Personal Stress
Your personality has a large bearing on the way that stress can affect you.
Individual differences have been shown to influence stress and health through:
- the motives the individual pursues
- the way that the individual appraises circumstances (are they easily riled or depressed?)
- coping mechanisms (do they turn to alcohol or drugs or do they repress their emotions?)
How Should You Respond to Stress?
This is a simple way to respond to stressors effectively:
- Understand the Stresses - Clarify and pinpoint just what is causing the stress, accept that some (causes of stress) can't be changed.
- Change your Perception - Alter your thoughts, values, expectations. Raise your confidence.
- Improve your Physical Response - Work at lowering your physical response by improving exercise, rest, sleep, meditation, eating habits, etc.
- Improve your Emotional Response - Work at not dwelling on negative feelings and to develop new friendships.
- Improve your Behavioural Reaction - Learn new skills, develop personal and interpersonal skills. Improve your education (take up a course). Work on better time management.
Recognising the Stress is the First Step
Some of the more specific psychological symptoms include:
- Confusion or an inability to think clearly
- Depression
- Changes in sleeping, eating or sexual habits
- Mood changes
- Increased use of alcohol or drugs.
Be on the lookout for these symptoms!
What Exactly Is Causing Stress?
By asking y the following questions you can often get an indication of stress related problems which might otherwise have been overlooked:
- Where is the person going in life?
- How much or how little are they getting out of life?
- What are the person's priorities?
Would you like to learn more about managing your own stress or helping other people with their stress? We offer a distance learning course in Stress Management that may interest you. This is a 100 hour course. Or perhaps you are interested in our Certificate in Stress Management.
