7. Good Stress or Bad Stress?
Death of spouse Marriage/Marital reconciliation
Divorce/Marital separation Pregnancy
Jail term Change in financial state
Death of a close family member Change to different line of work
Personal injury or illness Change in responsibilities at work
Major mortgage Outstanding personal achievement
Death of close friend Begin or end school
Foreclosure of mortgage or loan Change in living conditions
Son or daughter leaving home Change in work hours or conditions
Trouble with boss Change in social activities
Dismissal from work Vacation
Change in health of family member
To complete Stress Test: Click Holmes-Rahe Social Adjustment Scale
8. Stress…
…develops when
external demands or
pressures tax or
strain the internal
resources
10. Stress Impairing Performance?
“choking” on a free-throw
Blowing a test you studied hard for
Forgetting a speech
Missing your lines in a play
Going blank while playing music
Forgetting equations on a math test
Any of these sound familiar???
15. What is Important?
Imagine having led a long and fulfilling life…
What would you remember?
What would you value?
Imagine being told you have 6 months left on this planet…
How would you spend your time?
What would you want to do or experience?
16. Wellness Wheel
Occupational
Vocational
Career
Emotional
Intellectual
Sexuality
Creativity
Relationships
Informational
Skills
Physical
Spiritual
Fitness
Values
Nutrition
Ethics
Self-Care
Safety
Social
Family
Community
Environmental
17. There are only 24 hours in a day…
You are human – with only so much energy….
Sometimes you just have to say….
22. Challenging Limited Thinking
Feeling Event Thoughts Alternative Feeling
Thought
Angry – 60 No wave He ignored He was in a Neutral
from me hurry and didn’t
friend see me
Sad – 80 No call She doesn’t I know she was Disappointed -
Angry - 70 from really like me busy this 50
friend weekend
Upset – 90 Poor test I’m going to This is the first Upset - 50
score flunk out of exam. I need to
school study more
next time.
23. Limited-Thinking Patterns
Filtering – focus on negatives
Polarized Thinking – all or nothing
Overgeneralization – globalization
Mind Reading – know what others think
Catastrophizing – visualize disaster
Magnifying- exaggerate intensity
Personalization – all about me
Shoulds – ironclad rules
29. Campus Resources
IUPUI Counseling and
Psychological Services
(CAPS)
30. What is CAPS?
CAPS provides direct professional psychological
services, including crisis response, counseling,
assessment, psychiatric, and referral, that are
accessible to, and provide for, the general well-
being of all IUPUI students.
Services also include consultation to the campus
community and training experiences for
graduate student counselors.
31. CAPS Services
Individual Counseling Relationship Counseling
Anxiety/Phobias
Depression Group Counseling
Eating Disorders Various groups available
Grief/Loss
Parenting
Relationships Evaluation and Testing
Stress & Time Management ADHD
Study Skills
Test Anxiety Learning Disorders
Trauma/Recovery Substance Abuse
Developmental
32. Confidentiality
CAPS operates according to the legal
mandates of mental health care.
Therefore, all information is confidential.
CAPS records are not a part of any
academic or university record.
No information is released from CAPS
without the written consent of the client,
except as mandated by law.
34. Contact Us
Walker Plaza, Suite 220
719 Indiana Ave
Indianapolis, Indiana 46202
Phone: 317-274-2548
Fax: 317-278-0948
E-mail: capsindy@iupui.edu
Hours:
Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m.
Tues, Wed, and Thurs evening by appointment only.
