STRESS AND ITS MANAGEMENT

PRESENTED BY
DR. R. AKUAMOAH-BOATENG DEPT. OF PSYCHOLOGY UNIVERSITY OF GHANA

STRESS AND ITS MANAGEMENT

INTRODUCTION

A plague of the twenty first century An invisible killer on the loose A serious health problem of our time.

WHAT IS STRESS?
Synonyms :
Pressure Tension Anxiety Worry Distress

l Stress is how we feel when we are worried. l The feeling is brought about by some event or situation. l The situation itself is not the stress but rather, our reaction to the situation causes the stress. l Situation/Events which cause us stress are referred to as stressors. l What may cause one stress may be excitement to another.

l Epicurus once said that People are disturbed not by the things that happen to them but by their interpretation of those things. l Two people may experience the same thing but their reactions to it will be different. The intensity of stress depends on:
the event involved our reaction to the event the importance of the event to us.

THE PROCESS OF STRESS

Fight or flight response:- the bodys mechanism for marshalling energy in case of emergency. During emergencies:
     

Blood pressure goes up Breathing goes up. Heart rate pulse goes up. Sweating increases. Blood rushes to parts that need it most (face, arms, legs etc). Adrenaline is secreted into the blood.

Continued
l These build up the extra energy for the emergency situation. l In modern life, the pace of life is so fast that we are always exciting the fight or flight response without using the energy generated, resulting in stress.

WHAT CAUSES US STRESS? This differs from person to person, but anything that makes us worry and tense up is a stressor.

YAn event will be more stressful if it:

Y Y

is unpredictable involves a lot of pressure

Yspeeding pace of work/activity Ymeeting deadlines Yworking at maximum capacity for a long time (hrs)

Y Y Y

unavoidable intense unfamiliar.

Work Related Stress

l Degree of Participation in:
decision-making process consultations on issues affecting the organisation establishing rules of behaviour at work

l Role Problems:
role overload role insufficiency role ambiguity role conflict

lJob Dissatisfaction
salary conditions at the workplace motivational factors
degree of stimulating task involved in job amount of recognition for job done well relationships with fellow workers the amount of encouragement to take on responsibility

WHO ARE EASILY STRESSED

lType A vrs. Type B Personalities

TYPE A
l Philosophy- There is a lot to do but very little time to do it. Hard-driving individuals: pushing themselves above human limits. Always in a hurry. Eat pretty fast; often standing. Very competitive; set themselves very unrealistic goals. Hostile, irritable and impatient.

TYPE B
Less competitive Easy going Less hurried More friendly

EXTERNALS
Believe strongly in destiny Attribute anything that happens to external sources. They tend to think that there is very little they can do to control events in their lives.

INTERNALS
The opposite of externals. They feel whatever happens, they have control over life events. They can do something to improve their lot.

THE HARDY PERSONALITY

Such people go through very stressful events but are not affected by them. They see life as a challenge. Life threatening events seem to them as opportunities to prove themselves.

Continued
They tend to be very committed to whatever they set their minds on. Like the internal they tend to feel that they have control over whatever happens to them.

PHYSICAL AND EMOTIONAL INDICATORS OF STRESS

`

` ` ` ` ` `

Muscles Tension - Inability to relax. Rapid heartbeat Fast shallow breathing Change in appetite Sleep problems Headaches Indigestion

continued
` Constipation and diarrhoea. ` Dry mouth and throat. ` Reduced sex drive. ` Increased irritability and complaining. ` Increased inability to concentrate. ` Becoming more gloomy and suspicious

STRESS AND HEALTH

YAbout 50% of cases reported at hospitals are stress related. YHypertension YUlcers - stomach and mouth. YAsthma and other lung problems YMigraine headaches YStroke YHeart diseases

Continued:
Y Diseases of the arteries

Y Insomnia Y Pre- mature gray hair Y Pre- mature hair loss

COPING WITH STRESS

Problem solving Social support Vacations Mental relaxation Physical exercise & relaxation Time management Relationship management Sleep well

Problem solving
l Use activities that are specific to getting the task accomplished. l In this way you will be using problemfocused coping style. l This coping style should be used when the task can be accomplished.

Social support
l Sharing fears, frustrations and joys with trusted friends makes life richer and contribute to the well-being of the body and mind. l Have a network of people at home, at work and in the community on whom you can rely for emotional support.

Vacations
l It helps to physically remove oneself from the stressful situation to reduce or eliminate stress. l One way is to take holidays and vacations.
Use the period to remove oneself from the stressful work environment to a quiet and peaceful environment for regeneration. Visit a quite and peaceful botanical garden Take a walk once a while in a peaceful environment

Mental relaxation
l To relieve stress, it is extremely important to learn how to calm the mind and body. Stress tends to disappear when the mind and body are calm. l Some of the popular ones are Meditation, Prayer and Progressive relaxation l At least 5 to 10 minutes be set aside each day to perform relaxation exercise.

Physical Exercise
l Exercise is a major component of comprehensive stress management programme and of overall good health. l People who exercise regularly are much less likely to suffer from fatigue and depression. l With regular exercise depression, tension, feelings of inadequacy and worries greatly diminish.

Time management
l For most people, time is one of the biggest stressors. l They simply feel they dont have enough of it. l For many people also, procrastination (putting something off until later) is the biggest time-management problem.

Time Management : continued

l Some Tips on Time Management:
Set priorities: Limit your efforts to the most important goal, realising that you can only achieve so much in a day Organise your day: Make a definite plan for the day. Delegate as much authority and work as you can. Tackle difficult jobs first, handling the most important tasks first, while your energy level is still high.

Some Tips on Time Management:

continued
Minimise meeting time Avoid putting things off (Procrastination). Set realistic goals. Attainable goals spur you on. Impossible goals cause frustration and failure. Budget enough time: When you have calculated how long each task will take to complete, add another 1015%, or even 25%, as buffer. Dont be a perfectionist: You cannot be, anyway. Just do your best in a reasonable amount of time and move on to other important tasks.

Relationship management
l Interpersonal relationship is another cause of stress. l These relationships can be divided into 3 major categories: q marital q family and q job-related l Experts say that the quality of any relationship ultimately depends on the quality of communication.

Relationship management Continued

Communication Tips
l The first and most important key to successful communication is to learn to be a good listener. l Be an Active Listener. That is, be really interested in what the other person is communicating. l Dont speak until the people you are communicating with are ready to listen. l If you find yourself being interrupted just RELAX: Dont try to out-talk the other person. l Help other people to be active listeners by asking if they understood what you were communicating.

Sleep well
l Lack of sleep (Insomnia) can be both the cause and effect of stress. l Without sufficient sleep mental and physical health steadily decline. l These are often accompanied by headaches, lack of concentration, feeling of irritability, forgetfulness and the tendency to fall ill. l Extreme lack of sleep can lead to hallucination and other psychotic symptoms. l On the other hand adequate sleep improves our mood.

Progressive Relaxation
l People often use more muscular contraction than necessary which can lead to headache, backache, and pains in the shoulders. l To reverse this, you need to induce nervemuscle relaxation. This involves:
contraction of a muscle group and and then relaxation of it, progressing from one muscle to group to another throughout the body.

Progressive Relaxation continued

Treatment: tension headaches migraine headaches backaches poor self-concept depression anxiety insomnia

Progressive Relaxation continued

l In learning progressive relaxation, seek a distraction-free environment and lie on you back. l Muscle Relaxation Exercise of: j the arms j the chest, stomach, and lower back j hips, thighs, and calves.

This should be done slowly and carefully, stopping if you experience muscle cramp or pain.

THANK YOU FOR COMING