Strategies For Stress Management

by Nancy Willihnganz

Table of Content

• Physical strategies (what you feel)
• Perceptual (what you see)
• Cognitive (what you think)
• Affective strategies (how you feel)
• Skill strategies
• Environmental strategies

Physical Strategies (What you feel)

1. Deep Muscle Relaxation - Lower your physical tension by focusing on major muscle groups, and relaxing them. There is an instructional tape available from Counselling Services.
2. Watch your diet - especially caffeine intake (coffee, tea, chocolate, etc., which will raise your stress level.) A well balanced diet will improve your ability to cope.
3. Fitness level - An exercise program can help you in two ways:

1. if you are in good physical shape you are better able to tolerate anxiety.
2. physical exertion when you are worried or anxious provides an emotional release of tension for most people, or will help you re-focus your attention.
3. you don't have to engage in strenuous activity necessarily, a good brisk 15 min. walk each day can be very helpful.

• Sleep - Maintaining proper rest will help you cope with stress. Lack of sleep over a long period of time can produce its own feelings of tension and depression. When you are run down, worry, stress and anxiety affects you more.
• Cycles - Track (make note of) your body cycles to assist you in discovering if there is a pattern to your periods of feeling up or down. We all have low points and high points which often follow regular daily, weekly, monthly or yearly patterns.

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Perceptual (What you see)

1. Focusing Attention - Learn to pay attention to what is relaxing for you and ignore what is disturbing. For example, on your way to school to write an exam, look at the trees and sky, and not the people biting their fingernails. Selectively ignoring aspects of a situation which raise your anxiety or looking for aspects which are comforting to you is called positive scanning.
2. Neutral Scene - When you find yourself getting uptight - recall a scene from your past when you were very relaxed and content. your neutral scene. Visualize it as completely as you can by focusing on what you are seeing, hearing, feeling and smelling. Be an actor in that scene not the audience.
3. Diversive Tactics - When you begin to feel uptight have some diversions at hand. These could be such things as science fiction or adventure novels, T.V. programs, sports, hobbies, etc. Probably the only criteria here are that your diversive tactics be legal, cheap, and non-fattening.

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Cognitive (What you think)

1. Stop trying to be perfect - Naturally we want to be all that we can, but often we make ourselves uptight by expecting a standard of ourselves which is not humanly possible. Priorize what you want to do and decide which to really work at and which need only passing attention.
2. Analyze your "shoulds" - All of us seem to have plenty of "shoulds." eg. I should always be nice, I should always be polite, etc., which are the product of our upbringing as well as expectations of ourselves and other people. Discover what your "shoulds" are and determine if they are realistic or necessary.
3. Illogical thinking - Pay attention to the statements you make to yourself to make sure they are reasonably logical. For example, an illogical thought would be:
   Jane doesn't want to go to the pub with me, therefore, Jane doesn't like me, therefore, I am unloveable.
   It could be
   1. Jane doesn't drink
   2. Jane has other plans
   3. Jane already has a hangover
   4. etc.

• Self-Reward - Increase your self-reward. Be good to yourself by treating yourself to study breaks, special outings, bubble baths, etc.
• Rehearsal -

1. use your neutral scene to help you relax
2. rehearse yourself being competent, eg. asking a discussion provoking question in class
3. rehearse all outcomes to a situation so that in the event that any one occurs you are not taken totally by surprise.

• Cognitive Re-appraisal - Learn to think differently about things - think how a friend with a sense of humor would look at it. How would someone you respect evaluate the situation?

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Affective Strategies (How you feel)

Work out an affective curriculum - Remember that it used to be possible to enjoy things. Go back to those old activities and old friends: If the latter isn't possible, develop new friends who are like your old friends.

1. Learn to laugh at yourself and not take yourself or your actions so seriously. Ask yourself - will anyone know the difference a year from now?
2. Release Emotions - Cry, laugh, pillow fight, kick doors, get rid of those pent-up feelings in ways which are not destructive to anyone else.

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Skill Strategies

• Build up good skills. If you are deficient, find a way to fill the gap.
  1. Self-help literature. "How to Parent; How to form relationships; How to fight fair; How to start a conversation.
  2. Courses offered through YMCA, Community Education, Church, Rotary, Student Services.
• Use Learning Principles - Break down long term goals into smaller goal steps. This way, as you reach each step towards the major goal, you can feel like you are accomplishing something. Rewarding yourself for successful completion of each step will keep you directed, interested and satisfied.
• Time Management Skills - Learn how to manage time and priorities effectively. Make a realistic plan with lots of breathing spaces, and work your plan. Be in control of what is accomplished and reward yourself when you are successful.
• Behavioural Rehearsal
• Practise (what you want to do.)
• Observe someone who does it well and imitate them--modelling.
• Role play the situation - with a friend or in front of the mirror.
• Self-contracting - Make a contract with yourself or friend for something you want to do. Work out a system of rewards for successful completion of the goal or punishment (eg. witholding going to a movie, studying for two extra hours, not watching the hockey game, etc.) if you fail to achieve your goal.
• Strengthen interpersonal bonds (between people) - Caring supportive relationships between friends and family feel good. Reduce tension resulting from those relationships. Couples weekends, communication workshops, parent effectiveness training, offered by schools and churches and social service agencies, and self-help literature will help you learn new ways of relating.
• Strengthen interpersonal bonds (within yourself). Yoga, meditation, values clarification, assertiveness training, etc.

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Environmental Strategies

1. Arranging Consequences - Arrange for successful completion of goals by using strategies of self-reward - eg. going to a move, or self-punishment - physical eg. elastic band around your waist, or withdrawing a reward - not going to a movie you had planned on. This takes a great deal of willpower, so make your initial consequences easily obtainable and increase the steps as you are successful with each preceding one. If you don't think you have the willpower, ask a friend to help you out by making a contract with him/her.
2. Environmental Support - Request extra support and assistance from your family and friends to help you through anxious or stressful times or situations. It isn't necessary to be a martyr - your friends care about you.
3. Time Out - Take time out or private time from a stressful situation. Short breaks away from anxiety producing studying, etc. will help even out the stress.
4. Avoidance - If possible avoid situations which make you up uptight or anxious. If crowds make you anxious, avoid fairs, subways, theatre lobbies, etc.