Stress management

A cluttered environment with too many tasks can lead to stress.

Stress management encompasses techniques intended to equip a person with effective coping mechanisms for dealing with psychological stress.

Definition of stress: Stress management defines stress precisely as a person's physiological response to an external stimulus that triggers the "fight-or-flight" reaction. ( Also see General adaptation syndrome)

Causes of stress

Work, life, many things can start the stress reaction, including danger, threat, news, illness, as well as significant changes in one's life such as the death of a loved one. The Holmes Rahe Scale is used by psychologists to test stress levels.

A stress ball.

Need for stress management

It is now an accepted fact in the medical community; according to recent research, that stress is one of the major causes of all illnesses. Stress can cause Migraines, Stroke, Eczema, a weak Immune System, and many other diseases. Stress is also known to cause medical complications during Pregnancy for both the mother and the child. Hence, there is a growing need for stress management.

Techniques of stress management include

• self-understanding (e.g. self-identification as a Type A or as a Type B personality)
• self-management (e.g. becoming better-organized)
• conflict resolution
• positive attitude
• self-talk
• Autogenic training
• breathing
• Progressive relaxation
• meditation
• exercise
• diet
• rest
• Stress balls
• therapeutic massage

Some techniques of time management may help a person to control stress. For example:

• becoming more organized and reducing the generation of clutter
• setting priorities can help reduce anxiety
• using a "to do" list of tasks that a person needs to complete can give a person a sense of control and accomplishment

Effective stress management involves learning to set limits and to say "No" to some demands that others make.

Digital Thermometers

Since stress activates the body's defense mechanism, blood is frequently drawn away from the extremities and to the torso when a stress attack occurs. Digital thermometers (digital because they measure finger temperature) can be used to detect a person's level of stress. Note that the actual temperature is not the most important characteristic, but rather the change in temperature. ^[]

Using this knowledge has proven useful in designing treatment for prevention and control of stress attacks. This technique was pioneered by Dr. Claudio Zapata. ^[]

See also

• Biofeedback
• Hypertension
• Massage
• Psychological resilience
• Relaxation technique
• T'ai Chi Ch'uan
• Yoga

External links

• Stress Management tips from the Univeristy of Illinois Counseling Center