Stress Management

Al-Qassim University
College of engineering

General Engineering Department

GE 402 Project Management

Stress Management

Author: Dr. Tomas U. Ganiron Jr 12/20/2010 1

Definitions of Stress

Stress as a Stimulus (stressors)
Stress as a Response (feeling stressed)
Stress as a Person-Situation Transaction

1

A Transactional Definition of
Stress
Stress is a particular relationship or
transaction between a person and the
environment that is appraised by the
person as taxing or exceeding his/her
resources and/or endangering his/her well
being, (Lazarus and Folkman)


Three Types of Appraisals

 Primary
 What is the nature of the stressor?
 Secondary
 What kinds of resources do I posses to cope with this
stressor?
 Reappraisal
 Reassessment of situational given additional
information and/or secondary appraisal


Situational Factors Affecting
Stress
 Predictability
 Event Uncertainty
 Ambiguity
 Novelty
 Imminence
 Controllability


Personal Factors Affecting
Stress
 Motives, Goals, & Values
 Beliefs
 Personal Control Beliefs
 Existential Beliefs
 Personality Factors: Hardiness
 Coping Skills


The Three Cs of Hardiness

 Challenge
 Commitment
 Control


Stages of Coping

 Anticipatory
 Impact
 Post Impact


Types of Coping

 Problem-Focused Coping
 Emotion-Focused Coping
 Seeking Social Support


Possible Coping Resources

 Physical Resources
 Beliefs
 Problem -Solving Skills
 Social Support
 Social Skills
 Material Resources


Characteristics of Effective
Coping
 People with effective coping skills have
 complex repertoires (good variety) that are
 flexibly applied and
 readily generalizable to different situations.


Benson’s Relaxation Response

 Repetition of a word, phrase, mantra, prayer, or
muscular activity
 Passive disregard towards thoughts that will
arise
 Helpful to do in a quiet place and in a
comfortable position


Other Useful Relaxation
Techniques
 Smile when you feel tense
 Have fun and enjoy pressure-filled and adverse
situations
 Intentionally set up stressful situations
 Slow down and take your time
 Stay focused on the present
 Create and stick to a plan


Cognitive Distortions

 All-or-Nothing Thinking
 Overgeneralization
 Mental Filter
 Disqualifying the Positive
 Jumping to Conclusions
 Mind Reading
 Fortune Teller Error


Cognitive Distortions
(Continued)
 Magnification & Minimization
 Emotional Reasoning
 Should Statements
 Labeling & Mislabeling
 Personalization
 Depressogenic Attribution Pattern
 Negative Cognitive Triad


The A-B-Cs (or A-C-Bs) of
Emotion
 A – Activating Event
 C – Emotional Consequences
 Emotional reaction, presumably caused by irrational
thinking
 B – Beliefs
 Usually irrational if dealing with negative emotions


Ellis’ Core Irrational Belief

 It is awful, terrible, and catastrophic when things
are not the way that I demand that they be.


Other Common Irrational
Thoughts
 It’s a dire necessity for an adult to be loved by
everyone for everything he or she does.
 One should be thoroughly competent, successful,
and achieving in all possible respects.
 Certain people are wicked and villainous when they
do not behave as I demand they should, and for this,
they should be punished.
 If something is threatening, I should be terribly
upset about it.
 Musts and Shoulds


Possible Stress Reducing
Thoughts
 I may not like this situation, but I can certainly stand
it.
 Unfortunately, people don’t always behave the way
I want them to. That’s the way it goes - no use
getting upset.
 I don’t have to be perfect. I can make mistakes too.
I don’t have to please everybody.
 Life is too short to let things like this make me
miserable.


Analyzing Thoughts and
Feelings
(see Smith pages 68-69)
 Activating Event
 What happened? Describe the event.
 Emotional Consequences
 How did you feel when the event occurred?
 What was your emotional response?
 Beliefs
 What were you thinking? What were you telling yourself?
Was any of this irrational?
 Dispute
 Counter what you told yourself. What is a more
productive thing to think?


Self-Instructional Training:
Anticipatory Stage
 This will be frustrating. Just plan on how you
can keep your cool and deal with it without
blowing up.
 No negative self-statements. Just think and
plan rationally


Impact Stage
 One step at a time. You can handle this. Just
relax and think clearly.
 Keep your cool. No need to loose your tempter.
Relax.


Post-Impact Stage
 Those damn ideas. They’re the problem. When
you control them, you control your anger.
 Go back over what you did. What worked and
what can be done better next time?
 Way to go! It’s getting better every time. You’re
controlling the anger instead of it controlling
you.


Burnout Defined

 The psychological, emotional, and sometimes
physical withdrawal from an activity in response
to excessive stress or dissatisfaction.


Symptoms of Burnout

 Low motivation or  Lowered self-esteem
energy  Negative affect
 Concentration  Mood changes/swings
problems  Substance abuse
 Lack of caring
 Changes in values
 Disturbed sleep
 Emotional isolation
 Physical and/or mental  Increased Anxiety
exhaustion
 Impaired performance


Personal Factors Contributing
to Burnout
 Extreme dedication to work or profession
 High trait anxiety
 Perfectionistic or unrealistic goals
 Type A personality
 Too flexible or rigid in coping skills
 Non-discriminating locus of control
 Feeling isolated and lonely


Coping with Burnout: The
Process
 Awareness of the Problem
 Taking Responsibility for Changing the situation
and/or Yourself
 Discriminating the Changeable from the
Unchangeable
 Developing New Strategies and Coping Skills


Coping With Burnout:
Specific Recommendations
 Examining Coping Patterns
 Goal-Setting and Clarifying Priorities
 Acknowledging Vulnerabilities
 Compartmentalizing Work and Non-work
 Decompression Time/Time Off
 Maintaining Physical Fitness
 Building Social Support


Coping With Burnout:
Specific Recommendations
 Challenging/Changing Maladaptive Attitudes
and Beliefs
 Using Burnout to Promote Personal Growth
 Learn Mental Coping Skills
 Choose to Have Fun


 THE END


Stress Management

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

What's hot

What's hot (19)

Similar to Stress Management

Similar to Stress Management (20)

More from haroldtaylor1113

More from haroldtaylor1113 (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Stress Management