STRESS
MANAGEMENT
DEFINITION
There
is a wide range of definitions of what stress is. Some of these
definitions relate to the emotional experience, while others relate
to the physiological process involved when stress takes place. The
most appropriate way to define stress, in the context it is most
commonly known for, is to see it as a phenomenon that can adversely
affect the quality of our lives.
-
Inverted U
hypothesis – Yerkes Dodson Law
SYMPTOMS
Mood
swings, disrupted sleep, poor concentration, poor memory performance,
tension headaches, physical symptoms including rashes, ringing in the
ears, fatigue, vision problems, suppression of the immune system
(allowing other afflictions to occur), depression, anxiety, phobias.
-
Weakest link
approach
-
Post Traumatic
Stress Disorder - this is much used courts, this is characterised by
the re-experiencing of an extremely Traumatic event accompanied by
symptoms of increased arousal and by avoidance of stimuli associated
with the trauma
-
Irritable Bowel
Syndrome (abdominal pain, loose stools, reflux),
-
Adjustment
Disorder - a Person with an Adjustment Disorder is someone who has not
adapted well to one or more stressors that have occurred in the
previous three months.
-
Sensitivity to
Stress – often when we are subjected to overstress, we become
more sensitive to stress, and so we can get a cycle occurring.
CAUSES
General
stresses of life, Cognitive
Dissonance, Victimisation, Long hours at work, Domestic pressures,
Unsolvable problems, Burn out, Illness makes us more susceptible,
The
role of guilt - this mechanism often provides us with the motivation
to become overstressed
TREATMENT
-
The role of
perception
-
Good vs. bad
stress
-
Strategies for Coping – good
lifestyle, diet, exercise, emotional sense of control, good personal
support structure, adjusting the perception of one's personal
environment.
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