Editor's Notes
Hi I’m Alley Damree Director of The Gatekeyper Life Coaching and Counselling Services For the next few minutes, we are going to talk about stress Stress is an unavoidable part of being human We are going to talk more about what it is How it effects you And how to deal with it
Think about times when you’ve been stressed… How did you know? What did it feel like? How did others know you were stressed? Take a moment and make a brief list about what happens for you when you are stressed
As you look at your own list, you might notice some things that are considered “emotional” signs of stress For example, some people feel anxious and worried While others feel irritable or angry Still others might feel overwhelmed or depressed
In addition to the emotions You might have also listed things like being forgetful or being confused For many people, it is hard to pay attention and to think logically when stress levels are high So, when you are stressed, it is harder to think – and it’s harder to learn
Stress also impacts how we feel physically Do you have headaches or neck tension when you are under a lot of stress? Stress is known to suppress the immune system – we are more likely to get the flu, colds, or other illnesses when under stress We might also notice difficulty breathing or rapid heart rates This is called the fight or flight response So – stress effects all aspects of our being The mind, the body, and the emotions
So, you know what it is like to feel stressed What are the things that make you stressed? Write down a few of your biggest stressors
Take a look at your list Many times when we think about stressors, we think about the “bad stuff” Things that we don’t particularly find enjoyable Like problems at work, the death of a family member But – “good stuff” can also cause stress A new relationship is enjoyable and exciting But is also takes time and energy --- and can cause stress Starting college – an exciting new phase of your life And something that can and will be stressful Good stuff and bad stuff – It’s all stress You can click on the bottom of the page to take a stress test
A definition that captures this idea is the following Stress develops when external demands or pressures strain the internal resources Basically – when the demands are more than you have the energy to do Whether the demands are “good” or “bad” – they require our energy and take our resources They cause stress
But stress isn’t all bad From our friends in sports psychology we have learned that there is actually an optimal level of stress If you are asleep – no stress – then performance is poor whether it is running a race or taking an exam if you are asleep, you probably won’t perform well As stress increases – we become more alert – and performance gets better To a point – when we are too stressed, performance declines You can think of the left side of the curve as getting psyched up And the right side of the curve as getting psyched out The goal is to regulate stress at the optimal level of performance
Here are some examples of stress impairing performance Any of these ever happen to you? Getting psyched out or choking? This is exactly what happens when we experience test anxiety or performance anxiety
So, in order to perform best Whether taking a test, playing sports, performing musically, or on a first date We can do better if we know how to manage our stress Take a moment and think about how you manage your stress
Are some of your stress management techniques less than healthy? Loading up on caffeine – while it may keep you awake, it also makes it more difficult to regulate your stress level Getting that caffeine buzz that is a little too much - And then crashing Do you just give up and go shopping to relieve the stress? Then the bill comes How about over-eating? Drinking too much alcohol or using other drugs? Avoiding others? Yelling at people? While these behaviors temporarily might be an outlet for stress – repeatedly or in excess, they can have some pretty negative consequences….
So what are some healthy ways to deal with stress?
One way to manage stress is to effectively manage your time But that doesn’t just mean filling every hour of your planner There is a little more to it than that
If you think about everything you have to do – it probably feels a little overwhelming One key component of time management is prioritizing – deciding what is most important Sometimes that is hard to do – so - I’d like you to try something Imagine for a moment that it is many years from now and you have led a long and fulfilling life And you are taking a moment to reminisce – looking back over your life What would you remember? What would you value? What was important? Write down a few things that stand out for you Now – see yourself as you are today Imagine that you have been told that for some reason you have six months left on this planet How would you spend your time? What would you want to do or experience? How would you spend that six months? Write down what comes to mind You have just identified your values or priorities – there are no right or wrong answers – these are the things that are important to you
Looking at things in a slightly different way People that study healthy living have identified some key areas In order to be “balanced” and content, most of us need to spend some time addressing the six areas listed above You might notice that some of the things you identified as important in the prior exercise fit in various parts of the pie chart It’s not all about intellectual and occupational roles Physical health, emotional intimacy, connectedness, and values are also very important to feeling truly human It can be helpful to identify what you would like your life to be like in each of these six areas – 5 years from now, 10 years from now, today If you take time to identify your goals for each area – write them down – then you can use that to help you manage your time
