Stress
Management
Contents
 Definition of Stress
 Elements of Stress
 Stressors
 Eliminating Stressors
 Developing Resiliency
 Other Stress Management Techniques
 Informational Links
 Stress Quizzes

Credits and Stress Pics Funny stress Pictures and helpful hints from us for
relieving stress.
Stress:
A mentally or emotionally disruptive or upsetting condition occurring in response to
adverse external influences and capable of affecting physical health, usually
characterized by increased heart rate, a rise in blood pressure, muscular tension,
irritability, and depression.
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Elements of Stress
We need to think of stress as the product of a “force field” in order to understand its
dynamics. Kurt Lewin suggested that all individuals and organizations exist in an
environment filled with reinforcing or opposing forces (i.e. stresses). These forces act to
stimulate or inhibit the performance desired by the individual. According to Lewin’s
theory, the forces affecting individuals are normally balanced in the force field. The
strength of the driving forces is exactly matched by the strength of the restraining forces.
Performance changes when these forces become imbalanced. In other words, if the
driving forces become stronger than the restraining forces, change occurs. On the
contrary, if restraining forces become stronger than driving forces, change occurs in the
opposite direction.
The feelings of stress are a product of certain stressors inside or outside the individual.
These stressors can be thought of as driving forces in the model. That is, they exert
pressure on the individual to change present levels of performance physiologically,
psychologically and interpersonally. However, most people have developed a certain
amount of resiliency or restraining forces to counter stressors. Strong restraining forces
can lead to low heart rates, good interpersonal relationships, emotional stability, and
effective stress management.
Reactions to Stress
Before reaching an extreme state of stress, individuals typically progress through three
stages of reactions: an alarm stage, a resistance stage, and an exhaustion stage.
a.) Alarm stage- characterized by acute increases in anxiety or fear if the stressor is a
threat or by increases in sorrow or depression if the stressor is a loss.
Physiologically, the individual’s energy resources are mobilized and hear rate,
blood pressure, and alertness increase. If these reactions persist, the individual
enters into the resistance stage.
b.) Resistance stage- defense mechanism predominates in this stage and the body
begins to store up excess energy. There are five types of defense mechanisms that
are typical of most people who experience extended levels of stress.
1.) Aggression- involves attacking the stressor directly (either attacking
oneself, other people, or even objects).
2.) Regression- adoption of a behavior pattern or response that was successful
at some earlier time (e.g. responding in childish ways).
3.) Repression- involves denial of the stressor, forgetting, or redefining the
stressor (e.g. deciding that it isn’t so scary after all).
4.) Withdrawal- takes both psychological and physical forms. Individuals
may engage in fantasy, inattention or escape from the situation itself.
5.) Fixation- persisting in a response regardless of its effectiveness (e.g.
repeatedly and rapidly redialing a phone number when it is busy).
c.) Exhaustion Stage- this is the most dangerous stage. When stress is so
pronounced as to overwhelm defenses or so enduring as to outlast available
energy for defensiveness, exhaustion may result, producing pathological
consequences. Such pathological consequences may be manifest physiologically
(e.g. heart disease), psychologically (e.g. severe depression) or interpersonally
(e.g. dissolution of relationships).
Coping with Stress
In managing stress there is a particular hierarchy of strategies that individuals can
utilize that have been found effective:
a.) Enactive strategies- the best way to manage stress is to minimize or eliminate
stressors. These create, or enact, a new environment for the individual that
does not contain the stressors.
b.) Proactive strategies- individuals enhance their overall capacity to handle
stress by increasing their personal resiliency.
c.) Reactive strategies- individuals develop short-term techniques for coping
with stressors. These are on-the-spot remedies to reduce temporarily the
effects of stress.
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Stressors
There are four major types of stressors:
Time stressors are mostly associated with having too much work to do in too little an
amount of time. This stressor is said to be a result of our culture’s attention to time – our
society is very time conscience. If time stressors are experienced on a daily basis, the
effect can be very dangerous. Temporary time stressors may serve to motivate some in
getting work done, but overall, they can be harmful if experienced to often.
Encounter stressors are associated with interpersonal interactions. They generally arise
from conflicts. There are three main types of conflicts: role conflicts occur when the
roles of group members are incompatible; issue conflicts occur when there are
disagreements on how to define or solve a problem; and interaction conflicts occur when
individuals do not get along for whatever reason. Poor relationships with people can
cause high levels of stress.
