Self-Help Information: Stress Management
What is Stress?
Stress – that tense, anxious feeling you get when you are faced
with a difficult situation that requires a response on your part.
What is it?
Stress is how our bodies react to
demands and change. Stress is an automatic physical reaction to a
danger or demand (whether real or perceived). The "fight or flight"
response kicks in which allows our bodies to prepare to deal with
threats or danger. Muscles tighten, blood pressure rises, the heart
speeds up and extra adrenaline rushes through your system. This is
very helpful when you need bursts of energy to fight or flee a
predator, or win the championship game. Without some stress, people
wouldn’t get a lot done. The extra burst of adrenaline may help you
concentrate better to finish your final paper. It can be positive
stress when it is a short-term physiological response that subsides
when the challenge has been met, enabling you to relax. However, if
the stress is excessive or long lasting, it can lead to negative
consequences and harm your physical and mental well-being.
What are Stressors?
While stress is the feeling we have when we
are under pressure, stressors are the things in our environment that
we are responding to. Stressors can be as simple as background noise
in our environment or as complex as a social situation, such as
going on a date. Stressors can involve a physical threat, such as a
car speeding toward you, or an emotional threat, such as being
rejected by your boyfriend or girlfriend.
Relationship between Stressors and Stress
The relationship between stressors and our
experience of stress is not one to one. On average, the more
stressors we experience in our life, the more stressed we will feel.
However, what is stressful for one person may not necessarily be
stressful for another. How can this be? Our experience of stress is
greatly influenced by how we interpret and label our experience. In
order to feel stressed, I must interpret the environment as some
sort of threat or as requiring some change or adaptation on my part.
If I wake up on a crisp winter morning to a fresh snowfall, my
reaction will be determined by how I interpret this event. I may
enjoy the beauty and relax while I sit and have my breakfast,
enjoying the view out my window. Alternatively, I may be concerned
about driving on slippery roads and be very tense and worried and
the physiological stress response will kick in while I try to eat my
breakfast. Another part of the equation is how I judge my ability to
cope with the stressor. If I have had considerable amount of
experience driving on slippery roads and have a four-wheel drive car
with studded snow tires, I may have confidence in my ability to cope
with the stressor and I will experience less stress.
Stress Equation
Stressors + Perceived Threat/Demand +
Evaluation of Coping Ability = Stress
Thus, the amount of stress I feel is
determined by three things:
The number, intensity, and length of
stressors I experience
My evaluation of the degree of
threat or demand posed by the stressor
My evaluation of my coping ability
to deal with the stressor
How Do I Deal With Stress?
There is no single technique to lessen your
feelings of stress. You can work on any of the three parts listed in
the equation above. The more parts you change or work on, the more
successful you will be in decreasing your level of stress.
Notice what the stressors are in
your life.
Are there any you can
change by avoiding them or eliminating them
completely?
Can you reduce your
exposure to them?
If you get
stressed driving in traffic, maybe you can
go to work at an earlier time.
Can you organize
your time better so you’re not studying for
a big exam at the last minute?
Pay attention to what you say to you
to yourself about a stressful situation.
Do you tell yourself "If
I am not a perfect student, no one will ever hire me
and I will be forced to "flip hamburgers" the rest
of my life?"
Work on changing
to more realistic expectations of yourself.
Are you overreacting and
seeing everything as absolutely critical and urgent?
Try to shift your
focus to looking at what really is
important.
Increase your confidence in dealing
with your stressors.
Learn techniques to help
you cope with whatever stressor is most predominant
in your life.
Take a study
skills or time management class. Use a
calendar to organize your time.
Take care of yourself emotionally
and physically. How well you deal with stress is determined
partly by your overall level of health and feeling of
well-being.
Treat yourself. Exercise
and eat well. Develop close friendships. All of
these can provide some resistance to stress.
Learn techniques for dealing with
the physical effects of stress.
Try relaxation, deep
breathing, meditation, biofeedback or whatever
appeals to you.
Learn to enjoy the little things in
life.
Take a few minutes each
day to watch a sunset or enjoy the chorus of birds
on your walk between classes.
Need Additional Help?
Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine
Counseling and Wellness Services offer free individual counseling for these and
related issues for veterinary students (WSU Veterinary Students ONLY). For more
information or to schedule an appointment call or e-mail:
Carolyn Wyatt PhD
ADBF 1035
335-0774
cwyatt@vetmed.wsu.edu
NOTE: The information contained in these self help
documents is not to be used as a substitute for professional care. Neither the
authors, Washington State University nor the College of Veterinary Medicine
assume liability for injury incurred by following the information presented in
these self-help documents
Last Edited: Mar 08, 2007 8:21 AM
