This document discusses stress, its effects on the body, and ways to manage it. It explains that acute stress can be helpful but chronic stress keeps the body in "fight or flight" mode, increasing vulnerability to health problems. It recommends getting enough sleep, exercise, prioritizing tasks, expressing emotions, focusing on the present, engaging in enjoyable activities, challenging negative thoughts, and seeking social support to help deal with stress.

1. STRESS
How It Effects You and What You Can Do About It

2. Stress is a part of life.
With good stress, or eustress,
there is an increase in productivity.
Once your coping skills are exceeded
by your life’s demands, you are
experiencing negative stress, or
distress.

3. What Stress Does to Your Body
 The human body is well adapted to deal with acute distress. It is intense and
flares quickly but the body recovers quickly as well. Chronic distress keeps
the body in fight or flight mode for a long time and it can have sever negative
consequences for your health. If you remain exposed to stress for an extended
period of time, you can grow
over twice as vulnerable
to some serious health
problems.

4. Your lifestyle and choices can affect your stress
level, preventing your body from recovering
from stress.
 Get 7-8 hours of sleep.
 Staying healthy is your best defense
against stress.
 Exercise. Even moderate exercise can
reduce stress.

5. Avoid situations that cause stress.
 By prioritizing tasks and activities, control procrastination, and manage commitments,
you decide what is most important to you and what you have the time to accomplish
without causing yourself undue stress. This can make your life easier, less stressful, and
more meaningful.

6. A few ways to help you deal with
stress.
 Let your feelings out by talking, laughing, crying, writing and
expressing your anger when you need to.
 Focus on the present. Meditation and guided imagery are two
ways to focus and relax your mind and stay grounded in the
present.
 Do something you enjoy. Making time to do something you enjoy
can help you relax. It might also help increase your productivity
in other areas of your life.

7. Stress can make you focus on only the bad in a situation. That's called negative thinking.
It can make you feel afraid, insecure, depressed, or anxious and can trigger your body's
stress response. Dealing with these negative thoughts and the way you see things can
help reduce stress.

8. Having support in your life has a big impact
on how you experience stress and can help
you stay healthy.
 Having the love, trust, and advice of others is very important. Support can
also be something more concrete, like time or money. If you're feeling
stressed, look for support from:
 Family and Friends
 Coworkers
 Professional Counselor
 Someone you know from church or a Clergy member
 Employee assistance programs at work
 Stress Management classes or Support groups

9. Relax, It’s good for your health.

10. Credits
 A special thanks to my sources
 My Health, An Outcomes Approach; by Rebecca J. Donatelle (2013-Pearson)
 http://www.stress.org/what-is-stress/
 http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/features/what-stress-does-
to-body
 http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-management-
relieving-stress
 http://www.webmd.com/balance/stress-management/stress-management-
avoiding-unnecessary-stress
 And for the pictures:
 http://thespiritscience.net/2014/12/02/3-secrets-to-handle-stress/
 http://neatoday.org/2012/09/07/how-do-educators-handle-work-related-stress/
 http://pixabay.com