most agree, however, that the stresses of university life are very great.

Stress management among students in universities is a hit-or-miss matter. Some universities schedule optional stress management classes, but students often lack the time to attend. If they have the time, they lack interest.

Stress Management Keys

Specific keys will open the door to better stress management among students in universities. Some of those keys are being used, but others are lost or neglected. Without them, stress management is limited for the students. We will not attempt to list here every key, or to put them in any given order. Rather, we would like to suggest stress management keys that may be lost in the rubble of today's society.

1. Clear definitions: Effective stress management among students requires clear definitions of words such as "stressor," "stress," "eustress," and "distress."

Students who do not understand clearly what stress is cannot be expected to succeed at stress management. They may be trying to manage stressors, thinking they are managing stress. The outcome may very well be increased stress rather than stress management.

Stress management among students in universities can begin only after they understand that the extra demands made upon them are stressors, not stress. They then must understand that their response to those demands constitutes stress. Finally, if they are to get a grasp on practical stress management, they will need to know that there are two kinds of stress. One, eustress, is beneficial. The other, distress, is detrimental.

Students who understand these concepts, and embrace them, have unlocked the first door leading to stress management.

2. Action Plan: With a firm understanding of the definitions, students are ready to formulate a stress management action plan. They are ready for the proverbial locking of the barn door to prevent the horse's escape.

Armed with the knowledge that stress is the response to stressors, students can learn to control that response. They can determine to take specific, proactive steps to prepare for stressors. They can, in a sense, ambush the stressors as a step of stress management.

3. Stressor Identification: An important part of the stress management ambush is to learn to identify the enemy. A focused tertiary student will see stressors and know them for what they are. Every university student has stressors. All of us have unusual demands made on us. The key to stress management is to identify those demands as stressors.

In universities and colleges, stressors take the form of unaccustomed activities. Sharing a room with a stranger makes demands on a student. A new form of study is demanding. Financial resources and potentially new dating standards can be stressors.

Whether students are in Italy or Iowa, they are free of the constraints of home, and that freedom is a stressor. Freedom makes unusual demands on one who has not had it in fullness.

All of these and about 2000 more are stressors that a student must identify in order to engage in stress management.

4. Turning Distress into Eustress: Another key that helps unlock the doors to stress management is that of turning distress into eustress. Students often act as victims of their stressors. They believe they can do nothing but suffer. Stress management requires that they learn to turn a potentially negative response to stressors into a positive response.

Eustress, the beneficial stress, is what carries an excited, happy couple through the whirlwind of preparation for a large wedding. From the moment of the proposal, the couple may be surrounded by stressors. Extra demands, unusual demands are being made on them. Yet they are not depressed. The demands do not weigh heavily on them. They embrace them, and respond with smiles. They accept the challenge of getting everything done well and on time because they choose to accept it that way.

The same type of response can be enlisted on other occasions that call for stress management. Much of what students view as negative stress can be turned around, energizing them to excel.

Is this a false, rosy-tinted view of stress management? Not at all. Does this negate principles such as deep breathing, exercise, healthy diet, and regular sleep? No. As we said, this is not an attempt to provide every key to stress management. It is an effort to look at keys that are being neglected.

Stress management among students in universities can be stripped of many programs, drugs, and therapies if these keys are used well.

?2007, Anna Hart. Anna Hart, a career educator and writer, has worked in U.S. schools and New Zealand colleges. From that perspective, she invites you to read more of her articles about student stress management at http://www.stressmanagementblog.com. Also on that site, Anna addresses issues of stress management among students of younger ages. If you would like more information on student stress management at various grade levels, you won?t want to miss Anna?s insights.

Stress Management Training

The demand for stress management training in workplace has risen recently due to the quick rate of change, time pressure, corporate restructuring, and globalization. Stress management training, through its highly interactive learning programs, renders many techniques that improve the organizational skills of a person. These training courses help organizations to better equip themselves to face stressful situations more efficiently and effectively.

Stress management training aims at helping those people who are suffering from stress and anxiety. The stress management training programs also benefit individuals suffering from alcohol and drug addictions, depression, and other forms of physical illnesses. This training can be learned as a short course or as an on-going therapeutic activity.

Stress management training program mainly concentrates on controlling information overload, mastering the choice challenge, reducing stress through better organization, and cutback time with enhanced listening. This program also functions as a tool for staying calm as well as to avoid well-known stress "traps."

The contents included in stress management training program are psychophysiology of stress, recognizing the physical, mental and emotional signs of stress, performance enhancement, multiple stress management sessions and education technology, impact of stress on a team, preventive measures to manage conflict and anger at work, and teaching about good and bad stress including their symptoms.

Various courses are offered in stress management training. Online stress management course covers areas in time management, leadership skills, communication skills, assertiveness, and relaxation techniques. Stress management training is now offered even as distant learning programs. It often comprises of a set of rehabilitative techniques and skills that are aimed at enabling the individual to manage stress in an effective manner. Nowadays, diploma courses in stress management training and in organizational stress management are also available.

The benefits of stress management training in an organization include increased individual productivity and responsibility, retention of valued employees, and better teamwork and communication. Relief from stress and improved relationships both in and out of the workplace are the benefits of the training program for individuals.