Situational stressors arise from one’s environment and circumstances that occur. A
common form of situation stress is working in unfavorable conditions. Also, rapid
changes and changes of life are main factors that cause stress.
Anticipatory stressors occur when potential problems exist. This is the fear of
unpleasant things happening, although they have not happened yet. The unpleasant
situation that is feared does not need to be severe, it just needs to exist. A common
anticipatory stressor is the fear of failure or embarrassment in front of peers.
Here is a summary of the types of stressors:
TIME STRESSORS
 Work overload
 Lack of control
ENCOUNTER STRESSORS
 Role conflicts
 Issue conflicts
 Action conflicts
SITUATIONAL STRESSORS
 Unfavorable working conditions
 Rapid change
ANTICIPATORY STRESSORS
 Unpleasant expectations
 Fear
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Eliminating Stressors
Individuals can actively work to create more favorable environmental
circumstances in which to work and live:
“enact” the environment rather than merely “react”
Ways to eliminate each of the four types of stressors
TYPE OF
STRESSOR
Time
ELIMINATION
STRATEGY
Effective time management
Efficient time management
Delegating
Encounter
Collaboration and clan building
Interpersonal competence
Situational
Work redesign
Anticipatory
Goal setting
Small wins
Eliminating Time Stressors Through Time Management
Two different sets of skills are important for effectively managing time and for eliminating
stress:
I.
Focuses on effectively using time over the long term
(1) individuals spend their time on important matters, not just urgent matters
(2) people are able to distinguish clearly between what they view as important versus
what they view as urgent
(3) results rather than methods are the focus of time management strategies
(4) people have a reason not to feel guilty when they must say no
In order to manage your time effectively, “don’t allow others to determine what is and is not
important for you.”
Make certain that you focus on activities that are important, not just urgent. Identify clear and
specific personal priorities.
In order to help you articulate clearly the basis for judging the importance of activities, ask
yourself the following questions:
 What do I stand for? What am I willing to die (or live) for?
 What do I care passionately about?
 What legacy would I like to leave? What do I want to be remembered for?
 If I could persuade everyone in the world to follow a few basic principles, what would
they be?
 What do I want to have accomplished 20 years form now?
II. Efficient Time Management
Accomplishing more during the day by not wasting time.
Time management techniques for everyone in daily life:
(1) Read selectively
(2) Make a list of things to perform today
(3) Have a place for everything and keep everything in its
place
(4) Prioritize your tasks
(5) Do one important thing at a time but several trivial
things simultaneously
(6) Make a list of some 5- or 10-minute discretionary tasks
(7) Divide up large projects
(8) Determine the critical 20 percent of your tasks
(9) Save your best time for important matters
(10) Reserve some time during the day
when others don’t have access to you
(11) Don’t procrastinate
(12) Keep track of time use
(13) Set deadlines
(14) Do something productive while waiting
(15) Do busy work at one set time during the
(16) Reach closure on at least one thing every
(17) Schedule some personal time
(18) Don’t worry about anything continually
(19) Have long-term objectives
(20) Be on the alert for ways to improve
your management of time
Eliminating Anticipatory Stressors:
Stress associated with anticipating an event is more a product of psychological anxiety
than current work circumstances. To eliminate that source of stress requires a change in
the thought processes, priorities and plans.
(1) Prioritizing
Establishing clear personal priorities, such as identifying what is to be
accomplished in the long term, what cannot be compromised or sacrificed,
and what lasting legacy do you desire.
(2) Goal Setting
Establishing short-term plans (see model)
(3) Small Wins
Rules for instituting small wins:
 identify something that is under your control
 change it in a way that leads toward your desired goal
 find some other small thing to change and change it
 keep track of the changes you are making
 maintain the small gains you have made
A Model for Short-Term Planning and Goal Setting
1
Establish a goal
4
Identify criteria of
success and a reward
2
Specify action
and
behavioral requirements
3
Generate
accountability and
mechanisms
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Developing Resiliency
Resiliency is associated with balancing the various aspects of one’s life.
Those individuals who are best able to cope with stress in their life can achieve life
balance and reach the highest level of resiliency. However, it is important that you
develop many ways to deal with your stress so that you become a well-rounded
individual.
