STRESS MANAGEMENT TECHNIQUES In dealing with stressors an individual learns to formulate techniques in minimizing stress.

The overall goal of stress management techniques is not to remove the stress itself but to reduce its negative effect in the body and mind. Bessie, L. Leadership Roles and management Functions in Nursing Theory and Application, 5th Edition. Margins and Wilkins. 2006. Coping with Stress Coping with stress can be defined as an effort by a person or an organization to manage and overcome demands and critical events that pose a challenge, threat, harm or loss to that person and that person s functioning or to the organization as a whole. Coping is considered as one of the top skills inherent in effective managers. Stress is inevitable, but the degree of experienced stress can be modified in two ways: by changing the environment and by changing the individual. This is referred to as stress management. Stress management can refer to a narrow set of individual level interventions or a broader meaning that includes any type of stress intervention. However, for stress management interventions to be successful, they need to target characteristics of the individual worker, the job and the organization. Gordon Edlin et al. Health and Wellness, 8th Edition. P. Jones and Bartlett. 2004 Individual Coping Strategies At the individual level, one of the well-documented techniques for reducing stress is through the relaxation response.

However, relaxation is a reactive coping strategy as a result of an individual s appraisal of a threat or harm/loss situation such as failing to meet a work goal or conflict with a colleague. Reactive coping strategies do very little if anything to solve the underlying problems; therefore, employees need to learn to use preventive and proactive coping strategies so that the fight-or-flight response is not automatically engaged at the first sign or stress. Townsend, Mary. Psychiatric Mental Health Nursing, 5th Edition. P.F.A Davis Philadelphia. 2006. Stress Management

Stress Management involves the use of coping strategies in response to stressful situations. Coping strategies are adaptive when they protect the individual from harm or strengthen the individual s ability to meet challenging situations. Adaptive responses help restore homeostasis to the body and impede the development of diseases of adaptation. Coping strategies are considered maladaptive when the conflict being experienced goes unresolved or intensifies. Energy resources become depleted as the body struggles to compensate for the chronic physiological and psychological arousal being experienced. The effect is a significant vulnerability to physical or psychological illness. Adaptive Coping Strategies include Awareness, Relaxation, Meditation, Interpersonal Communication with a Caring Other, Problem Solving, Pets and Music. Awareness is the initial step in managing stress, wherein the individual becomes Awareness is the initial step in managing stress, wherein the individual becomes aware of the factors that create stress and the feelings associated with a stressful response. Stress can be controlled only when one recognizes that it is being experienced. As one becomes aware of the stressors, he or she can omit, avoid, or accept them. Individuals experience relaxation in different ways. Some individuals relax by engaging in large-motor activities such as sports, jogging and physical exercise. Still others use techniques such as breathing exercises and progressive relaxation to relieve stress. Practiced for 20 minutes once or twice daily, meditation has been shown to produce a lasting reduction in blood pressure and other stress-related symptoms. Meditation involves assuming a comfortable position, closing the eyes, casting off all other thoughts and concentrating on a single word, sound or phrase that has positive meaning to the individual. As previously mentioned, the strength of one s available support system is an existing condition that significantly influences the adaptiveness of coping with stress. Sometimes just talking the problem out with an individual who is empathetic is sufficient to interrupt escalation of the stress response. An extremely adaptive coping strategy is to view the situation objectively. After an objective assessment of the situation, the problem-solving/decision-making model can be instituted as follows: 1. Assess the facts of the situation. 2. Formulate goals for resolution of the stressful situation. 3. Study the alternatives for dealing with the situation. 4. Determine the risks and benefits of each alternative. 5. Select an alternative. 6. Implement the alternative selected. 7. Evaluate the outcome for the alternative implemented. 8. If the first choice is ineffective, select and implement a second option. Recent psychological studies have begun to uncover evidence that those who care for pets, especially dogs and cats are better able to cope with the stressors of life. They physical act of stroking or petting a dog or cat can be therapeutic. It gives the animal an intruitive sense of being cared for and at the same

time gives the individual the calming feeling of warmth, affection, and interdependence with a reliable, trusting being. It is true that music can soothe the savage beast. Creating and listening to music stimulate motivation, enjoyment and relaxation. Music can reduce depression and bring about measurable changes in mood and general activity. Stress Management Techniques By incorporating relaxation and stress reduction exercises into our daily lives, we help maintain our physical, mental and spiritual health. The techniques may include mental imagery, muscular stress reduction and mind-body harmony. Apruebo, Roxel, A. The Science of Psychology 2009; 1st Edition. Philippines: Educational Publishing House Inc. Ways of Coping with Stress Folkman et al defined coping as one s cognitive and behavioral efforts to manage specific demands that are appraised as taxing one s resources. It has two major approaches namely: 1. Problem-focused coping: altering or eliminating the source of stress such as confronting, seeking social support, and planful problem solving; and 2. Emotion-focused coping: Regulating the negative emotional consequences of stressors, such as self-controlling, distancing, positive appraisal, accepting responsibility, and escape/avoidance (wishful thinking). Rice, Philip F. The Adolescent: Development, Religion and Culture, 8th Edition. USA: Allyn & Bacon. 1996. A model of spirituality for stress management In my efforts to integrate spiritual well being into the wellness paradigm of total well being for corporate health promotion, I created an integrative theoretical model to emphasize the dynamic relationship between stress and human personality. I synthesized this spiritual wellbeing model from the psychological theories of Jung, Maslow, Frankl, Peck, Fox, Selye, Schaef, and Borysenko, and several other influences from American Indian and Asian cultures. In this model, human spirituality is defined as the maturation process of our higher consciousness as developed through the integration of three facts: an insightful, nurturing relationship with oneself and others, the development of a strong personal value system, and a meaningful purpose in one s life. These facets, each tightly integrated with the other two, constitute a dynamic configuration that, when attended to and nurtured, will advance him consciousness to a higher level of understanding- that is, seeing oneself as a part of a larger whole.