CIAM Stress
Management
CIAM ©2016
STRESS MANAGEMENT
STRESS MANAGEMENT
Stress Factsheet
Higher academic standards and expectations are even more evident in graduate school.
As a result of these new demands, it is common for college students to experience greater
levels of stress related to academics.
Many students find that they need to develop new skills in order to balance academic
demands with a healthy lifestyle. CIAM can offer some resources to help students
develop these skills. Many students find that they can reduce their level of academic
stress by improving skills such as time management, stress management, and relaxation.
The Pros and Cons of Stress
Stress is anything that alters your natural balance. When stress is present, your body and
your mind must attend to it in order to return you to balance. Your body reacts to stress
by releasing hormones that help you cope with the situation. That in turn takes energy
away from the other functions of your brain, like concentrating, or taking action. There
are two different sources of stress: external triggers, like getting a poor grade or breaking
up with your girlfriend/boyfriend, and internal triggers, like placing high expectations on
yourself.
Stress is a part of everyday life. There are many instances when stress can be helpful. A
fire alarm is intended to cause the stress that alerts you to avoid danger. The stress
created by a deadline to finish a paper can motivate you to finish the assignment on time.
But when experienced in excess, stress has the opposite effect. It can harm our emotional
and physical health, and limit our ability to function at home, in school, and within our
relationships. But the good news is that, since we are responsible for bringing about much
of our own stress, we can also do much to manage stress by learning and practicing
specific stress-reduction strategies.
WHAT IS STRESS?
• Stress is an internal reaction to events and circumstances that challenge us to
make changes in our lives. There are both external and internal causes of stress.
• Stress is an emotional/bodily reaction to physical, psychological or emotional
demands.
• Stress is a fact of life.
o Managed stress can become useful and healthy (viewing events as
challenges).
o Unmanaged stress can become distressful and unhealthy (viewing events
as threats).
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WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CAUSES OF STRESS?
External
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Getting diagnosed with a serious illness
Moving
Failing a test
Having a baby
Sleeping through the alarm clock
Losing a job
Being in an automobile accident
Being late for class
Having a fight with your boyfriend/girlfriend
Expectations of others
Our physical environment -- noise, movement, weather, season changes
Internal
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Physical changes that occur in the body
- Illness
- Injury
- Being in poor physical shape
Worrying excessively
Thinking negatively
Decision-making
Setting unrealistic expectations for ourselves/others
Expectations we place on ourselves
Our internal environment -- academic pressure, frustration, not enough time,
decisions,
WHAT ARE SOME SYMPTOMS OF UNMANAGED STRESS? WHAT DOES
STRESS DO TO US?
When we are stressed, our body responds in certain way called the Stress Response. The
Stress Response includes the following bodily reactions:
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Muscle tension
Increased heart rate and blood pressure; feeling tense, irritable, fatigued, or
depressed
Lack of interest and ability to concentrate, apathy
Avoidance behaviors: abuse of drugs, alcohol, tobacco
Sweating
Rapid and shallow breathing
Increase in blood pressure
Cold and/or clammy hands and feet
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Queasy stomach
Feeling fidgety
When we experience a number of internal and/or external stressors over a period of time
(i.e., weeks, months, years), there is a negative impact on us physically, mentally, and
emotionally. As a result, people frequently turn to ineffective and, usually, selfdestructive behaviors to try to cope. Fortunately, there are numerous healthy strategies
and techniques available to cope with stress effectively.
Ineffective Coping Strategies
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Behavioral
Overeating
Consuming too much alcohol
Taking excessive drugs (legal and illegal)
Isolating
Acting out behavior (including physical aggression)
Quitting jobs, relationships, etc.
Procrastinating
Mental
Excessive worrying
Denying that a problem exists
Effective Coping Strategies
Hardiness
Outlook
Listening to your body
Decreasing stress (if possible)
Unburdening yourself
Problem solving
Hardiness
Hardiness means becoming physically, mentally, and emotionally stronger so that when a
stress or occurs you are “fit” to cope with it. Techniques to increase Hardiness include:
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Add balance to life; don't overdo studies or play.
Get More Regular Physical Exercise – a physically fit body deals with stress
more easily.