Only developing activity that allows you to deal with your stress can be
counterproductive. It is important to develop many other activities. When you’re having
trouble at work it is often a response to work extra hard to solve the problem. This can
restrict your creative flow and often the solution to a problem can be found using
analogies from unrelated activities. You also want to have a refreshed and relaxed mind
so that you are able to think clearly. Stress-related illness decreases and can save both
you and your company money from having to deal with these illnesses.
Physiological Resiliency
Cardiovascular conditioning and dietary control are the two major
components that make up physical resiliency. Studies have shown overwhelmingly that
those who are in good physical condition are better able to cope with stressors than those
in poor physical condition. Three primary purposes for regular exercise programs are:
maintaining optimal weight, increasing psychological well-being, and improving the
cardiovascular system. The resulting excessive strain on the body that comes from being
overweight makes those individuals more vulnerable to stress. Advantages to regular
exercise helps are an improved mental as well as physical outlook and strengthened
cardiovascular system.
An improved diet can help reduce your level of stress by making your body
healthier and helping give you energy to get through your day. Here are “Ten Steps to
Good Nutrition” that we can all benefit from:
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Eat a variety of foods
Maintain optimal weight
Avoid fats
Eat more whole foods
Avoid sugar
Avoid sodium
Avoid alcohol
Avoid caffeine
Take vitamin and mineral supplements
Make eating relaxing time
Psychological Resiliency
There are many factors that help us deal with stress, but there are certain
characteristics we all possess, called “personality types”, that allow some people to cope
better with stress than others. Two specific personality types are the hardy and the Type
A personality.
A Hardy has three elements that make them highly stress-resistant. These
are:
1. Feeling in control of one’s life, rather than powerless to shape external events.
2. Feeling committed to and involved in what one is doing, rather than alienated from
one’s work and other individuals.
3. Feeling challenged by new experiences rather than viewing change as a threat to
security and comfort.
Hardy individuals tend to interpret stressful situations positively and optimistically, and
they respond to stress constructively. As a result, their incidence of illness and emotional
dysfunction under stressful conditions is considerably below the norm.
A Type A personality is developed by many people who are entering the
competitive worlds of advanced education and of management. Anxiety, deteriorating
relationships, and heart disease have all been discovered to have a greater likelihood of
occurring in a person with a Type A personality. Some characteristics of Type A
personalities are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Extreme competitiveness
Strong desires for achievement
Haste
Impatience
Restlessness
Hyper-alertness
Explosiveness of speech
Tenseness of facial muscles
Free-floating hostility
Two ways of coping with these characteristics that increase your stress include The
Small-Wins Strategy and Deep-Relaxation Strategies. In the Small-Wins approach,
individuals work for small wins, they consciously remain sensitive to their small
successes, and celebrate them, while coping with major stressors. When individuals
work for a small, concrete outcome, giving them a chance to enjoy visible success,
heightened confidence, excitement, and optimism result, which motivate an attempt to
accomplish another small win. The Deep-Relaxation Strategy include meditation, yoga,
autogenic training or self-hypnosis, and biofeedback. Considerable evidence exists that
individuals who practice such techniques regularly are able to condition their bodies to
inhibit the negative effects of stress. When stress occurs, many who use these techniques
find that they don’t get as high strung, and it is easier for them to come back down. Most
deep-relaxation techniques require the following conditions:
1. A quiet environment
2. A comfortable position
3. A mental focus
4.
5.
6.
7.
Controlled breathing
A passive attitude
Focused bodily changes
Repetition
Most of the techniques used for deep-relaxation must be practiced over a period of time
to develop fully, but they are not difficult to learn.
Social Resiliency
Individuals who are embedded in supportive social networks are less likely to
experience stress and are better equipped to cope with its consequences. Supportive
social relations provide opportunities to share one’s frustrations and disappointments, to
receive suggestions and encouragement, and to experience emotional bonding. Such
supportive interactions provide the empathy and bolstering required to cope with stressful
events. They are formed most easily among individuals who share close emotional ties
or common experiences. Family and friends are among the best sources that this support
may come from. However, a manager who can help foster a good working relationship
can also be a great system of support. Many companies have begun sponsoring a
“Mentor” program where an experienced, and higher level employee, can guide the
career of a lesser-experienced employee. Work groups and teams also help with the
coping of stress by creating teams or groups where the people share in the same
experiences and can share with one another their frustrations if necessary.