Stress Management provides detailed information on Stress Management, Stress Management Tips, Stress Management Techniques, Stress Management Training and more. Stress Management is affiliated with Stress Relief Games.

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Stress Management Tips - Power Techniques to Manage Stress

Stress is an inevitable part of life, but how you respond and manage stress is completely under your control. Being stressed is perfectly normal especially if you have numerous obligations to fulfill, but it can take your life if it exceeds the threshold. You need to know and apply effective stress management tips if you want to free yourself from all the strain you're under.

One of the biggest causes of stress is the workplace. From worrying about job security, dealing with heavy workload, and going through the daily commute, your job carries with it a lot of pressure.

Studies have shown that stress can have a severe negative impact on your health and well-being. Heart problems are just one of the physical manifestations of the tension you feel. If you bring your stress home as well, it can also severely impact your personal relationships.

Before your life reaches this point due to stress, you must take action to keep it from happening. Instead of always resorting to dealing with stress negatively, there are other means for you to approach stress in a healthier way. Here are a few stress management tips to help you overcome stress.

Stress Management Tip # 1: Take a break. Yes, that's right. To be able to cope with stress better, you need to step away from what you're doing and get your energy together. Working under pressure and completing your duties while you're stressed will only wear you down and could also affect your performance. Removing yourself from a stressful situation, even for a brief moment, will help you breathe more easily and give you a fresh perspective.

Stress Management Tip # 2: Pamper yourself throughout the day. It doesn't have to be anything elaborate and lengthy. You can do it by enjoying a hot soothing cup of herbal tea, particular ones with calming properties, or buy yourself a small massager to soothe your aches and pains.

Stress Management Tip # 3: Be organized. If you're juggling too many things all at once, you tend to forget how to schedule your work properly. Make a list of everything you need to do, and then arrange them in order of urgency and when they need to be completed. This will help you stay focused on the things that need to be done right away instead of turning your attention to the ones that aren't as urgent.

Stress Management Tip # 4: Say "no" to more responsibilities. You already have too much on your plate and not much time to work on them, which is why you're getting frazzled and stressed. You don't need more responsibilities. But don't worry; this won't make you look irresponsible and incapable. If you have a hard time saying "no" to extra work, simply think of all the work you need to do and the time you don't have to accommodate more work.

Stress Management Tip # 5: Get help. You might want to talk to a friend or a loved one to help you vent out your frustrations or perhaps even distract you from what's causing your stress. Acknowledge that you're not capable of doing everything, and don't be afraid to get help around the office too.

Now that you've armed yourself with these stress management tips, it's up to you to put them to good use. You're going to need to make some big changes in your life if you're perpetually on the go, but you'll find that it's much more rewarding to finally be stress-free.

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What Do You Need to Know About Stress Management?

Realizing the need of stress management, many experts have been continuously conducting studies in order to give people who suffer from it as many options as possible. As defined, stress management is means of managing stress using various techniques that are key in equipping people with coping mechanisms that can be effective when they undergo different types and levels of stress. Experts say that over the years, there have been so many stress management techniques that have been developed in order to help people deal with psychological stress, physical stress, and even emotional stress.

But, these stress management techniques is not tailored for all types of people. Many of these will work on other people while some of it may not be very effective or helpful to other. So, for stress management to be effective, an individual must utilize a specific technique or strategy and see if he or she can cope with various stressful circumstances. Managing stress effectively is one thing that many people cannot live without. In fact, there are those people who use stress to fuel their drive to do something or accomplish tasks in time. Although stress can be beneficial to some people, this is not always the case for everyone because too much unmanaged stress can be detrimental to physical and psychological well being. As defined, stress refers to an individual's "physiological response to an internal or external stimulus that triggers the fight-or-flight response. " Meaning, it is something that is innate for people and normal once it is managed properly. To date, there are various models of stress management that are being recommended to people who want to effectively manage their stress levels.

The most common stress management models include the transactional model and the health realization or innate health model. The transactional model says that stress-that is not a direct response to a certain stressor but from other sources-can be controllable. Here, the stress that a person goes through may be reduced by changing the stressors' perceptions, thus, providing people with different strategies and techniques for them to cope up and gain back their confidence in completing tasks at hand. Another stress management model is the health realization or innate health model which says that being stressed doesn't always need a stressor to be felt. This model aims to help individuals that are being stressed to better understand the nature of a person's thinking-specifically in giving them the realization that to know when they are feeling stress-so they will know how to overcome it and eventually reduce their stress levels. To effectively manage stress, there are some techniques that can be used to manage it.

Majority of which can help people who get stress to cope with it or even control it during crucial instances. Experts say that most of these techniques can vary depending on the theories that are being taken into consideration. The techniques to manage stress include meditation, cognitive therapy for anxiety or clinical depression, nootropic, autogenic training, exercise, deep breathing, conflict resolution, various relaxation techniques, which include either fractional and progressive relaxation or using stress balls. You can also use natural medication, alternative treatments that are validated by the clinic, effective time management, and through listening to certain types of music that are relaxing which include new age music and classical music.

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Stress Management Shouldn't Create More Stress. 10 Ways To Reduce Unreasonable Stress and Boost Perf

We all know that stress levels in the workplace are reaching unreasonable levels. And most sensible human beings will agree that we have to take action to fix this problem.

