Situations occur daily that are stressful. Use this exercise to examine how a situation can trigger stress, what about that situation adds to the general stress, and what symptoms you feel at the time. Look at how you presently handle stressors. Commit to learning more tools to detour from distress. Print the download and complete steps 1-5.

List the general situations that you feel are stressful. Example: Making a presentation to a group.

List the stress producers in that situation. Examples:

List the physical and mental symptoms that show you are feeling stress. Examples:

List how you presently handle stress. Examples:

Seek out more skills to add to your stress management strategy.

When selecting techniques for handling stress, here are two definitions that can help you to make a healthy choice:

Inappropriate Stress Management Techniques = Responses or techniques that add wear and tear on the body. Examples might include: food binging, not eating, alcohol and drug use, not deciding, avoiding responsibilities, too much diversion for too long, “video valium,” channel surfing. They end up placing an increased demand upon the body instead of helping to repair and recover from stress.

Appropriate Stress Management Techniques = Techniques that help the body to repair and recover from the stress response. They can assist by providing a simple diversion, helping the body to reverse the symptoms of distress. They could range from using a relaxation technique to telling a joke. Any appropriate technique can become an inappropriate one if used all the time or for too long.

This concludes the unit on Understanding Stress. It presents an overview of how stress influences people’s lives whether it be through illness, interactions with others or how people perceive daily events. The focus is on identifying those things that actually produce stress. Reread this step on a regular basis to develop a clear understanding of stress.