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Stress Management Counseling
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Stress
is the "wear and tear" our bodies experience
as we adjust to our continually changing environment;
it has physical and emotional effects on us and
can create positive or negative feelings. As a positive
influence, stress can help compel us to action;
it can result in a new awareness and an exciting
new perspective. As a negative influence, it can
result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger,
and depression, which in turn can lead to health
problems such as headaches, upset stomach, rashes,
insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease,
and stroke. With the death of a loved one, the birth
of a child, a job promotion, or a new relationship,
we experience stress as we readjust our lives. In
so adjusting to different circumstances, stress
will help or hinder us depending on how we react
to it.
Now
that we know what stress is, we need to learn how
to manage it. The following are six ways in which
we can manage the stress in our life.
1.
Become aware of your stressors and your emotional
and physical reactions.
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Notice
your distress. Don't ignore it. Don't gloss over
your problems.
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Determine
what events distress you. What are you telling
yourself about meaning of these events?
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Determine
how your body responds to the stress. Do you become
nervous or physically upset? If so, in what specific
ways?
2.
Recognize what you can change.
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Can
you change your stressors by avoiding or eliminating
them completely?
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Can
you reduce their intensity (manage them over a
period of time instead of on a daily or weekly
basis)?
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Can
you shorten your exposure to stress (take a break,
leave the physical premises)?
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Can
you devote the time and energy necessary to making
a change (goal setting, time management techniques,
and delayed gratification strategies may be helpful
here)?
3.
Reduce the intensity of your emotional reactions
to stress.
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The
stress reaction is triggered by your perception
of danger...physical danger and/or emotional danger.
Are you viewing your stressors in exaggerated
terms and/or taking a difficult situation and
making it a disaster?
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Are
you expecting to please everyone?
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Are
you overreacting and viewing things as absolutely
critical and urgent?
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Do
you feel you must always prevail in every situation?
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Work
at adopting more moderate views; try to see the
stress as something you can cope with rather than
something that overpowers you.
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Try
to temper your excess emotions. Put the situation
in perspective. Do not labor on the negative aspects
and the "what if's."
4.
Learn to moderate your physical reactions to stress.
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Slow,
deep breathing will bring your heart rate and
respiration back to normal.
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Relaxation
techniques can reduce muscle tension. Electronic
biofeedback can help you gain voluntary control
over such things as muscle tension, heart rate,
and blood pressure.
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Medications,
when prescribed by a physician, can help in the
short term in moderating your physical reactions.
However, they alone are not the answer. Learning
to moderate these reactions on your own is a preferable
long-term solution.
5.
Build your physical reserves.
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Exercise
for cardiovascular fitness three to four times
a week (moderate, prolonged rhythmic exercise
is best, such as walking, swimming, cycling, or
jogging).
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Eat
well-balanced, nutritious meals.
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Maintain
your ideal weight.
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Avoid
nicotine, excessive caffeine, and other stimulants.
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Mix
leisure with work. Take breaks and get away when
you can.
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Get
enough sleep. Be as consistent with your sleep
schedule as possible.
6.
Maintain your emotional reserves.
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Develop
some mutually supportive friendships/relationships.
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Pursue
realistic goals, which are meaningful to you,
rather than goals others have for you that you
do not share.
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Expect
some frustrations, failures, and sorrows.
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Always
be kind and gentle with yourself -- be a friend
to yourself.
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