Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Stress Management: How To Manage Stress
Stress Management: How To Manage Stress
Stress Management
This leaflet gives some general tips on how to manage stress. However, contact a doctor if you develop persistent anxiety
symptoms.
Once you have identified any typical or regular causes of stress, two things may then help to manage it:
If you discuss this with a close friend or family member, it may help them and you to be aware of the reasons you feel
stressed. Simply talking it through may help.
These situations can be used as cues to relax. You can use simple relaxation techniques (see below) when stressful
situations occur or are anticipated. For example, try doing neck stretching exercises when you are in that traffic jam rather
than getting tense and stressed.
Try practising these simple techniques when you are relaxed; then use them routinely when you come across any stressful situation.
To further manage stress some people find it useful to set time aside for a relaxation programme such as meditation, yoga, Pilates or
muscular exercises. You can also buy relaxation tapes to help you learn to relax.
Once or twice a week, try to plan some time just to be alone and unobtainable. For example, a gentle stroll or a sit in the park often helps
to break out of life's stressful hustle and bustle.
Take up a hobby
Many people find that a hobby which has no deadlines and no pressures and which can be picked up or left easily, takes the mind off
stresses. Such hobbies include, for example: different types of sports, knitting, listening to or making music, arts and crafts - eg, model-
making, puzzles and reading for pleasure.
For more information on how to manage stress during exam time, see the seperate feature called Exam time: stress-relieving gadgets.
What is stress?
Stress is difficult to define or measure. Some people thrive on a busy lifestyle and are able to cope well with daily stresses. For some a
little pressure may even improve how they perform. Other people become tense or stressed by the slightest change from their set daily
routine. Most people fall somewhere in between but may have periods when levels of stress increase.
Stress can be acute - a single major event such as a bereavement, feeling unwell or an argument. But it can also be due to longer-term
causes, such as financial worries, times of political instability, heavy workload or conflict with people you encounter regularly. This is
known as chronic stress. Alternatively, many minor sources of stress or tension, which you could manage perfectly well if there was no
other stress in your life, can build up to make you feel overwhelmed. For example, in busy periods such as Christmas, it can become
more difficult to manage stress.
Not being able to sleep properly with worries going through your mind.
Minor problems causing you to feel impatient or irritable.
Not being able to concentrate due to many things going through your mind.
Being unable to make decisions.
Drinking or smoking more.
Not enjoying food so much.
Being unable to relax and always feeling that something needs to be done.
Feeling tense. Sometimes 'fight or flight' stress hormones are released causing physical symptoms. These include:
Feeling sick (nauseated).
A 'knot' in the stomach.
Feeling sweaty with a dry mouth.
A 'thumping' heart (palpitations).
Sometimes stress builds up quickly - for example, the unexpected traffic jam. Sometimes it is ongoing - for example, with a difficult job.
Sometimes symptoms of stress occur in response to a very upsetting and unexpected event in one's life. When this happens, the
stress is referred to as 'acute". See the separate leaflet called Acute Stress Reaction.
Is stress harmful?
Ongoing stress is thought to be bad for health but this is difficult to prove. For example, stress is possibly a risk factor for developing
heart problems in later life. The effects of stress may also contribute to other physical illnesses in ways that are not well understood. For
example, it is thought that irritable bowel syndrome, psoriasis, migraine, tension headaches, high blood pressure and other health
problems are made worse by an increased level of stress.
Disclaimer: This article is for information only and should not be used for the diagnosis or treatment of medical conditions. Egton
Medical Information Systems Limited has used all reasonable care in compiling the information but makes no warranty as to its
accuracy. Consult a doctor or other healthcare professional for diagnosis and treatment of medical conditions. For details see our
conditions.
Page 3 of 3