However, some government agencies and, I must say, some consultants are all for creating yet another paper and theoretical exercise that will have little benefit to the employees or the business. Managers don't need lectures on how too much stress diminishes people's creativity and productivity, increases absenteeism, extended sick leave and can result in tribunal payouts of tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds. Managers want assistance not lectures.

Do whatever you can to escape the form filling that supposed ensure you meet certain "stress management standards". Avoid like the plague what are now being called "stress risk assessments". These will require the resources of a full time employee and lead to even more stress!

Rather concentrate on straightforward and easily applied measures to reduce stress and at the same time show employees and regulatory authorities and legal courts that your organisation does stake stress seriously.

Here are just ten you could start with.

1. Ensure your Employee Handbook and Induction has plenty of wording in it that shows that management knows about the adverse effects of too much stress. Explain what people must do if they feel under stress. Go over the top to show that management wants and welcomes discussion reporting of excess stress. Who ever is giving the induction must state this orally too.

2. Have a clear, written and concise procedure that people can follow if they find stress getting out of hand. What can people do if they feel under stress? Who should they speak to? What do they do if it's their boss who is the cause of stress? What help can the business offer? Make sure employees know they also have a responsibility to look after their physical and mental health.

3. Give people clear job descriptions so they know what is required of them and revisit the description every six months to update them. You can do this in the annual or (better) twice-yearly appraisal Involve people in writing and re-negotiating job descriptions. Specifically ask about what can be done to reduce stress and record the answer.

4. Keep referring to stress in newsletters, speeches and meetings. Put stress reduction on the agenda of management meetings and have a set section in the newsletter. Senior managers should include a mention of stress in at least one speech per year.

5. Offer people-management/leadership workshops to managers and supervisors. Many of them don't know how to get the best from their people. Unnecessary tension is caused by ignorance of how to speak to and treat people effectively in the modern workplace. Often supervisors don't know they're a source of stress - nobody tells them. Keep it simple: one day is enough and avoid "models and theories of leadership"!

6. Offer stress management workshops and literature. Even if there are no current stress problems offer the workshops anyway. Even insist people go. Keep it simple - a half-day is enough and avoid all theory! Give people a book or CD on stress management as part of the induction.

7. Offer a time management workshop. It's amazing how people can take better control when they know it's okay to say "no", to scrap a meeting, to scrap a report, to cut short appointments and to find better, quicker less burdensome ways of doing things. Most people get bogged down because they don't think in terms of time management and even when they do, some are too afraid to approach the boss. They will think you'll think, they're lazy or uncooperative.

8. Monitor stress levels.

No, you don't need an 80-question stress climate survey or bureaucratic stress management standards. Just twice a year issue a half-page with one question: "For you personally give three things the organisation could do to reduce unreasonable stress". Make this an anonymous exercise and publish the results with actions taken.

9. Take time to listen and act. If a stress issue is raised, be seen to be taking it seriously. Make time to listen, document the issues and then take action. Whilst keeping confidences publicise what action has been taken.

10. Unfortunately, sooner or later you'll have to prove to some authority that you are doing things to combat unreasonable stress. Therefore keep a running and up-to-date record - just a simple book - of all the things your organisation is doing to reduce stress in the workplace. Record everything. For example, if you run a Recruitment Interviewing Course, record how you amended the content to include an hour or so on testing to see if candidates can cope with the stress of a particular job.

Debate about what stress is, the relative responsibilities of employers and employees and what systems to use will go on and on. You might as well just get on and do what commonsense and good leadership dictates.

Copyright (c) 2004 Dr William Robb. Electronic distribution to ezines, friends and colleagues permitted but publication in print prohibited without written permission.

Dr Bill Robb is managing director of Aberdeen-based Profit Improvers Ltd and helps organisations and people improve their performance. He specialises in fixing difficult inter-company and inter-department relationships. http://www.mytimemanagementsecrets.com

Stress Management Made Simple And Easy...Just Follow Cliff Kuhn M.D.'s Foolproof Formula

Stress management is a hot topic; stress-related illness and suffering is at an all-time high in America and increasing every year. Cliff Kuhn, M.D.'s work with the powerful natural medicine of humor has uncovered the primary culprit behind your unhealthy stress symptoms, as well as the solution to simple, healthy stress management.

Astronomer-mathematician Ptolemy (85-165) devised a theory of planetary motions that placed the earth at the center of the universe. The sun, moon, and planets revolved around the earth in the Ptolemaic universe. This notion was accepted for approximately 1,500 years. More on this in a moment...

Shelly was in such need of stress management that she was unhappy much of the time. Shortly after she became my patient, I was able to help Shelly see that, just like Ptolemy's theory, she was casting herself as the center of the universe, thereby causing unmanageable stress levels in her life. We began a regimen from my Fun Factor prescription that afforded Shelly proper stress management, reintroduced joy and happiness, and brought her life back into balance.

Shelly's problem was common; I see more and more people each day who suffer from unhealthy levels of stress. Whether it is sleeplessness, weight gain, mood changes, hair loss, worry, agitation, or any other of the myriad symptoms commonly associated with stress, stress-related illness and suffering is at an all-time high in America and increasing every year. Luckily for you, my work with the powerful natural medicine of humor has uncovered the primary culprit behind your unhealthy stress symptoms, as well as the solution to simple, healthy stress management.

