Stress management

Stress management
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(December, 2012)
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Table of contents
 TOC \o "1-3" \h \z \u  HYPERLINK \l "_Toc342652797"
Introduction  PAGEREF _Toc342652797 \h
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Causes and dangers of stress  PAGEREF _Toc342652798 \h
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Managing stress positively  PAGEREF _Toc342652799 \h
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i. Discovering one’s life stress sources  PAGEREF _Toc342652800 \h
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ii. Identifying means to handle stress  PAGEREF _Toc342652801 \h
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Strategy 1: avoid unnecessary stress  PAGEREF _Toc342652802 \h
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Strategy 2: altering the circumstance  PAGEREF _Toc342652803 \h
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Strategy 3: stressor adaptation  PAGEREF _Toc342652804 \h
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Strategy 4: recognize things beyond your control.  PAGEREF _Toc342652805 \h
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Strategy 5: living a healthy life  PAGEREF _Toc342652806 \h
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Conclusion  PAGEREF _Toc342652807 \h
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References  PAGEREF _Toc342652808 \h
9

Introduction
The ever changing demands of live are a threat to human happiness. The demands are negatively affecting people through stress. A Current survey shows that all human beings are affected in one way or another by stress. According to Singh, our brains are wired with an “alarm system” for protection. When it senses a threat the body is signaled thus releasing hormones that increase your ability to respond to a certain threat. After everything settles down the body mechanism returns to normal. However, with the kind of demands in life today, the brain alarm never shuts off (Singh, 2009).
As a result, stress management becomes very relevant topic today. It equips individuals with useful tools that are helpful in resetting the brain alarm system. Without stress management life could be so miserable because of health related problems due to stress. Practicing a range of different stress management techniques could be so helpful in eliminating the negative impacts of stress in our lives, health, and relationships (Singh, 2009).
Causes and dangers of stress
Understanding stress becomes the foundation of stress management. Singh asks how you can solve a problem you are not aware. He says, understanding the symptoms, causes, and effects make individuals very relevant in fighting this “criminal”, stress. The mostly known warning signs of stress include: cognitive symptoms; memory problems, inability to concentrate, poor judgment, Constant worrying; physical symptoms; aches and pains, diarrhea or constipation, nausea, dizziness and loss of sex drive; emotional symptoms; moodiness, irritability or short temper, agitation, inability to relax and feeling overwhelmed; lastly, behavioral symptoms; eating more or less, sleeping too much or too little, and Isolating yourself from other people (Singh, 2009).
Causes of stress can be grouped into two; the external and internal causes. The major external causes include: major life changes, work, relationship difficulties, financial problems, being too busy, and children and family. The internal causes are inability to accept life uncertainties, pessimism, negative self-talk, unrealistic expectations and lack of assertiveness (Florio, Donnelly, & Zevon, 1998).
Men are highly affected than women by stress which could either be positively or negatively. The fun thing with our bodies is that, it does not differentiate between physical and psychological factors; any threat to the body is a threat. According to Anderson and others, some of the major stress related health issues in our bodies include; pain of any kind, heart diseases, digestive problems, sleep abnormalities, depression, obesity, autoimmune diseases, and skin conditions, such as eczema (Anderson, Crowell, Doman, & Howard, 1988).
Managing stress positively
Many have given up saying they have nothing to do about it. Life is demanding high today; bills keep on coming, time is increasingly becoming limited, careers are pressing, family responsibilities are increasing, and the worry is building up thus increasing stress levels. People are mistaken, God made man in a special way; he has all it takes to counter check issues. He has all it takes to control and manage stress; it is simply been charge of the thoughts, schedules, the way of dealing with issues and even the emotions. The following is what an individual can do to manage stress (Anderson, Crowell, Doman, & Howard, 1988).
Discovering one’s life stress sources
The first step of been charge involves identifying the key sources of stress in life. Many times people under look some small causes like the pressure to beat a deadline. Discovering sources requires looking closely on individual’s attitudes, excuses and habits. This self examination ensures pin pointing the key causes in life. For instance, you can start by asking key questions like, do you give excuse when you cannot remember where you place a pen you had just some few h...