Stress Awareness Month
April 2010

April is designated as Stress Awareness Month. During this month, health care professionals, health promotion experts, and caregivers across the country join forces to raise public awareness about the cause and cures for our modern stress epidemic. Stress Awareness Month – sponsored by The Health Resource Network - seeks to inform people about the dangers of stress, successful coping strategies, and harmful misconceptions about stress that are prevalent in society. 
 

It may seem that there’s nothing you can do about your stress level. The bills aren’t going to stop coming, there will never be more hours in the day for all your errands, and your career or family responsibilities will always be demanding. But you have more control that you might think. In fact, the simple realization that you’re in control of your life is the foundation of stress management. 
 

Managing stress is all about taking charge: taking charge of your thoughts, your emotions, your schedule, your environment, and the way you deal with problems. The ultimate goal is a balanced life, with time for work, relationships, relaxation, and fun – plus the resilience to hold up under pressure and meet challenges head on. 
 

Identify the sources of stress in your life
Stress management starts with identifying the sources of stress in your life. This isn’t as easy as it sounds. The true sources of stress aren’t always obvious, and it’s easy to overlook your own stress-inducing thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Sure, you may know that you’re constantly worried about work deadlines. But maybe it’s your procrastination, rather than the actual job demands, that leads to deadline stress. To identify your true sources of stress, look closely at your habits, attitude and excuses.

A stress journal can help you identify the regular stressors in your life and the way you deal with them. Each time you feel stressed, keep track of it in your journal. As you keep a daily log, you will begin to see patterns and common themes. Write down:

·         What caused your stress

·         How you felt, both physically and emotionally.

·         How you acted in response.

·         What you did to make yourself feel better.

These coping strategies may temporarily reduce stress, but they cause more damage in the long run:

·         Smoking

·         Drinking too much

·         Overeating or undereating

·         Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer

·         Withdrawing from friends, family and activities

·         Using pills or drugs to relax

·         Sleeping too much

·         Procrastinating

·         Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems

·         Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

Change the situation:                                                 

·         Avoid the stressor                                       

·         Alter the stressor

Change your reaction:

·         Adapt to the stressor

·         Accept the stressor

1.       Avoid unnecessary stress – Not all stress can be avoided, and it’s not healthy to avoid a situation that needs to be addressed. You may be surprised, however, by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate.

2.       Alter the situation – If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it. Figure out what you can do to change things so the problem doesn’t present itself in the future. Often, this involves changing the way you communicate and operate in your daily life.

3.       Adapt to the stressor – If you can’t change the stressor, change yourself. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by changing your expectations and attitude.

4.       Accept the things you can’t change – Some sources of stress are unavoidable. You can’t prevent or change stressors such as the death of a loved one, a serious illness, or a national recession. In such cases, the best way to cope with stress is to accept things as they are. Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier than railing against a situation you can’t change.

5.       Make time for fun and relaxation – Beyond a take-charge approach and a positive attitude, you can reduce stress in your life by nurturing yourself. If you regularly make time for fun and relaxation, you’ll be in a better place to handle life’s stressors when they inevitably come.

6.       Adopt a healthy lifestyle – You can increase your resistance to stress by strengthening your physical health.