How? We can’t possibly do everything There are only 24 hours in a day You are human Sometimes you just have to say NO So – when presented with an opportunity to do something – stop and think – is it something that is really important to you? Something you want to invest your energy in? something in line with your personal goals? If it is – great – go for it! If not – it might be best to save your time and energy for something that does fit with your values or priorities Remember – we all have limited internal resources
As we talked earlier, stress can impact our physical health Our physical health can also impact our ability to manage stress Two Mt Dew’s and a bag of Skittles do not help the body tolerate stress You get the caffeine/sugar high – and then crash Eating a balanced diet is one way to manage stress – keeping the blood sugar relatively constant so your brain and other parts of your body have energy to work Exercise can also be helpful – you don’t have to run marathons or lift tons – but regular exercise strengthens your body, reduces stress, and provides a distraction Exercise has been shown to reduce emotional distress and improve mood And then there is sleep – sleep deprivation wears the body down – and you can’t catch up on the weekend – consistent adequate sleep can help the body tolerate high levels of stress
Another way to manage stress is to talk about it When we keep stuff in, it seems to grow and grow If we can get it out – talk about it – we have a better chance of getting perspective on the situation But, you may not be able to talk to any single person about every stressor You may not want to talk to your grandmother about school stress You may not want to talk to your parents about your sex life It’s important to know who can support you in each area of your life It’s also important to know who will really listen, rather than try to tell you what to do or criticize you That is one of the many thing counselors can do – listen and help you sort through what you want to do with your stressors – counselors are not invested in what decision you make, just in you making the choices that make sense to you
Sometimes the way we think actually adds to our stress
It works like this, Something happens We have a thought about it We give it meaning And that meaning impacts our emotional reaction Our emotions drive our behavior Which then influences our next experiences Here’s an example I am walking down the sidewalk and see someone I know very well walking the opposite way on the other side of the street I wave and wave, and he just keeps walking My first thought might be – he just blew me off My interpretation – he was ignoring me My emotion – mad My behavior – not calling him So limited contact and the end of a collaborative relationship
But, we can change the impact this has on how we feel Given the prior example, an alternative thought would be He was in a hurry and didn’t see me With this interpretation – I have a more neutral feeling Another example – a new friend that promised to call over the weekend didn’t your feeling really sad and angry and notice you are thinking “ She doesn’t really like me” Alternatively you could think – “I know she was going to be busy this weekend” And might feel disappointed, but not as sad or angry Or – how about – you bombed an exam and are really upset (90 of 100) you are thinking “I’m going to flunk out of school” It really doesn’t mean that at all – and you can realize “this was the first exam…I know what I need to do to study the next time” You’re still upset, but not quite as much
Here are some different ways of thinking that sometimes get us into trouble Do any look familiar to you? My example of my friend not waving – that was a combination of personalizing – assuming his behavior was about me And mind reading – assuming what he was thinking And we all know what assuming does….
Now – some specific relaxation techniques Do you ever notice that you or others sigh when they are stressed? A basic relaxation technique is related to sighing – that is deep breathing Breathing deeply – called diaphragmatic breathing – has a calming effect To know you are breathing deeply, place you hand on your stomach, and as you breathe in, make sure your stomach it going out And as you breathe out, let your stomach collapse Try this a few more times If you practice this a couple of times a day, the relaxation and calming response will become stronger – then, when you in a particularly stressful situation, take a couple of deep breaths and it will take the edge off A couple of other relaxation techniques include Progressive muscle relaxation – consciously relaxing each body part and letting the muscle tension leave your body And visualization – imagining yourself in a very calm and peaceful setting – imagining is ALMOST as good as being there You have an opportunity to try some of these techniques in the following exercise.
Here are links to more relaxation techniques. The first one is a 2 minute relaxation technique, while the 2 nd link has several techniques. Please try a couple of these techniques before completing our time together.
Now, that you’re feeling relaxed, here’s the final idea on stress reduction I’d like to share with you Make a list of things that you enjoy – that relax you Some things you can do alone – others you would do with others Some that take a whole day – others that take 20 minutes Some that cost money – some that don’t Keep this list where you can see it – And when you feel stressed – know you need to take a break and replenish you energy –pick a stress buster And do it! And don’t forget – if stress is getting the best of you, CAPS is here to help We provide professional counseling services to IUPUI students And, because we are mental health providers, what we talk about is confidential – and we take that very seriously Our contact information is on the next slide I hope you found this information helpful. Think ahead about managing your stress – so it doesn’t manage you!
