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First, you must learn to recognize stress:
Stress can affect you mentally, socially, and physically. These include exhaustion, loss of/increased appetite, headaches, crying,
sleeplessness, and oversleeping. Escape through alcohol, drugs, or other compulsive
behaviour 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 the facilities at
Revelation Online. Call the office at 944-2006 for help.
Stress Management is the ability to
maintain control when situations, people, and events make excessive demands. What you can do to manage your stress? What are some strategies?
Look around |
See if there really is something
you can change or control in the situation. |
Learn how to best relax yourself |
Hobbies, meditation and breathing
exercises have been proven to be very effective in controlling
stress. Practice clearing your mind of disturbing thoughts. |
Remove yourself from the stressful
situation |
Give yourself a break if only
for a few moments daily. |
Set realistic goals for yourself |
Reduce the number of events
going on in your life and you may reduce the overload. |
Don't sweat the small stuff |
Try to prioritize a few truly
important things and let the rest slide. |
Don't overwhelm yourself |
by fretting about your entire
workload. Handle each task as it comes, or selectively deal
with matters in some priority. |
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. |
Change the way you see things
|
Learn to recognize stress for
what it is. Increase your body's feedback and make stress
self-regulating. |
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? |
| Do something for others to
help get your mind off your self. |
Get enough sleep |
Lack of rest just aggravates
stress. |
| Work off stress with physical
activity, whether it's jogging, tennis, martial arts. |
Avoid self-medication or escape |
Alcohol and drugs can mask stress.
They don't help deal with the problems, they actually make
the problem worse. |
Develop a thick skin |
The bottom line of stress management
is "I upset myself" |
| Try to be positive |
Give
yourself
messages
as
to
how
well
you
can
cope
rather
than
how
horrible
everything
is
going
to
be.
"Stress
can
actually
help
memory,
provided
it
is
short-term
and
not
too
severe.
Stress
causes
more
glucose
to
be
delivered
to
the
brain,
which
makes
more
energy
available
to
neurons.
This,
in
turn,
enhances
memory
formation
and
retrieval.
On
the
other
hand,
if
stress
is
prolonged,
it
can
impede
the
glucose
delivery
and
disrupt
memory."
All
Stressed
Up,
St.
Paul
Pioneer
Press
Dispatch
 ,
p.
8B,
Monday,
November
30,
1998
|
| Most importantly, if stress
is putting you in an unmanageable state or interfering with
your schoolwork, social and/or work life, seek professional
help. |
adapted
from
Joe
Landsberger
|