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Practice Relaxation – regular relaxation helps keep your day-to-day stress level
lower. Relaxation can also be used during periods of high stress to take the edge
off.
Develop Good Sleeping and Eating Habits – keeping your body well rested and
nourished helps prepare you to deal with stress effectively.
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Reduce Your Use of Alcohol, Nicotine, and Caffeine – frequent use of drugs
weakens your physical and mental ability to cope with stress. These drugs also
intensify the stress response within your body.
Find Activities That You Enjoy / Take "time outs", especially during
study.– people who enjoy life are highly motivated to deal with stress effectively
so that they can get back to the things that make them happy.
Expand your support network, reinforce friendships / Create a Support
System – scientific studies over the past 20 years have shown that people who
both give and receive love, affection, and support are better equipped to deal with
stress. Taking the time to develop close relationships with other people is
rewarding in many ways, both short-term, as well as long-term.
Discuss problems with friends, family, dean or counselor.
Changing Your Outlook
The ability to cope with stress is partially determined by a person’s outlook or attitude. If
someone is always expecting the worst, or feels like they are being controlled by other
people, then the continuous challenges of life will undoubtedly cause a lot of stress.
Alternatively, people have the ability to develop attitudes about life that make it less
stressful and more enjoyable.
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Develop a Sense of Humor About Yourself and Your Problems – humor is an
excellent tool to help people see that things might not always be as bad as they
seem.
Develop the Ability to Understand that Being Wrong or Making Mistakes is
OK as Long as You Learn from It – many people have been taught that making
mistakes means that they are stupid, bad, worthless, etc. This type of thinking
leads to unnecessary stress. The ability to see mistakes as learning opportunities
decreases stress levels considerably when attempting new and different things.
Take Responsibility for Your Own Feelings – One of the most significant
stressors for many people is the feeling that other people are controlling them.
This type of feeling on a regular basis leads to feelings of powerlessness,
hopelessness, and continual frustration. It is only when we begin to take
responsibility for our own feelings, and develop our capacity to choosehow to
deal with situations and events, that we can begin to understand the many ways
we do have control over our own lives.
Know Your Own Strength and Abilities and accept what kind of person you
are – An in-depth awareness of, and belief in, your many strengths and abilities
provide a feeling of confidence that you can cope effectively with stressors as
they arise.
Understand and Accept the Fact that You Cannot Control
Everything – many people believe that they need to control everyone and
everything around them. Since this is impossible, it is inevitable that stress will
arise as they continually encounter the reality of the limits of their control.
Acceptance of the realities of life is a very effective for coping with stress.
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STRESS MANAGEMENT
Listening to Your Body
One of the first steps in learning how to deal with stress more effectively, is to learn to
recognize as early as possible when you are becoming stressed about something. Your
own body is probably the most important indicator that you are becoming stressed. By
paying attention to the signals your body sends you, you can often identify the source of
the problem sooner and more easily.
The Stress Responses listed below will be useful to remind you of the changes that occur
in your body when it prepares to face something challenging. Be sure to pay attention to
secondary symptoms of the stress response as well – sore shoulders from muscle tension,
fatigue, etc.
The Stress response
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Muscles tense
Heart rate increases
Sweating
Rapid and shallow breathing
Increase in blood pressure
Cold and/or clammy hands and feet
“Butterflies” in the stomach
Feeling “fidgety”
Decreasing Stress
While stress is inevitable, there are actions that can be taken that will reduce the levels of
stress in our lives.
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Learn How to Say No – a significant contributing factor to the stress level in
many people’s lives is the tendency to take on responsibilities and tasks that they
don’t want or can’t do. Learning how to say “no” can be one of the healthiest
things people can do for themselves.
Don’t Take Work Home with You – learning how to separate work and/or
school from home life can be a difficult skill to master. It is important for people
to be able to take a break from responsibilities so they can devote their undivided
attention to the environment and situation in which they are currently involved.
Try to Limit the Number of Changes With Which You are Coping at any
Given Time – some people decide to improve their lives and try to make a
number of changes at once. Frequently the result is that people become so anxious
and tense trying to handle so many changes at once, that nothing actually gets
changed. This result can lead to feelings of failure and, therefore, actually
increase stress. Be realistic about decisions, and make choices that are likely to
result in a success.
