Transcript Name of presentation - Fresno City College

Kristin Marvin, Psy.D.
Post Doctoral Fellow
January 2010
Topics to Cover
 What is Stress
 Effects of Stress
 Physiological, psychological and behavioral
 Dealing with Stress
 Do you deal with it appropriately?
 Steps to reduce stress
 Stress Management Exercises
 Your Own Stress Management Plan.
What is Stress?
• Emotional response to a situation
• Body alerts you to the situation
• Fight or flight- adrenalin and cortisol
• Scary, challenging, difficult situations
• Can be good…but…
• Too much  negative effects (distress)
• Body can’t differentiate what’s real or not
• Recovery is important
• normal=heightened
• Different for everyone
Stress Can Be Helpful
Personality Types and Stress
 Type A
 Aggressive

Heart disease
 Type B
 Assertive

Generally healthy
 Type C
 Passive

Cancer
How Do You Respond to Stress?
 Fight
 Fired up
 Agitated/unable to sit still
 Ready to “fight” anyone verbally or emotionally
 Overly emotional
 Flight
 Withdrawn or depressed
 Shut down and/or space out
 Freeze
 Tense and frozen
 Can’t do anything
 Underlying agitation
Physiological Responses to Stress
Short Term Responses:
Long Term Responses:
 Increased breathing
 Immune system less
 Heart rate increase
 Muscles tighten

 Cold clammy hands

 Hands shake

 Increased irritability
 Headaches
 Gastrointestinal upset


efficient
GI tract disorders
Fatigue/sleeplessness
Longer recovery from
injury
Skin problems
Heart disease
Psychological Responses to Stress
 Anxiety
 Generalized worrying
 Future
 Anger
 Usually is masking depression
 Depression
 Hopeless/helpless
 Out of control
Behavioral Responses to Stress
 You can’t change other people, but you can
change your behaviors.
 Hostility
 Towards self, coworkers, etc
 Listlessness
 Not wanting to come to work, moping around,
generally not caring
 Irritability
 Under/over eating (control)
 Isolating
Are You in Control of Your Stress?
•When I’m agitated I know how to quickly calm and soothe myself
•I can easily let go of my anger
•I can turn to others at work to help me calm down and feel better
•When I come home at night, I walk in the door feeling alert and relaxed
•I am seldom distracted or moody
•I’m able to recognize upsets that others seem to be experiencing
• I easily turn to friends or family members for a calming influence
•When my energy is low, I know how to boost it
Steps To Stress Management
1. Identify your stressors! *
2. Talk to someone
3. Organize your to-do list
4. Start journaling when you get stressed
5. Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques
6. Adopt a healthy lifestyle
1. Exercise/nutrition
2. Reduce caffeine and sugars
3. Avoid negative ways to cope (drugs, cigarettes, etc)
4. Be with positive family members
7. Get involved with something you care about
Steps to Stress Management Cont…
8. The Four A’s:
Avoid unnecessary stressors
2. Alter the situation
3. Adapt to the stressor
4. Accept the things you cant change
1.
Your Stress Management Plan
 Identify your stressors
 Learn techniques to deal with stress
 These should be accessible at work!
 Self-statements
 Communication- assertiveness
 Sleep hygiene
 Get a support system
 Look at what you have done (what works,
what doesn’t)
 Implement new techniques
Prioritizing Your To Do List*
* See handout “Prioritizing Your To Do List
Breathing/Mindfulness
Exercise
Progressive Muscle Relaxation Exercise
Summary
 Stress is a reaction to a difficult, scary or challenging
event
 Too much can lead to long term physiological problems
and psychological disorders.
 Ways of coping with stress
 Healthy vs unhealthy
 Mindfulness, breathing techniques
 Prioritizing your to do list
 Support systems
 Check in with what’s worked, what hasn’t worked and
what may in the future
QUESTIONS??
COMMENTS??
Kristin Marvin, Psy.D
[email protected]
442-4600 x 8056
SC216
Some Books and Info
 Mindfulness:
1. Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Fresno
MBSRfresno.com
2. Thich Nhat Hanh: The Miracle of Mindfulness
3. The Power of Now: Eckhart Tolle
 General Stress Reduction/PTSD:
1. Stress Management: A Comprehensive Guide to
Wellness. Charlesworth and Nathan
2. Anxiety and Phobia Workbook. Bourne
3. PTSD Workbook. Williams, Poijula
Kristin Marvin, Psy.D
January 2010