Let's face it
FIGHTING IT WITH STEPS: The youth have taken to unwinding like never before what with stress taking its toll on their lives. Photo: P.V. Sivakumar
ICFAI NATIONAL COLLEGE
JAN. 16.
Stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that "demands exceed the personal and social resources that the individual is able to mobilise."
There are many proven skills that we can use to manage stress. These help us to remain calm and effective in stressful situations.
Action-oriented skills: In which we seek to confront the stress-causing problem, often changing the environment or the situation.
Emotion-oriented skills: In which we do not have the power to change the situation, but we can manage stress by changing our interpretation of the situation and the way we feel about it.
Acceptance-oriented skills: Where something has happened over which we have no emotional control, the focus must be on surviving the stress.
"Performance plans" help enhance your performance in a relaxed, positive and focussed frame of mind, whatever problems may have occurred.
"Stress diaries" wherein on a regular basis you record information about the causes of stress. It will help analyse and manage stress.
"Thought awareness" helps you to manage negative thinking, unpleasant memories and misinterpretation of situations that may interfere with your performance and damage your self-confidence.
"Rational thinking" helps you to face negative thoughts and learn from them. Positive thinking is then used to fight stress.
Potent weapon
Sometimes we are not able to change our environment to manage stress. Imagery is a potent method of stress reduction, especially when combined with physical relaxation methods such as deep breathing.
With imagery, you substitute actual experience with scenes from your imagination. Your body reacts positively to these imagined scenes, calming you down and letting adrenaline disperse.
So why not start the fight and face stress with determination?
By S. Baba Chandrasekhar
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Education Plus
Karnataka
Chennai
Coimbatore
Hyderabad
Madurai
Tiruchirapalli
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