Anticipate Changes Before They Occur – because change is frequently
frightening for people, many people avoid preparing themselves for things they
know they will have to deal with eventually. Avoiding denial and/or
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procrastination allows people to prepare in a thoughtful and deliberate way for
change.
Learn Time Management and Organizational Skills – one of the simplest ways
to reduce stress is to learn strategies and techniques to manage your time, and to
organize yourself, your files, and your belongings.
Become More Assertive – assertive behavior is much less stressful than passive
or aggressive behavior.
Unburdening Yourself
When we worry about things excessively, think negatively, and set unrealistic
expectations for ourselves or others, we are burdening ourselves with extra stress.
Therefore, if we change those thoughts and beliefs, we increase our ability to manage our
stress effectively.
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Reduce Self-imposed Demands – Many people use terms like “should,” or
“ought to” throughout the day. Instead of helping them do the things that need to
be done, these kinds of statements make people feel guilty and pressured. Simply
changing the “shoulds” to “will” or “will not” removes the judgmental tone that
tends to wear people down.
Control Your Negative Thinking – Learn to recognize when your thinking is
unrealistic and filled with thoughts that are based on personal beliefs and attitudes
rather than an objective analysis of the situation. Once you recognize this type of
pattern, you can then change your thinking into healthy and reality-based thought
patterns.
Limit the Time You Spend Worrying – although worrying is a natural tendency
we all have, it does nothing to solve a problem, and it is very easy to fall into the
trap of worrying excessively about things. One way to control this tendency is to
set aside a limited amount of time during the day to worry. When your mind starts
to head in this direction at other times of the day, you can remind yourself that
you have a specific time set aside to indulge yourself in this activity.
Set Realistic Expectations for Yourself – when we set unrealistic expectations
for ourselves and others, (e.g., “I have to be liked by everyone,”, “if people don’t
do everything I want them to do it means they don’t really care about me”), we
impose pressure on ourselves. Also, this type of thinking makes us extremely
vulnerable to low self-esteem. Who can always do their best or be liked
by everyone? Realistic expectations help us feel better about ourselves and reduce
stress we create in our own mind.
Stop Procrastinating / Study each subject regularly for moderate periods of
time.– quite often when we procrastinate about doing something, we end up
spending more energy than we would if we just dealt with it right away. Many
people also feel worse about themselves when they continuously put things off.
Instead of motivating them, this makes it even less likely that they will do the
thing they have been avoiding. Whenever possible, do it today rather than putting
it off.
Develop Problem-Solving Skills
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Many of the stresses we face cannot (or should not) be avoided. Therefore, it is important
to know how to be proactive and deal with stressful situations directly.
Problem-Solving Techniques
• Set clear goals
• Collect all the information needed to form a plan of action
• Divide large tasks into smaller ones
• Develop a schedule to complete tasks
• Acknowledge your progress after each task is completed
• Evaluate the effectiveness of your strategy and make any revisions to your plan as
required
ARE YOU EXPERIENCING TOO MUCH STRESS?
Here are a few common indicators:
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Difficulty concentrating
Increased worrying
Trouble completing assignments on time
Not going to class
Short temper or increased agitation
Tension
Headaches
Tight muscles
Changes in eating habits (e.g., “stress eating”)
Changes in sleeping habits
Ways of reducing and managing stress
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A feeling of control and a healthy balance in your schedule is a necessary part of
managing stress. Learning how to manage your responsibilities, accomplish your
goals and still have time for rest and relaxation requires that you practice time
management skills. Plan each day’s activities ahead of time. Set priorities and
stick to them as much as possible.
Give yourself a break – take some time every day to do something just for you.
Try setting a specific goal for yourself that will improve your mood and help you
reduce stress. Start by filling out a goal-setting worksheet.
Avoid procrastination. Putting off assignments or responsibilities until the last
minute can create more mental and physical stress than staying on top of
them. Procrastination can affect many aspects of daily life, such as the quality of
your work, the quality of your sleep, and your mood. If you have a large job to
do, break it down into smaller tasks and do a little bit every day.
Exercise regularly. Physical activity can help you burn off the energy generated
by stress.
Practice good sleep habits to ensure that you are well-rested. Sleep deprivation
can cause many physical and mental problems and can increase stress.
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Try mindfulness meditation.
