TIP OF THE WEEK - November 16

Managing Stress

 

1) Recognize Stress:

Stress symptoms include mental, social, and physical manifestations.
These include exhaustion, loss of/increased appetite, headaches,
crying, sleeplessness, and oversleeping. Escape through alcohol,
drugs, or other compulsive behavior are often indications. Feelings
of alarm, frustration, or apathy may accompany stress.

If you feel that stress is affecting your studies, a first option is to seek
help through your educational counseling center.

Stress Management is the ability to maintain control when situations,
people, and events make excessive demands. What can you do to
manage your stress? What are some strategies?

2)  Look Around

See if there really is something you can change or control in the situation.

3)  Set Realistic Goals for Yourself

Reduce the number of events going on in your life and you may reduce
the circuit overload.

4)  Remove Yourself From the Stressful Situation

Give yourself a break if only for a few moments daily.

5)  Don't Overwhelm Yourself

Don’t worry about your entire workload. Handle each task as it comes,
or selectively deal with matters in some priority.

6)  Don't Sweat the Small Stuff

Try to prioritize a few truly important things and let the rest slide.

7)  Learn How to Best Relax Yourself

Meditation and breathing exercises have been proven to be very
effective in controlling stress.  Practice clearing your mind of disturbing
thoughts.

8)  Selectively Change the Way You React

But not too much at one time.  Focus on one troublesome thing and
manage your reactions to it/him/her.

9)  Change the Way You See Your Situation; Seek Alternative Viewpoints

Stress is a reaction to events and problems, and you can lock yourself
in to one way of viewing your situation.  Seek an outside perspective of
the situation, compare it with yours, and perhaps lessen your reaction to
these conditions.

10)  Avoid Extreme Reactions

Why hate when a little dislike will do? Why generate anxiety when you
can be nervous? Why rage when anger will do the job? Why be depressed
when you can just be sad?

11)  Do Something for Others

This helps get your mind off your self.

12)  Get Enough Sleep

Lack of rest just aggravates stress.

13)  Work Off Stress

Get active physically; whether it's jogging, tennis, gardening, etc.

14)  Try to "Use" Stress

If you can't remedy, nor escape from,  what is bothering you, flow with it
and try to use it in a productive way.

15)  Try to Be Positive

Give yourself messages as to how well you can cope rather than how horrible
everything is going to be.

***  Most importantly, if stress is putting you in an unmanageable 
state or interfering with your schoolwork, social and/or work life, 
seek professional help at your school counseling center.