Managing Stress : A Guide for Graduate Students

1. Managing Stress : A Guide for Graduate Students

2. How stressed are you? • Take the quiz!

3. Stress Quiz Key • 20 – 30: Chances are you are non-productive or your life lacks stimulation. • 31-50: Designates a good balance in your ability to handle and control stress. • 51-60: Your stress level is marginal and you are bordering on being excessively tense. • 60 +: You may be a candidate for heart disease or other serious health conditions.

4. What makes you feel stressed?

5. What is Stress? • We all know the feeling of stress, but what is it exactly? • A response to a demand that is placed upon you • Short-term tension and mental alertness that goes away when that challenge is met • Can stress ever be a good thing? • Helps you perform well in sports • Helps you finish your paper

6. Responses to Stress • You can respond to stress in many ways • Physical effects: headache • Emotional effects: fear, sadness • Mental effects: increased anxiety • Stress becomes negative when you cannot return to a relaxed state • Effects on the body • Increased heart rate • Higher blood pressure • Muscle tension • Impacts your immune system

7. How to Manage Your Stress • Find what works for you! • Attitude is EVERYTHING! • Healthy Eating • Physical Activity • Relaxing Your Mind and Body • Sleep • Healthy Relationships • Time Management • Alcohol and other Drugs • Money Management • Relaxation Exercises

8. Attitude is EVERYTHING • Differences among people • Change the way you think about it • Can’t control everything that is going to happen • But you can change how you think

9. Positive Self-talk • Think about a situation that you have experienced recently. Come up with both negative and productive self-talk for the situation

10. Example 1 • Situation: I have a huge paper in two days • Irrational self-talk: I will never get it done. Why did I take that stupid class in the first place, when I know I’m going to fail. • Rational Self-talk: I’ve worked well under pressure in the past. I know I can do it now! I have plenty of time

11. Example 2 • Situation: I came back to the room and found that my roommate left everything a mess • Irrational self-talk: She is so disrespectful. Two people have to live here, why can’t she think about anyone else but herself? • Rational self-talk: I know she has a lot going on this week. She will clean it up when she has time.

12. Your Turn: • Situation: ____________________________ • Irrational self-talk: _____________________ • Rational self-talk: ______________________

13. Healthy Eating • Carbs, protein, fat, vitamins and minerals are important for energy, mental concentration and emotional stability. • Stress can increase your body’s need for certain nutrients • Most college students use high sugar food and caffeine to keep their energy going • Too much of this will contribute to poor quality sleep • After about an hour or 2 you may find that you have less energy and need even more food

14. Exercise • Boosts energy • Increases ability to concentrate • Improves self-esteem • Helps you fall asleep faster and have better quality sleep • Fewer illnesses • Make it fun!! • Do things that you enjoy (dancing, hiking, biking) • Do it to music • Go with someone

15. Money $$$ • Follow a budget for yourself • How much do you make? • How much do you spend?

16. Sleep • How much sleep do you need? • Are you getting restorative sleep?

17. Relationships • Starting, maintaining and ending relationships can cause stress • Being Single: • A lot of social pressure to be in a relationship • Spend as much time as you want on other things • Not have to “check” in with someone • Being in a relationship: • Is your relationship stressing you out? • Healthy relationships • Have fun together • Feel like you can be yourself • Build a friendship • Handle conflicts well

18. Time Management • Helps you deal with deadlines and complete priorities with minimal stress • Anticipate and plan • Keep track of your life • Plan in advance • Don’t know how long things will take • Cross things off

19. Alcohol and Other Drugs • Myths • Alcohol and other drugs can sometimes reduce stress • “escape from reality” • Can actually create more stress • Cause health problems and legal problems that can make you more stress out • Miss class, get arrested, thrown up, had a hangover, gotten into trouble, had alcohol poisoning, performed poorly on a test, gotten into a fight… • Did these improve or reduce your stress level???

20. Relaxation • Deep Breathing • One of the easiest ways to reduce tension • Put one hand on your stomach, just below the rib cage • Slow breathe in through your nose • Exhale slowly through your mouth • Repeat several times Visit these links for free relaxation downloads: • http://medweb.mit.edu/wellness/resources/downloads.html • http://medweb.mit.edu/audio/test_anxiety.mp3 • http://www.hws.edu/studentlife/media/CC%20Website%20Relax%20Steve.mp3 • http://www.hws.edu/studentlife/media/CC%20Website%20Relax%20Bonnie.mp3

21. Works Cited • http://www.uhs.uga.edu/stress/ • http://www.sleepfoundation.org/site • http://www.brown.edu/Student_Services/Health_Services/Health_Education/general_health/sleep.htm • http://healthed.tamu.edu/pdfs/General/sleep.pdf • http://www.sleep-deprivation.com/articles/causes-of-sleep-deprivation/students-and-sleep.php • http://www.hws.edu/studentlife/counseling_relax.aspx • http://www.hws.edu/studentlife/counseling_relax.aspx