| How can I handle stress better? |
| Identifying unrelieved stress and being aware of its effect on our lives is not sufficient for reducing its harmful effects. Just as there are many sources of stress, there are many possibilities for its management. However, all require effort toward change, whether it is as a result of changing the source of stress or changing your reaction to it. |
| You need to become aware of what triggers your emotional and physical reactions. Notice your distress. Don't ignore it and don't gloss over your problems. Establish what events distress you and what are you telling yourself about the meaning of these events? Determine how your body responds to the stress. Do you become nervous or physically upset? If so, in what specific ways? |
| Recognise what you can change. Can you change your stressors by avoiding or eliminating them completely? Can you reduce their intensity and manage them over a period of time instead of on a daily or weekly basis? Can you shorten your exposure to stress and take a break, leave the physical premises? Can you devote the time and energy necessary to making a change like goal setting and time management techniques? |