My medical practice, involving decades of work with chronically and fatally ill patients, has clearly identified the cause of our painful stress symptoms - seriousness. Seriousness means taking yourself too seriously; seriousness means over-reaching - taking responsibility for things beyond your power, such as the outcomes and results of all your hard work. Consequently, you're positioning yourself incorrectly as the "center of the universe." Seriousness causes so much pressure that effective stress management, which I will teach you in this article, becomes impossible.

The antidote for your seriousness, and your foundation for healthy stress management, is the natural medicine of humor. Humor's incredible power is harnessed to maximum impact through my unique Fun Factor prescription. Based upon my Fun Commandments, which were forged in unison with some incredible patients of mine, my Fun Factor prescription is capable of producing such profound positive change to your health and personal success that you will soon have people whispering, "Is she always this happy?"

In this article, I will explain how my Fun Factor prescription can be directly applied to your stress. You will be amazed at how much lighter and happier you feel, with each passing day, as you put the following Fun Commandments to work in your life. You are about to discover that the natural medicine of humor produces flawless stress management, putting an end to your painful stress symptoms.

The Fun Factor Stress Management Formula

Step One: Laugh with Yourself

My first stress management Fun Commandment is: Laugh with Yourself. This Commandment is not about humiliation or self-denigration, it is the ultimate in self-respect because it teaches you to appreciate your "perfect imperfection" and to find gentle amusement in your foibles. And, when it comes to stress, there is plenty of amusement to be found which will greatly aid your stress management.

Here's the first amusing thing about your stress: you can't live without it, yet too much is bad for your health. Like many of the essential things in life: we need a certain amount of stress to survive, yet too much can kill us. For example, we die if we are without water for more than a few days; but submerge us in water and we die a lot sooner.

It is said that we can die from boredom. I don't think there is any scientific evidence for that theory, but one thing is certain - stress relieves boredom. Ending boredom, indeed, could be considered a form of stress relief. An amusing paradox, no doubt!

Without stress, also, we might not eat. Hunger is a form of stress our body needs occasionally to remind us we need food. Stress causes the adrenal glands to work. Athletes would not perform at their best without stress-induced adrenaline. Every activity causes a certain amount of stress. So does inactivity. In fact, to be completely stress-free we would have to be dead - not a highly recommended stress management technique!

The idea that stress is a killer is exaggerated, which is also humorous. Too much stress can be a killer, and it is against too much stress in our lives that we need to guard. Fortunately we are equipped with the finest possible stress management mechanism: the natural medicine of humor and the ability to laugh with ourselves. Far better and safer than Valium, it is our built-in stress management system.

As you learn to laugh with yourself you will become like an athlete - who can have fun running the mile or the marathon and still turn in peak performance. In fact, since too much seriousness can tighten muscles through negative tension, laughing with yourself may even enhance performance. This Fun Commandment works wonderfully on many levels.

Step Two: Choose To Motivate Yourself With Fun, Not Fear

Step two in my Fun Factor stress management formula is one of my newest Fun Commandments. Motivating yourself with fun rather than fear is a crucial step that allows your commitment to laugh with yourself to fully impact your healthy stress management.

This brings us to the only true choice you have in life. Will you be inspired by fear or by fun? One choice is all we have for our health, wellness, and fitness - fear or fun. It all boils down to that. It is your responsibility to choose one or the other.

The question is, which is the responsible choice? Which of the two is a powerful medicine, which will give you health and motivate you greater success, sustaining you over time? The natural medicine of humor gives us the answer.

There is no doubt that both fear and fun are potent stimulants to behavior over the short run. So the question becomes one of sustainability. Will fear or fun best help us sustain our excellence over time? Which of the two is a powerful alternative medicine that you can learn to use for your greatest health, wellness, and fitness? (That's a trick question, by the way)

Let's Encounter A Man-Eating Bear!

The fear of being eaten alive motivates us to run as fast and as far as we can when chased by a bear. There is little to no fun in that experience. It is purely fearful, but the energy it provides maximizes the possibilities of sustaining life for that moment. For the moment, in such a life-threatening situation, fear seems to be an efficient and productive choice. Though full of stress, it relieves us of the immediate threat!

But let's take it a step further. Having survived my wilderness encounter with the bear, I return to my home in an urban environment. The next morning, as I start out for work, I run desperately for the car, quickly jumping inside and locking the doors.

When I arrive at my workplace, I race into the building. Before I get down to work I suspend my bagged lunch high above my desk, roping it to the light standards. I insist upon all doors being locked and secured. When asked why, I answer, "I'm merely doing what got me through my wilderness experience over the weekend. I don't want to be eaten by a bear."

You'd think I was over-reacting just a wee bit, and you'd be right. You could say that my stress relieves my anxiety, but my anxiety is based on a lie conjured and sustained by my fear! Not exactly the greatest of stress management techniques.

The Three Biggest Dangers Of Our "Run-From-a-Bear" Stress Management Techniques

1. We live our lives as though every day was an emergency; as though a bear is chasing us all the time. This is unfortunate for three reasons:

2. We now know that such a constant state of "wariness" or agitation breaks down our coping mechanisms over time. It is impossible to sustain the fear-based behavior without breaking down or burning out.

3. Of all the stress management techniques, this is the absolute worst to choose because it only increases our stress! It reduces the effectiveness of humor's natural medicine to zilch.

