Managing Stress

What Is Stress?
Stress is the body's natural reaction to events or situations that may confuse, frighten, anger, excite, please or surprise us.  Stress can be pleasant or distressful depending on our perception of that event.  Stressful situations cause the body to produce adrenalin, which increases heart rate and heightens the body's state of stimulation.

Stress can be caused by a number of different factors.  These include school, families, social lives, sport, study/exams or an unexpected crisis.  Long-term stress can cause a gradual build up of tension and predisposes us to developing stress related conditions.

Stress and Performance

If you are aware of the signs and symptoms of stress, then you can learn to stay within your optimal zone. 

People generally tend to eat more when they are under-stimulated, when they do not have enough to stimulate them e.g. bored at night time, or overeating can also occur when experiencing excessive stressful symptoms.  Examples of this are fatigue at the end of the day, constant demands from home, social and school pressures, stress placed on yourself to look or feel a certain way or shape.

Stress Management

Efforts to manage weight are sometimes disrupted by stress, that is, you eat in response to stress.  If so, it is important that you develop successful stress management strategies.

You cannot avoid all stress, but you can learn to cope effectively with it by becoming aware of how your body responds to it.  Identify the environmental situations that prompt your stress and even if you cannot change the nature of the stressor, you can change your reaction to them.

Stress management is a three-part process:

1.     Awareness – recognise that you are stressed.

Be aware of symptoms and situations where stress may occur eg. work demands.

2.     Learning to deal with stressors.

Using awareness as a cue to relax and using appropriate techniques, eg. muscle tensions relaxation techniques, mental clearing and deep breathing exercises.  Also, exercise and sleep more. Sleep at regular times, have a regular routine that you follow before you go to bed and avoid caffeine prior to going to bed.

3.     Applying Stress Management to everyday situations

In any stressful situation, there are three alternate courses of action:

1. Avoid
2. Alter
3. Adapt

Following are some further suggestions that may help you deal with stress

• Remind yourself that you aren’t totally responsible for other people’s moods or feelings.
• Keep a favourite inspirational message handy to focus on when you’re having a bad day.
• Learn to say no! Saying no to extra projects and social invitations takes practise, self-respect and a belief that everyone every day needs quiet time to reflect and to be alone.
• Take a moment to relive a happy time in your life.
• Listen more.
• Do something that will improve your appearance.  Looking better can help you feel better.
• Set a timer for 15 minutes – put your feet up and relax.
• Remind yourself that there’s no one in this world more important or less important than you. 
• If someone criticises you, consider it calmly.  If what has been said is correct (in part or full) try to remove the defect and thank the person for pointing it out to you.
• Do your best and leave the rest.
• Learn to ignore what you can’t control.  Learn to control what you can.
• Write your problems down on paper or talk about them with a good listener.
• Consider starting and ending your day with a period of quiet reflection.