Managing Stress

Presenter Name(s)
Date
E-mail
12 March 2014 Version 1

Learning Objectives

Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)

In this session you will:

Become familiar with the symptoms of stress
Learn methods to determine the level of stress
Understand the causes of stress and the coping
mechanisms for alleviating stress
The objective is to enable you to take control so
you can avoid stressful situations, but when they
do arise, have the ability to deal with the stress and
mitigate its impact so you can enjoy your daily life

Stress and its Effects

Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)

Do you personally suffer from excessive

stress?
What are the signs of excessive stress?
What can you do to help alleviate your stress?

Determining
if you suffer
from
excessive
Advanced Learning
Workshop
Status
(14 June stress
2013)
Signs of stress can be physical and/or mental
Common Physical symptoms of stress can include:
Rapid heartbeat.
Headache.
Stiff neck and/or tight shoulders.
Backache.
Rapid breathing.
Sweating and sweaty palms.
Upset stomach, nausea, or diarrhea.
Sleep trouble.
Weakening of the immune system

Symptoms Continued

Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)

Common Mental symptoms of stress include:

Irritability
Intolerance
Short Temper
Exhaustion
Lack of concentration
Frustration over minor challenges

Determine
YOUR
Personal
Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)
Level of Stress
Using the handout for reference, rate how often on a
scale of 1 to 10 (1 being never, 10 being more than 5-6
times a week) you experience the below mentioned
symptoms:
Headaches
Back/neck pain
Chest pain or discomfort
Problems with digestion/nausea
Dizziness, numbness or tingling in your fingers or toes
Irritability
Frustration
Emotional Fatigue
Concentration/Memory Problems
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Where
Do
You
Fall
With
Your
Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)
Results?
If youve rated 6 or more of the symptoms on the
handout with a 5 or higher, you should consider
reviewing your stress level and possibly taking some
action to reduce it. If you have rated 6 or more of the
above with a 4 or less, it shows you manage your
stressful situations well.
It cant hurt to get some ideas on different ways of
coping with stress regardless of your personal score.
So, lets take a look.

Options to Alleviate Your

Stress
If you determine that you are experiencing
excessive stress, what can you do?
Find out what is causing stress in your life and
determine ways to reduce or eliminate the
cause.
Change your response to the stress by using
old and new coping techniques
Learn healthy ways to prevent stress and
reduce its harmful effects.

Major Causes of Stress

Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)

Some of these may include:

Being fired
Being Promoted or Demoted
Moving/Relocation
Marriage/Divorce
Pregnancy
Death of family or friends
These are just examples of major life changes that can
have a serious impact on our lives and cause our bodies to
react with stress. Often times, the most common and
stressful things happen on a daily basis.
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Major Causes of Stress for

University Students
Adjustments to your daily routine
Sleeping and eating habits
Time-management due to additional academic
work loads, finding the balance of studying, free
time and deadlines
Missing your social support network of high
school friends and family
Learning new navigations such as getting around
campus, living on your own, choosing your
classes, choosing new friends, choosing your lifes
direction and career path for your future

Advanced Learning
Status
(14 June
2013)
Where
doesWorkshop
YOUR
stress
start?

Using the handout, take a few minutes

to honestly consider what causes your
daily stresses
Family?
School?
Friends?
Work? Etc

List the top 10 on your worksheet

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How
Can
You
Cope
With
Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)
Stress?
1)Time Management can be a huge cause for stress in
many peoples lives. Consider taking a class or course
or reading information available online or in magazines
or books on how to better manage your time and tasks.
2)Schedule - You may get more done with less stress if
you make a schedule. Think about which things are
most important, and put those at the top of your
schedule/list to do those things first.
3)Take good care of yourself. Exercise, get plenty of
rest, try to eat well, don't smoke and limit how much
alcohol you drink.

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How
Can
You
Cope
With
Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)
Stress (2)
4) Stop negative thoughts. Easier said then done
right? Well, its a skill that would be beneficial to
develop. Try writing down your worries and work
on letting go of things you cannot change. Dont
worry about things that have past. Focus on the
positives and the future that you can still impact.
5) Speak up. Assertive communication can help
you express how you feel in a thoughtful, tactful
way.

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How Can You Cope With

Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)
Stress (3)
6) Ask for help. People who have a strong network of
family and friends manage stress better.
7) Do something you enjoy. A hobby, a bath,
meditation, walking, or volunteering are good, helpful
ways to help you feel better and relieve stress. Listen to
relaxing music.
8) Keep a journal. Try including dates, time of day,
time of year, current events in your life, even your food
intake and exercise routine (if any).
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HowAdvanced
Can You
Cope
With
Stress(4)
Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)
9) Focus on the present. Try meditation, imagery exercises, or
self-hypnosis. Dont keep thinking back to your mistakes and
reliving the negative things that happened. There is nothing you
can do about it. Let it go and look ahead, not behind.

10) Laugh it up! Try to look for the humor in life. Dont take
yourself so seriously. Everything will pass eventually and keeping a
sense of humor will help lighten the load. Laughter really can be the
best medicine!

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Make and Action Plan

Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)

From Exercise 2, select your top two factors of stress in your
life from Handout B
For each of these two, ask yourself the following questions:

1) Can this situation be changed or improved?

If so, how?
(As an example: Relationship stress - assertive communication training, setting
boundaries, resolving conflict
Over commitment stress - setting boundaries, saying no, eliminating some
things from your schedule
Grief and loss stress - seeking support, journaling, finding enjoyable activities
to fill your day)

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Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)

Make an Action Plan (2)

2) What coping mechanisms (old or new) may help

me to better handle the current stressful situation
in my life?
(As an example: Meditation, Exercise, Engaging with friends, Listen to
relaxing music, write down in a journal what things you want to let go)

3) Is there anything I can do to prevent or avoid

having this situation reoccur in the future?
(As an example: Implement a schedule to better manage my time,
ask for help if there are too many actions on my to-do list, go to bed
earlier to have a better nights sleep and more productive day)

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On Campus Contacts

Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)

There are times you might need external help in

dealing with your stress
If it becomes too much to handle reach out . . . The
university offers several resources to help:
Student Services Center
Moderators
Department Heads
Health Counselors
Upper Classman Associations

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Conclusion

Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)

In Conclusion, make a commitment to yourself to

change the situation(s) causing you stress, seek new
and different ways to cope with the daily stresses and
attempt to become more efficient so that you may
foresee what stresses may arise and possibly, avoid or
alleviate them.

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Questions

Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)

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Contact Information

Advanced Learning Workshop Status (14 June 2013)

Name
E-mail
Phone
Campus Student Life contact(s):
Ombudsman, Dean of Students, etc.

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