A more pernicious error occurs. We begin to think that the avoidance of whatever we fear is the same as having fun. Joy becomes synonymous with the avoidance of fear.

The Absence Of One Thing Does Not Indicate The Presence Of Its Opposite

If this sounds ridiculous to you let me put it in more familiar terms that have become acceptable where your health is concerned. With rare exception we have agreed in our society that health is synonymous with absence of symptoms. Do you really believe your health is merely the absence of your symptoms? My Fun Factor prescription teaches you that, not only is the absence of symptoms not synonymous with health, but also that you never have to fall for that lie again.

You never have to settle for second-rate health! You can use your powerful natural medicine of humor to stave off seriousness' debilitating effects.

Therefore the issue becomes balance. Fun balances fear. The ultimate question is not, "Are you without fear?", but "Is your fun in balance with your fear?" If you're not 100% certain of a "yes" response to the later question, then you need to STOP - RIGHT NOW - and take the last step in my Fun Factor stress management formula to ensure that your life is as healthful as it could be.

Step Three: Tell the Truth

The final step in your Fun Factor stress management formula is the Fun Commandment, Tell the Truth. This Commandment refers more to self-integrity than it does "cash register" honesty. Getting in the habit of telling yourself the truth will cement humor's powerfully positive effect over your stress. Your stress management becomes second nature when you are honest with yourself each day, because you can then immediately, easily, and simply apply steps one and two to your life.

Telling yourself the truth, for our purposes, focuses on knowing when your stress levels are rising. As we noted in step two, everyday activities normally produce a baseline level of stress and this stress is usually alleviated by your daily routines (for example, when you experience the stress of hunger, you eat). Step three in my Fun Factor stress management formula teaches you to recognize the signs of unhealthy stress and take corrective action immediately.

Here are some simple stress management techniques to apply when your self-honesty reveals rising stress levels:

1. Start your day off by singing in the shower at the top of your voice. Make up your own song that incorporates the idea that you are embarking upon a glorious day in which great things are going top happen to you. Can't sing? Good! Can't rhyme? Who cares? The words are for you alone. This is not a contest. Be as off-key as you need to be...unless you are Placido Domingo.

The important thing is to be loud (your inner ear has to hear it), upbeat and convincing. The subconscious believes what it is told. Start your day by telling it that it will be a great day and you will be more than halfway to producing exactly that result. Think of your singing not as singing but as a stress relief game played before stress has a chance to rear its ugly head.

2. Travel to work alone, along the same boring route every day? Make up a game to play as you look out the window of your car, bus or train. For example, how many dogs will you see on the way to work?

Try to guess before you set out and see how close you are when you arrive. Reward yourself every time you guess correctly to within a certain number. Drivers: limit yourself to dogs (or green elephants) you see through the windshield only. This game does not work well in subways; there are no green elephants in subways.

3. Have a routine job? One that you find boring? Does it produce stress symptoms, such as drumming your fingers or tapping your toes? Perhaps you need to introduce fun into your workday.

For example, if your job is to make identical widgets each day, how could you do something different to give variety to what otherwise could become a monotonous task? Could you, for example, place each new widget relative to the others so that together they make a pattern, or spell the name of your sweetheart? How many do you make an hour? Could you make one more than that the next hour, safely and with the same excellent quality? Make a stress-relieving game out of your work and it will feel less like work and more like fun.

4. Smile. You feel stressed? Smile. It is a simple activity, so simple that even infants can do it. Just for kicks, count how many times you smile in an hour. None, you say? Then this stress relief game is even easier for you, and more important than it is for those who smile all the time. (No wonder they don't feel the same degree of stress that you do!)

Your smile doesn't need to be a broad grin that suggests to those around you that they need to call the men in white coats. But it should be more than a mental smirk; your facial muscles should be aware that they are smiling.

It is possible simply to paste a smile on your face without any reason other than you want to smile. After a while, your subconscious will take over, lighten your mood, and the smiles will come easily and naturally.

It's best, if possible, to think of something that can give you a genuine smile, a reason you can talk about if called upon to do so. Each of us, no matter how depressed, has something in life to celebrate.

5. Recognize that stress is a choice. We can accept it and put up with it, and the damage it can cause our bodies. We can avoid it, but that could be a difficult choice; especially if it means quitting the only job we know in a tough job market. That choice might easily create worse stresses. Or we can deal with it and defeat it.

That is not as difficult as it might sound if you make up your mind to use my Fun Factor prescription in everything you do. That doesn't necessarily mean, laughing, joking and playing the village idiot - though all those activities can relieve stress too. You can have fun without ever cracking a single joke.

A game of tickle with the children or grandchildren can be fun and bring energetic screams of delight from them and you. Touch football or, for the less energetic, lawn darts or horseshoes can be fun. For others, it's a walk, socializing with friends, admiring the beauty around us or following a hobby - especially if it is an engrossing one.

Attitude Is Everything

The key is to recognize stress symptoms when they occur, recognize what's causing them, and use my Fun Factor formula for healthy stress management. Since fun is the best natural stress reliever known, it makes good sense to incorporate my Fun Factor stress management formula into your daily life.

