This document discusses stress, its causes and management. It defines stress as the body's response to mental, emotional or physical demands and pressures. Stress can be acute, episodic or chronic depending on its duration. Common causes of stress include work, family, health and financial issues. The document outlines Hans Selye's model of the body's alarm, resistance and exhaustion phases in response to stress. It also discusses burnout and lists individual and organizational strategies for managing stress, such as biofeedback, time management, meditation and relaxation techniques. Effective stress management involves identifying stressors and selecting appropriate strategies like these.

1. STRESS AND ITS MANAGEMENT
By: Mr.Vinodkumar Patil
Assc Prof
BLDEA
Shri B M Patil Institute Of Nursing Sciences
Vijayapur
Karnataka

2. Introduction
 Modern life is full of hassles, deadlines,
frustrations, and demands.
 For many people, stress is so common place that
it has become a way of life.
 Stress isn’t always bad. In small doses, it can help
you perform under pressure and motivate you to
do your best.
 But when you’re constantly running in
emergency mode, your mind and body pay the
price.

3. BRIEF HISTORY
 In the 1920s and 1930s,the term was
occasionally being used in biological and
psychological circles to refer to a mental
strain, unwelcome happening, or, more
medically, a harmful environmental agent
that could cause

4. CONCEPT OF STRESS
 Stress is a complex phenomenon. It is very
subjective experience.
 What may be challenge for one will be a
stressor for another.
 It depends largely on background
experiences, temperament and
environmental conditions.
 Stress is the term often used to describe
distress, fatigue and feelings of not being
able to cope.

5. Conti…
 The term stress has been derived from the
Latin word ‘stringer’ which means to draw
tight.
 The term was used to refer the hardship,
strain, adversity or affiction.

6. Definition of stress
 Stress is defined as the body’s response to
situations that pose demands, constraints or
opportunities,
 Stress is defined as an individual’s reaction to
any change that requires an adjustment or
response, which can be physical, mental, or
emotional
 Stress may be defined as real or interpreted
threat to the physiological or psychological
and/or behavioral response

7. KINDS OF STRESS
 Acute stress is experienced in response to an
immediate perceived threat, either physical,
emotional or psychological.
 During an acute stress response, the
autonomic nervous system is activated and
the body experiences increased levels of
cortisol, adrenalin and other hormones that
produce an increased heart rate, quickened
breathing rate, and higher blood pressure.
 Preparing the body to fight or run away.

8. Episodic stress
 Acute stress that is suffered too frequently is
called episodic stress.
 Episodic stress is also typically observed in
people with “Type A” personality, which
involves being overly competitive,
aggressive, demanding and sometimes tense
and hostile.
 Because of this, The symptoms of episodic
stress are found inType A persons.

9. Chronic stress
 Chronic stress is the total opposite of acute
stress; it’s not exciting and thrilling, but
dangerous and unhealthy.
 This type of stress is brought about by long-
term exposure to stressors
 Serious illnesses like stroke, heart attack,
cancer, and psychological problems such as
clinical depression and post-traumatic
disorder can originate from chronic stress.

10. LEVELS OF STRESS
 EUSTRESS
 Stress resulting from pleasant events or
conditions is called eustress.
 Eustress can be defined as a pleasant or curative
stress.We can't always avoid stress, in fact,
sometimes we don't want to.
 Often, it is controlled stress that gives us our
competitive edge in performance related activities
like athletics, giving a speech, or acting

11. DISTRESS
 Stress resulting from unpleasant events or
conditions is called distress.
 Bad stress
 If a stimulus we react to is negative, we are
actually feeling “distress” though we label it as
stress. e. g. death of a close friend.
 Acute stress
 Chronic stress

12. Stress Warning Signs and
Symptoms
 Cognitive Symptoms
 Memory problems
 Inability to concentrate
 Poor judgment
 Seeing only the negative
 Anxious or racing thoughts
 Constant worrying

13. Emotional Symptoms
 Moodiness
 Irritability or short temper
 Agitation, inability to relax
 Feeling overwhelmed
 Sense of loneliness and isolation
 Depression or general unhappiness

14. Physical Symptoms
 Aches and pains
 Diarrhoea or constipation
 Nausea, dizziness
 Chest pain, rapid heartbeat
 Loss of sex drive
 Frequent colds

15. Behavioral Symptoms
 Eating more or less
 Sleeping too much or too little
 Isolating yourself from others
 Procrastinating or neglecting responsibilities
 Using alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs to relax
 Nervous habits (e.g. nail biting, pacing)

16. Causes of stress
 The situations and pressures that cause stress
are known as stressors.
 A stressor is any stimulus which evokes a
stress response. Stressors may be real or
imagined, internal or external.
 The overall impact of a stressor will depend
on its characteristics and the characteristics
of those who have been affected.

17. EXAMPLES OF STRESSORS
 External stressors
 Internal stressors
 Occupational stressors
 Developmental stressors
 Situational stressors

18. EXTERNAL STRESSORS
 Physical environment-Noise, bright lights, heat,
confined spaces
 Social(interaction with people)-rudeness,
bossiness or aggressiveness on the part of
someone else.
 Organizational-Rules, regulations, deadlines
 Major life events –Death of a close family
member, loss of job, promotion, new baby.
 Daily hassles-Misplacing keys, mechanical
breakdowns

19. INTERNAL STRESSORS
 Lifestyle choices-Not enough sleep, overloaded
schedule.
 Negative self –talk, pessimistic thinking, self-
criticism, over analyzing
 Mind traps-Unrealistic expectations, taking
things personally, exaggeration, rigid thinking.
 Stressful personality traits Perfectionist,
workaholic, pleaser.