Eat well – avoid sugar, caffeine, junk food. Limit (or eliminate) the use of
stimulants like caffeine, which can elevate the stress response in your body.
Pace yourself throughout the day, taking regular breaks from work or other
structured activities. During breaks from class, studying, or work, spend time
walking outdoors, listen to music or just sit quietly, to clear and calm your mind.
Don’t cram too many tasks into too little time.
Start a journal. Many people find journaling to be helpful for managing stress,
understanding emotions, and making decisions and changes in their lives.
Realize that we all have limits. Learn to work within your limits and set realistic
expectations for yourself and others. Remember that you don’t have to be perfect.
Plan leisure activities to break up your schedule: Take time off to get re-charged,
listen to your favorite music, go dancing.
Recognize the role your own thoughts can play in causing you distress. Challenge
beliefs you may hold about yourself and your situation that may not be accurate.
For example, do you continuously fall short of what you think you “should”
accomplish? When our minds continuously feed us messages about what we
“should” achieve, “ought” to be, or “mustn't” do, we are setting ourselves up to
fall short of goals that may be unrealistic, and to experience stress along the
way. Don’t let worries drain your energy.
Find humor in your life. Laughter can be a great tension-reducer.
Seek the support of friends and family when you need to “vent” about situations
that bring on stressful feelings. But make sure that you don’t focus exclusively on
negative experiences; try to also think of at least three things that are going well
for you, and share those experiences. Express your anger in constructive ways that
do not hurt yourself or others.
Try setting a specific goal for yourself that will improve your mood and help you
reduce stress. Start by filling out a stress management goal-setting sheet.
Relaxation Techniques:
Relaxation Response Instructions
1. Sit in a comfortable place (do not lie down). You may sit in a chair, or on the
floor with a cushion underneath you. Try to keep your shoulders back and your
spine straight.
2. Pick a spot that you can use every time; you will find that you will start to relax
simply by sitting there. Make sure that the phone is unplugged, the door is closed,
and your pets are absent.
3. It is earlier to elicit the Relaxation Response (RR) at the same time(s) each day –
this helps make it a habit.
4. Once you have settled into a comfortable position, begin to slow your breathing.
Focus your attention on the inhalations as you breathe in, and the exhalations as
you breathe out. After you have taken several deep slow breaths, start to
concentrate on taking the inhalations all the way down into your belly. If you are
doing it correctly, as you inhale your belly should expand as if you are slightly
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pregnant. On the exhalation, your belly should return to its normal state. Continue
to simply focus your attention on your breathing – each inhalation and exhalation.
5. It is quite normal for thoughts to come and go as you elicit the RR. Simply note
that your mind has wandered, passively ignore the thoughts, and return your
attention to your breath.
6. If you exercise regularly, try eliciting the RR immediately after you exercise – the
sense of deep relaxation should come more easily.
7. It is generally advisable to elicit the RR twice a day for 20 minutes each session.
If you simply cannot fit in a session, try focusing on your breath for even five
minutes. The only “bad” RR session is the one not done.
Five Finger Relaxation Technique
The five finger relaxation technique takes only a few minutes and can help with test
anxiety.
You might use this technique while you wait for an exam to be passed out. You might
also use it if you freeze during an exam. Two or three minutes spent on deep breathing
and relaxation will be well spent since focused relaxation and deep breathing have been
shown to reduce the biological effects of anxiety. By reducing the amount of adrenaline
pumping into your system, you will clear your mind and begin to think again.
Sit in a comfortable position with both feet on the floor and your hands in your lap. Close
your eyes.
Touch your thumb to your index finger. As you do so, go back in time when your body
felt healthy fatigue, when you had just engaged in an exhilarating physical activity. You
might imagine that you had just played tennis, jogged, etc.
Touch your thumb to your middle finger. As you do so, go back to a time when you had a
loving experience. It may be sexual, it may be a warm embrace, or an intimate
conversation.
Touch your thumb to your ring finger. As you do so, go back to the nicest compliment
you have ever received. Try to really accept it now. By accepting it, you are showing
your high regard for the person who said it. You are really paying him or her a
compliment.
Touch your thumb to your little finger. As you do so, go back to the most beautiful place
you have ever been. Dwell there for a while.
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