But don't get obsessive about it. Don't be stressed by removing stress. Be content with removing some of your stress, and with taking the edge off it so that you function as a healthier, happier and more productive humor being. After all, perfectionism produces stress.

Shelly, by the way, has learned to take herself much more lightly now and she does not suffer nearly as many stress symptoms. The paradox she loves is that taking herself less seriously actually permits her to take her responsibilities more seriously than ever before! The natural medicine of humorr, supercharged by my Fun Factor prescription, has allowed Shelly to easily and simply manage her stress and enjoy a life others have started to envy.

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Stress Management Tips - Managing Stress by Cultivating Good Habits

Vicki Baum, an Austrian-USA novelist once stated, "You don't get ulcers from what you eat. You get them from what's eating you." Stress is a part of life. There is no way around it, over it or under it. Feelings of stress can be a motivating force. If we are under pressure from a particular problem, situation or event, we will focus our attention in that direction to come up with solutions to relieve the stress and return to a sense of balance and equilibrium. However, stressful situations often come at us from many different directions. We have a limited reserve of physical and psychological energy to cope with so many stressors. Without an arsenal at our to disposal for managing stress, stress overload can lead to various physical and psychological problems such as high blood pressure, anxiety, ulcers and depression. In order to fill your stress relief arsenal, you need to not only be knowledgeable regarding stress management tips, but cultivate good habits to help minimize stress as well.

Physical Relaxation Techniques and Imagery: Stress Management Tips that Can Help You Deal with Stress

Managing stress is possible by using physical relaxation and imagery. By using imagery, you mentally detach yourself from a stressful situation and place your thoughts into an environment that you find relaxing and calming. You can focus on a beach with waves lapping against the shore, a quiet mountain cabin with warm breezes gently rustling wild flowers, or swimming with tropical fish off a coral reef. This is a habit that you need to cultivate if it is to work effectively. Your ability to bring your mind inward and focus on your serene environment will be the determining factor on how well imagery will work on managing stress.

Other stress management tips are physical relaxation techniques. Two of these are deep breathing and progressive muscular relaxation. When you are under stress your muscles have a tendency to tighten which is not conducive to managing stress and thinking clearly. You have probably heard that it is helpful to take deep cleansing breaths when you are stressed or angry. This is one of several stress management tips that is quite easy to master if you remember to use it during stressful situations. You simply cultivate the habit of relaxing your body with each deep breath you take.

Progressive muscular relaxation or PMR is another stress management tips that aids in relieving muscle tension that accompanies stress. Basically, you tighten certain muscle groups as much as possible. Then you consciously relax these muscle groups. The theory is that you would be better able to relax your muscles after tensing them then would be possible by relaxing them directly. PMR is most effective in relieving and managing stress when practiced in conjunction with deep breathing.

Time Management: Stress Management Tips that Keep You Focused on Important Tasks, Eliminate Over Commitment and Procrastination

Much stress could be avoided by managing time wisely. A useful stress management tips would be to keep a daily planner. This would insure that you do not over extend yourself or overlap projects. Procrastination is also a time waster and should be avoided to minimize stress. Another useful time management tool and stress management tips is keeping a diary. By keeping track of your daily routine, you can determine areas where you may be wasting time and causing yourself additional stress.

Other Useful Stress Management Tips to Minimize and Deal With Stress

Stress Management Tips such as listening to soothing music, practicing yoga, self-hypnosis, meditation and surrounding yourself with strong support systems, such as family, co-workers and pets, have been shown to be helpful in relieving unrelenting stress. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life there is going to be stress. Our ability to deal with stress can be a determining factor between having good health or being plagued with stress induced physical and psychological problems. Ten stress management tips have been reviewed to help you deal with stress. For them to work effectively, you must take time to practice certain techniques to find the ones that are best suited for your unique personality. To battle everyday stressors, you must cultivate good stress reducing habits and this takes practice.

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Realistic Stress Management - How To Design A Stress Management Program That You Will Actually Use

Managing stress can be a significant challenge in today's world. If you take a quick look through the self-help section of your local bookstore, you find shelves and shelves filled with books about various elements of stress management. We are a stressed culture, and we all need a break. And yet we struggle with finding healthy ways to realistically cope with the stress of modern life.

The Problem with Stress Management

Have you ever paid $50 to $100 for a professional massage? It feels pretty good and you may have walked out feeling much lighter. But just a few miles down the road, your stress level starts to creep back up because you have re-entered the world of traffic, bills, relationships and work.

Have you ever returned from a great vacation and decided that you need a vacation to recover from your vacation? Getting away can be truly wonderful, but one or two trips a year is not sufficient to alleviate stress. You return to the same situation that you left, usually with more work piled on your desk!

Have you ever felt too busy to take a break? Perhaps you have pushed through, putting off your own self-care, because you believed that you do not have the time. And when you finally did take that break, you could not relax.

These scenarios describe common problems with typical stress management efforts.


We use occasional or intermittent efforts
We often expect too much from our strategies
We don't give ourselves enough time to truly relax

It is possible to create a stress management program that overcomes these problems and you can realistically fit into the busiest of schedules. Before I address how to create your plan, let me explain exactly what stress is. Understanding the nature of stress will help you create your program.

