EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN LEADERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT - STRESS MANAGEMENT

1. COURSE BY DR. MOUNAH GEHA
PRESENTATION BY ARCH. JOHNY HAJJ
Emotional Intelligence in
Leadership & Management
Level 3 session 1

2. STRESS
MANAGEMENT
SOURCES & SOLUTIONS

3. Stress Management
How to Reduce, Prevent, and Cope with Stress
• Seem there’s nothing you can do about stress.
• Bills won’t stop coming
• Will never be more hours in the day
• Career and family responsibilities always
demanding.
Realizing you’re in control of your life is the
foundation of stress management.
• Managing stress is about taking charge of:
• Thoughts & Emotions
• Schedule
• The way you deal with problems.

4. Stress Management
Sources of stress in your life
• Sources of stress aren’t always obvious
• Easy to overlook your own stress‐inducing thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors.
o Example: Procrastination leads to work deadlines stress.
Identifying sources of stress
• look closely at your habits, attitude, and excuses
• Accept responsibility for your role in creating/maintaining stress
level & then it is under control.
• Start a Stress Journal
• Can help identify regular stressors and ways you deal with them.
• Feel stressed? Keep track of it in your journal
• A daily log will begin to show patterns and common themes.
• Write down:
• What caused your stress (make a guess if you’re unsure)
• How you felt, both physically and emotionally
• How you acted in response
• What you did to make yourself feel better

5. Stress Management
Look at how you currently cope with stress
• Think about the ways you currently manage and cope with stress
• Stress journal helps to identify them.
Are coping strategies:
• Healthy or unhealthy?
• Helpful or unproductive?
o Many people cope with stress in ways that compound the problem.
Unhealthy ways of coping with stress
1. Smoking
2. Drinking too much
3. Overeating or undereating
4. Zoning out for hours in front of the TV or computer
5. Withdrawing from friends, family, and activities
6. Using pills or drugs to relax
7. Sleeping little or too much
8. Procrastinating
9. Filling up every minute of the day to avoid facing problems
10. Taking out your stress on others (lashing out, angry outbursts, physical violence)

6. Stress Management
Learning healthier ways to manage stress
• Healthy ways to manage / cope with stress require change.
• Change Situation or your reaction.
• Everyone has unique response to stress
• No single method for everyone or every situation
• Experiment with different techniques and strategies.
• Focus on what makes you feel calm and in control.
Dealing with Stressful Situations: The Four A’s
• Change the situation:
• Avoid the stressor
• Alter the stressor
• Change your reaction:
• Adapt to the stressor
• Accept the stressor

7. Stress Management
Strategy #1: Avoid unnecessary stress
• Not all stress can be avoided
• It’s not healthy to avoid a situation that needs to be addressed
• You may be surprised by the number of stressors in your life that you can eliminate.
• Learn how to say “no”
• Avoid people who stress you out
• Take control of your environment
• Avoid hot‐button topics (religion or politics)
• Pare down your to‐do list (distinguish between the “shoulds” and the “musts.”)
Strategy #2: Alter the situation
• If you can’t avoid a stressful situation, try to alter it.
• 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.
• Express your feelings instead of bottling them up
• Be willing to compromise
• Be more assertive
• Manage your time better

8. Stress Management Strategy #3: Adapt to the stressor
1. If you can’t change the stressor, change yourself.
2. You can adapt to stressful situations and regain your sense of control by
changing your expectations and attitude.
• Reframe problems
• Look at the big picture
• Adjust your standards
• Focus on the positive
Strategy #4: Accept the things you can’t change
• Some sources of stress are unavoidable.
• Accept things as they are.
• Acceptance may be difficult, but in the long run, it’s easier
• Don’t try to control the uncontrollable.
• Look for the upside.
• Share your feelings.
• Learn to forgive.

9. Stress Management
Strategy #5: Make time for fun and relaxation
• You can reduce stress in your life by nurturing yourself
Healthy ways to relax and recharge
• Go for a walk ‐ Spend time in nature.
• Call a good friend ‐ Connect with others.
• Sweat out tension with a good workout.
• Write in your journal.
• Take a long bath ‐ Light scented candles.
• Savor a warm cup of coffee or tea.
• Play with a pet ‐ Work in your garden.
• Get a massage ‐ Do something you enjoy every day.
• Curl up with a good book ‐ Listen to music ‐ Watch a comedy.
• Set aside relaxation time ‐ Keep your sense of humor.

10. Stress Management
Strategy #6: Adopt a healthy lifestyle
• You can increase your resistance to stress by strengthening your
physical health.
• Exercise regularly.
• Eat a healthy diet.
• Reduce caffeine and sugar.
• Avoid alcohol, cigarettes, and drugs.
• Get enough sleep.

11. THANK YOU