20. OCCUPATIONAL STRESSORS
 Having no participation in decisions that affect one’s
responsibilities
 Unreasonable demands for performance.
 Lack of effective communication and conflict
resolution methods among workers and employers
 Lack of job security.
 Working for long hours.
 Excessive time spent away from home and family.
 Office politics and conflicts between workers.
 Wages not commensurate with levels of
responsibility.

21. DEVELOPMENTAL STRESSORS:
 CHILD
 Beginning of school
 Establishing peer relationships and adjustments
 Coping with peer-compitation
 ADOLESCENT
 Accepting changing physical changes and
developing relationships
 Achieving independence
 Choosing a career

22. Conti…
 YOUNG ADULT
 Getting married
 Leaving home
 Managing a home
 Getting started in an occupation
 Continuing one education
 Rearing children
 MIDDLE ADULT
 Accepting physical changes of aging
 Maintaining social status and standards of living
 Helping teenage children to become independent
 Adjusting to aging parents

23. Conti…
 OLDER ADULTS
 Accepting decreasing physical abilities and health
 Accepting changes in residence
 Adjusting to retirement and reduced income
 Adjusting to death of spouse and friends

24. SITUATIONAL STRESSORS
 Examples:
 Death of a family member
 Marriage or divorce
 Birth of a child
 New job
 Illness

25. Common external causes of
stress
 Major life changes
 Work or school
 Relationship difficulties
 Financial problems
 Being too busy
 Children and family

26. Common internal causes of
stress
 Chronic worry
 Pessimism
 Negative self-talk
 Unrealistic expectations/Perfectionism
 Rigid thinking, lack of flexibility
 All-or-nothing attitude

27. Below is a list of some stressful
occupations and the occupational stress
rating associated with them:
 Doctor 6.8%
 Nurse 6.5%
 Fireman 6.3%
 Paramedic 6.3%
 Teacher 6.2%

28. Hans Selye's Model of Stress
 Stressors like heat, pain, toxins, viruses, cause
the body to respond with a fight-or-flight
response.
 Stress consists of physiological reactions
that occur in three stages:
 Alarm Phase
 Resistance Phase
 Exhaustion Phase

29. Alarm Phase
 Upon encountering a stressor, body reacts
with “fight-or-flight” response and
sympathetic nervous system is activated.
 Hormones such as cortisol and adrenalin
released into the bloodstream to meet the
threat or danger.
 The body’s resources now mobilized.

30. Resistance Phase
 Parasympathetic nervous system returns
many physiological functions to normal levels
while body focuses resources against the
stressor.
 Blood glucose levels remain high, cortisol and
adrenalin continue to circulate at elevated
levels, but outward appearance of organism
seems normal.
 Increase HR, BP, breathing
 Body remains on red alert.

31. Exhaustion Phase
 If stressor continues beyond body’s capacity,
organism exhausts resources and becomes
susceptible to disease and death.

33. Burnout
 A psychological process resulting from
work stress that results in:
 Emotional exhaustion
 Depersonalization
 Feelings of decreased accomplishment

34. INDICATORS OF BURNOUT:
Emotional
Exhaustion
Depersonalization Low Personal
Accomplishment
Feel drained by work Have become
calloused by job
Cannot deal with
problems effectively
Feel fatigued in the
morning
Treat others like
objects
Do not have a
positive influence on
others
Frustrated Do not care what
happens to other
people
Cannot understand
others’ problems or
identify with them
Do not want to work
with other people
Feel other people
blame you
No longer feel
exhilarated by your
job

35. STRESS MANAGEMENT
 Strategies may be categorised as:
 INDIVIDUAL STRATERGIES
 ORGANISATIONAL STRATEGIES

36. INDIVIDUAL STRATERGIES
 Biofeedback: Biofeedback is the process of
gaining greater awareness of many
physiological functions primarily using
instruments that provide information on the
activity of those same systems, with a goal of
being able to manipulate them at will. Some
of the processes that can be controlled
include brainwaves, muscle tone, skin
conductance, heart rate and pain perception.

37. Conti…
 Biofeedback may be used to improve health,
performance, and the physiological changes
which often occur in conjunction with changes to
thoughts, emotions, and behaviour.
 Eventually, these changes may be maintained
without the use of extra equipment, even though
no equipment is necessarily required to practice
biofeedback actually.
 Biofeedback has been found to be effective for
the treatment of headaches and migraines.

38. Time management
 Time management is the act or process of
planning and exercising conscious control
over the amount of time spent on specific
activities, especially to increase effectiveness,
efficiency or productivity.
 A time management system is a designed
combination of processes, tools, techniques,
and methods.

39. Others
 Meditation
 Cognitive therapy
 Relaxation technique

40. Steps To Managing Stress
 Step 1: Identify if you are stressed.

41.  Step 2: Identify the stressor.
Steps To Managing Stress

42.  Step 3: Identify the reason for the stressor.
Steps To Managing Stress

43.  Step 4: Select an appropriate stress
management strategy and apply it.
Steps To Managing Stress

44. Steps To Managing Stress
 Step 5: Evaluate.