Stress Defined

Stress is the body's alarm system. It is a physiological reaction to a threat in the environment. You might be familiar with the term Fight or Flight Response. It is also known as the sympathetic nervous system. When confronted with a threat, the brain instantaneously triggers a release of stress hormones, which in turn create a series of physiological changes. These changes are designed to allow the body to fight, or run away from the threat. Increased heart rate, sweating, muscle tension, changes in blood flow, shallow respiration, increased alertness and reaction time are all a part of this response. In a life-threatening situation this response is beneficial. You have experienced its benefits when a car pulled out in front of you and you instantly slammed on your brakes. This alarm system can be a true lifesaver.

After the threat has passed, the body has another system, the relaxation response. This is the parasympathetic nervous system, and it returns the body to a baseline relaxed state. The problem is that the body requires sufficient time to calm down. Remember the car that pulled out in front of you? Think about how long it took before your heart stopped pounding. In our hectic world, we face stressor after stressor. We rarely have time to calm down completely before another threat arises. The brain does not know the difference between a real threat (a mugger) and a perceived threat (fear of losing one's job). It reacts the same to both threats, and it does so instantaneously. To further complicate the situation, the body's natural response is sometimes socially inappropriate. As much as you might want to, you cannot hit someone and run away when you are angry.

The outcome is that we rarely return to that relaxed state. Instead the stress load slowly rises, such that mild or moderate stress becomes our new baseline, the new "relaxed." But our relaxed state is actually a stressed state. Therefore it does not take very much to send us into a highly stressed state. Remember that stress is a physiological response. This new baseline results in a near constant cascade of stress hormones and physical symptoms (e.g. jitteriness, insomnia, gastrointestinal problems, fatigue, headaches, and muscle tension). If it goes on long enough, it creates emotional and cognitive symptoms (e.g. chronic worry, poor concentration, feeling overwhelmed, anxiety and depression).

Designing Your Realistic Stress Management Program

But there is good news! You can learn to consciously create the relaxation response. A good stress management program has three components: Body, Mind and Heart or Soul.

Body

The goal is to either burn off stress chemicals, induce the relaxation response, or both. Aerobic exercise is an excellent way to burn off the stress chemicals. Remember, the stress response system was designed to get us moving. As an alternative, you can consciously induce the parasympathetic nervous system. There are many effective techniques you may use, such as yoga, tai chi, meditation, deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation or prayer. Slow conscious movement and/or slow conscious breathing induce this relaxed state. If you choose exercise, I strongly recommend that you add a second relaxation technique as well to get the full benefits of your program.

Mind

Here the goal is to quite the mind's internal chatter and reduce thoughts that can generate stress. Many of the relaxation methods described above are also effective for quieting the mind. Any healthy activity that provides a focus for the mind can be useful. This would include some hobbies like knitting, reading, or woodworking. If you are in a stressed state, your mind will wander back to the source or sources of stress. This is natural and expected. When it happens - notice I did not say "if" - gently, lovingly guide your mind back to your task. You will have to repeat this often, but over time you will likely see a decrease in how often your mind wanders back to its worries.

Heart or Soul

This refers to a feeling of contentment and happiness. Clearly a worthwhile stress management program must include a sense of relaxation and rejuvenation. What makes you feel refreshed or nourished? It might be meditation or prayer, for example. Any of the activities under mind or body may meet these criteria. You may also find other activities nourish your heart, such as time with your children or in your garden.

Putting it All Together

The most efficient stress management program is one activity that includes all three components. But you can combine activities as fits your preferences. For example, if needlework meets your criteria for mind and heart, you can add progressive muscle relaxation for your body. You can also develop a repertoire of activities from which to draw. This might be necessary for those who bore easily or need variety.

The final consideration is time. How much time do you have for your stress management program every single day? Be honest with yourself. If you cannot devote sufficient time to it, you will not follow through. This is a lesson many of us have learned over and over again. And some of us have failed to learn it over and over again. To be successful, you need a reasonable time commitment each day. It need not be a large block of time. If the answer is five minutes a day, you might choose an especially efficient option like deep breathing.

As you make your choices, remember that stress is a natural response, which is induced repeatedly in our every day life. To counteract that response, we must consciously induce relaxation every day, too.

About The Author Dr. Barbara Hare is a licensed psychologist with a private practice in Phoenix, Arizona. She specializes in helping women with anxiety stop worrying and start living. For more information about Dr. Hare or anxiety, please visit new-perspectives-psych.com

Stress Management Consultants

Medical centers and clinics provide quality service by experienced stress management consultants. Stress management consultants serve individuals, organizations, public agencies, small businesses and insurance companies. The aim of the consultants is to give advice, support and guidance on stress management. Stress management consultants conduct individual programs and organizational stress management programs and executive stress programs. These programs include stress prevention, stress management, managing performance and risk assessment.

Various corporate offices conduct stress management programs for their employees. Consultants act as mediators between the management and employees. In this program, consultants collect referrals of employees from personnel departments. This data is also used in the treatment of stress related symptoms and problems. Consultants develop an on-going stress management program for employees. They also conduct training programs in stress management for organizations and implement effective stress management strategies.

Stress management consultants organize stress management lectures and conferences for individuals and groups. They assess the individuals or groups and determine the need for stress management services. They discuss with individuals to determine stress related problems. The consultants treat stress related conditions like migraine, headaches, hypertension, alcohol or drug abuse and muscle problems. The aim of individual consultation is to improve memory, performance, concentration and immunity.

