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1. Manage
your Stress
Part 1- What is the
nature of stress?
Part 2- Is stress good or bad? The stress
continuum
Part 3- 6 techniques to
monitor stress?
Authentic-Happiness.com
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2. Part 1- The nature of stress
* Stress is your mind and
body’s response or reaction to
a real or imagined threat,
event or change.
* The threat, event or change
are commonly called stressors
* Those can be external, created by your
environment, or internal, i.e. generated by
your mind
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77%: the % of people who
regularly experience physical
symptoms caused by stress (1)
(1) Source: US Stress Statistics, http://www.statisticbrain.com/stress-statistics

3. Part 1- The nature of stress
Let's look at common stressors
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EXTERNAL STRESSORS
* Physical Environment
* Social
* Interaction
* Organisational
* Major Life Events
* Daily Hassles

4. Part 1- The nature of stress
Let's look at common stressors
4
INTERNAL STRESSORS
* Lifestyle choices
* Negative self - talk
* Mind traps
* Personality traits

5. Part 1- The nature of stress
What contributes the most to stress?
Studies outcomes show that hassles such as an
argument, a fight or temporary trouble are a more
powerful predictor of psychological symptoms like
stress than life events (external stressor)
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Actually, hassles contribute to psychological symptoms
whatever life events have happened.

6. Click on the screen

7. Part 2- Stress continuum
No stress Eustress Distress
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* positive stress
* occurs when your level of stress is
high enough to motivate you to move
into action to get things accomplished.

8. No stress Eustress Distress
Part 2- Stress continuum 7
* negative stress
* occurs when your level of stress is either too high or
too low and your
body and/or mind begin to respond negatively to the
stressors

9. No stress Eustress Distress
Part 2- Stress continuum 8
* As you begin to experience a stressful event
or perceive something to be stressful psychological changes occur
in your body
* This experience or perception disrupts your body’s normal
balance and immediately your
body begins to respond to the stressor(s) as effectively as
possible.
The alarm stage

10. No stress Eustress Distress
Part 2- Stress continuum 9
* your body tries to cope or adapt to the stressors by beginning a
process of repairing any damage the stressor has caused.
* Your friends, family or co-workers may notice changes in you before
you do so it is important to examine their feedback to make sure you
do not reach overload.
The resistance stage

11. Part 2- Stress continuum
The good news...
Studies with control groups demonstrated that having
the control to terminate aversive stimuli reduces the
stressful impact of those stimuli.
Awareness of the alarm & resistance stages combined
with control are powerful solutions to reduce the
adverse effects of stressors.
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What is your level of stress?
None, positive/balanced, resistance stage, distress?
Take a free life stress test

12. Part 3- Stress Management Techniques
There are 2 main models to cope with stress:
1) The transactional model, introduced by Richard Lazarus and Susan
Folkman in 1984:
* identify the stressor (awareness during alarm stage)
* identify and implement an "intervention" to control
these stressors (resistance stage)
* The following ABC strategy is an example of transactional model
2) The health realization/innate health model
* focus on the nature of thoughts
* learn to disengage and access natural positive feelings
* Mindful meditation
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13. Part 3- Stress Management Techniques 12
What are the stressors?
* internal
* external
How does your body react?
* sleep
* concentration
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control

14. Part 3- Stress Management Techniques 13
* Are you in the already in the
resistance stage?
* How do you regulate stress
between negative and positive
stress>
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control

15. Part 3- Six techniques to control stress 14
1- Control the negative effects of
stress (stressors): less caffeine,
better sleep, meditation, avoid stress
factors, ...
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control
Click to access
learning module

16. Part 3- Six techniques to control stress 15
2- Reframing
* It is about changing the meaning of an event
or experience, in the way that placing a
picture in a different picture frame somehow
changes the look of it.
* Human beings are meaning making
machines, "framed" from an early age from
our individual culture and the significant
others in our lives.
* These have a significant impact on how we
respond to events.
* Reframing is about changing the way you
look at thing, make them look better.
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control

17. Part 3- Six techniques to control stress 16
3- Be Assertive
* Lack of assertiveness = low self
esteem & low self confidence.
* Key to assertiveness is verbal and non-verbal
communication.
* Improving communication skills
will improve assertiveness
Assertive Skills
* Establish good eye contact
* Sit quietly, don’t fidget
* Talk in a firm, steady voice
* Use body language
* Concise and to the point
* Use facts and data to make your point
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control

18. Part 3- Six techniques to control stress 17
4- Get better organized
* Structured approaches offer security against
‘out of the blue’ problems.
* Prioritising objectives,duties and activities
makes them manageable and achievable.
* Prioritize your tasks and meetings
* Learn to say "No" (see assertiveness)
* Organisation will help avoid personal and
professional chaos.
* Create a weekly routine
"My Ideal Week", including time for fitness,
social events, relaxing time at work,
enough sleep, ...
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control

19. Part 3- Six techniques to control stress 18
5- "Unplug" when you can !
* Use humour as a stress reliever
and tension breaker.
* Add Dilbert cartoon or funny picture at the
beginning of your presentation
* Humour relieves muscular tension, improves
breathing and pumps endorphins into the
bloodstream
* Take time out, use up your vacation
* Get away from things that bother you
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control

20. Part 3- Five techniques to control stress 19
6- Change your lifestyle
* Eat healthy food, prepare great meals
yourself
* Stop smoking and drinking
* Exercise at the finess or add physical activities
ton your routine: walking, stairs, gardining,
walking the dog, ...
* Sleep at the least 7 hours
* Take one Friday off every month
* Explore, learn, grow, achieve and appreciate
ABC strategy
Awareness
Balance
Control

21. Part 3- Stress Management Techniques 20

22. * Did you take the stress test? What are your strongest
internal stressors?
* Identify and write down your most stressful times over
the course of a regular week (external stressors)?
* Who/what are these stressors? How will you remember to
anticipate and be aware of these situations?
* Which techniques tactics will you apply to handle these difficult
situations?
* What will you change, add, remove in your ideal
week?
Personal Action Plan / My Take-away's
What did you learn about yourself? How will this be changing
your routine or unconscious behaviors?
21

23. Click on the screen

24. * wikipedia.com
* Work (Johansson et al. (1978) ‘Social psychological and
neuroendocrine stress reactions in highly mechanised work’,
Ergonomics
* Hassles and life events (Kanner et al. (1981) ‘Comparison of two
modes of stress measurement’, Journal of Behavioural Medicine;
* Lack of control (Geer, J. and Maisel, E. (1972) ‘Evaluating the effects
of the prediction-control confound’, Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology
* Stress management at work from Nanice Salah
* http://www.wisconsinjobcenter.org/publications/9441/9441.htm
Sources & References 22

25. Slide transcripts 23
Click on "Open speaker notes" in the menu
located at the bottom-left of this screen:
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