Executive programs offered by consultants include presentations, seminars and stress management workshops. They conduct training seminars from one week to six weeks. The seminar program includes introduction of stress, strategies, awareness and a personal stress management program. Objectives of the seminar include better performance, increased efficiency, improved morale and greater productivity.

Stress management consultants also conduct structured professional development programs for health care professionals. They conduct employee assistance programs which consist of professional counseling and consultation services. Some consultants organize specialized seminars that include nutrition programs, exercise programs and sleep programs. Some stress management consultants also provide advice on workers' compensation claims.

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Teaching Stress Management

Certified stress management professionals handle the teaching of stress management. These professionals are often accredited with a professional organization and should have completed a Diploma, certification, or training course prior to accreditation. These certification programs vary from country to country, and the rules that these professional organizations also have certain variations. However, all stress management professional organizations and their members have the same goals and methods in teaching stress management.

Teaching stress management is at the same time a science and an art. It is a science, and a rapidly expanding one at that, in the sense that it is based on the scientific developments that have accompanied its study over the centuries. New studies about stress management are being conducted constantly, and it is important for stress management teachers to be up-to-date with these developments.

Stress management is also an art, since the effectiveness of its science is often dependent on how well it is applied by these teachers. Stress is a personal problem for many individuals, and the solutions they're looking for needs to be taught to them on a personal level. The best stress management speakers know how to gravitate to the level of their audiences, no matter what field of work they come from, in order to impart the valuable knowledge in the most effective way possible.

Teaching stress management requires the ability to communicate effectively. The audience, whether they consist of students or patients, need to know the ins and outs of stress, as well as the structure of effective stress management from the ground up. Stress management teachers rely on their deep mastery of the subject, and an arsenal of effective teaching techniques, in delivering their lectures.

In teaching about stress management, it's important for the teacher to know the audience. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to stress management, since every individual reacts to stress in different ways. For instance, health care providers experience different types and levels of stress from accountants. The teacher must know the audience's needs in order to address them in a manner that suits them best.

Finally, many stress management teachers make great stand-up comics, as well. Many will agree that laughter is the best medicine - it has many proven stress-relieving benefits! A lot of stress management teachers flavor their lectures with good doses of humor, which captivates the audience and makes it easier to get important points across. Humor, however, isn't suitable for every stress management lecture. For instance, take the following joke:

"Think your job is stressful? What's more stressful than working in a cemetery? Ray Liotta didn't mind the gig before he became an actor. After all, he had a hundred people around him, and it was quiet."

The above joke might serve well in a stress management lecture with company supervisors, but the audience may not be very amused if the teacher used it in a grief counseling seminar!

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Stress Management - A Survival Guide For Our Hectic World

What is stress in today's world, and why and how should we manage it?

Stress is medically defined as something that evokes a response from a person's natural defense mechanism known as 'fight or flight'.

Additionally, we define stress as a physical or psychological stimulus producing both mental tension and physiological-physiological reactions. In any definition, left unmanaged, it generally leads to illness. That is why it must be managed.

What is Stress Management then?

Stress management are techniques that enable a person to cope with and eventually eliminate stress.

What are the Causes of Stress?

Stress can be different to each person, but we generally today find stress being caused by our work, daily events in modern life, or any of the classic stressors that evoke the stress reaction.

These often include danger (or perceived danger), threats, anxiety, and especially illness. There are other classic stressors such as moving homes, changing jobs, the death of a loved one, which are all stressors of the first category.

What Stress Can Do to You Left Unmanaged

Doctors today, from all over the world, and in almost every medical system, acknowledge unmanaged stress as a major cause of most illnesses. Stress is known to directly reduce the effectiveness of our immune systems.

Unmanaged stress leads to stroke and heart attacks, and some doctors believe even cancer. Unmanaged stress can lead to severe complication in pregnancy and can affect the unborn child as well. Simply we must learn to manage our stress..

Stress Management Techniques

There are today many techniques of stress management, which include, but are not limited to regular exercise, meditation, developing a positive attitude, relaxation exercises, yoga, and self-realization exercises, special massage, regular vacations, and more.

It has been suggested a major cause, and thus a major relief from stress is time management. Most people get bogged down in their chores and responsibilities, and these nag away at your conscience. This creates a huge amount of stress.

Instead, if a person can become more organized, set their goals, realize what their priorities are, and manage their time well, they can alleviate much potential stress.

Sure Fire First Aid for Stress

When stress is just too much to bear, withdraw yourself to the nearest restroom there you can (usually) lock the door and be alone.

The first thing to do is to wash your face and wrists with cool or cold water. Do this slowly, and while you doing so, inhale and exhale deeply.

Drying your face and hands carefully, and not rushed, sit down (there is always a "seat" in a restroom), and close your eyes, fold your hands in your lap. With closed eyes, continue to inhale and exhale deeply, but now, start "watching" your breath. Pretend you can see the incoming and outgoing breath rushing in and out of your body. Feel the incoming air oxygenating your system with living giving oxygen and energy. Feel the spent air leaving your body, and as it leave, attach to it the particular stress which has just been bothering you so.

Do this for 10 minutes only, and return to the world. You will find you are refreshed, re-energized and have in a way, managed your stress rather than your stress managing you.

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