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Other Stress Management Techniques
Activities for Managing Stress
(Source: Whetten, David A. and Cameron, Kim S., Developing Management
Skills, p.133-34)
1. Do a systematic analysis of the stressors you face in your job, family, school, and
social life. List the types of stressors you face, and identify strategies to eliminate
or sharply reduce them. Record this analysis in a journal.
2. Find someone you know well who is experiencing a great deal of stress. Teach
him or her how to manage that stress better by applying the concepts, principles,
techniques, and exercises suggested in this website. Describe what you taught and
record the results in a journal.
3. Implement at least three of the time management techniques suggested in this
website. Keep track of the amount of time these techniques save you over a onemonth period. Be sure to use that extra time productively.
4. With a coworker or colleague, identify ways in which your work at school, job, or
home can be redesigned to reduce stress and increase productivity. Use some of
the suggestions provided in this website.
5. Write a personal principles statement. Specify precisely your core principles;
those things you consider to be central to your life and your sense of self-worth;
and the legacy you want to leave. Identify at least one thing that you want to
accomplish in your life that you would like to be known for. Begin working on it
today.
6. Establish a short-term goal or plan that you wish to accomplish this year. Make it
compatible with the top priorities in your life and share this plan with others you
know so that you have an incentive to pursue it more.
7. Get a physical examination, then outline and implement a regular physical fitness
and diet program. Even if it is just regular walking, do some kind of physical
exercise at least three times a week. Preferably, institute a regular, vigorous
cardiovascular fitness program. Record your progress in a journal.
8. Pick at least one long-term deep-relaxation technique. Learn it and practice it on
a regular basis. Record your progress in a journal.
9. Establish a mentoring relationship with someone with whom you work or go to
school. Your mentor may be a professor, a senior manager, or someone who has
been around longer than you have. Make certain that the relationship is reciprocal
and that it will help you cope with the stresses you face at work or school.
Temporary Stress Reduction Techniques
1. Muscle relaxation- involves easing the tension in successive muscle groups.
Start with the feet and progress to the calves, thighs, stomach, and on to the neck
and face, one can relieve tension throughout the entire body. All parts of the body
can be included in the exercise. Alternatively, you can roll your head around on
the neck several times, shrug the shoulders, or stretch the arms up toward the
ceiling for five to ten seconds, then release the position and relax the muscles.
2. Deep breathing- you should take several successive, slow, deep-breaths, holding
them for five seconds, and exhaling completely. You should focus on breathing
itself, so that the mind becomes cleared for a brief time while the body relaxes.
After each deep breath, muscles in the body should consciously be relaxed.
3. Imagery and fantasy- imagery involves visualizing an event, using “mind
pictures”. It can also include recollections of sounds, smells, and textures. The
mind focuses on pleasant experiences from the past (e.g. family vacation, day at
the beach, etc) that can be recalled vividly. On the contrary, fantasies are not past
memories but make-believe events or images. The purpose of this technique is to
relieve anxiety or pressure temporarily by focusing on something pleasant so that
other, more productive stress-reducing strategies can be developed for the longer
term.
4. Rehearsal- appropriate reactions are rehearsed, either in a safe environment
before stress occurs. Removing oneself temporarily from stressful situation and
working through dialogue or reactions, as though rehearsing for a play, can help
one regain control and reduce the immediacy of the stressor.
5. Reframing- involves temporarily reducing stress by optimistically redefining a
situation as manageable. Although reframing is difficult in the midst of a stressful
situation, it can be facilitated by using some of the following cues:
“I understand this situation.”
“Other people are available to help me get through this situation.”
“I can learn something from this situation.”
“There are several good alternatives available to me.”
Each of these statements can help an individual to reframe a situation in order to
develop long-term proactive or enactive strategies.
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Informational Links
The International Stress Management Association UK is a registered charity with a
multi-disciplinary professional membership. It exists to promote sound knowledge
and best practice in the prevention and reduction of human stress. It sets
professional standards for the benefit of individuals and organizations using the
services of its members. www.isma.org.uk
Learn a chant for meditation, home.earthlink.net/~dmswanson/om.html
Stress Management Consulting, www.stress-management.com
Physical Fitness and Stress Management, www.secondwind.net
How to Master Stress, www.psychwww.com/mtsite/smpage.html
How to Survive Unbearable Stress, www.teachhealth.com
OMMM!
A Review of Principles, www.unl.edu/stress/mgmt/
Stress Busters, www.stressrelease.com/strssbus.html
Stress Free Net, www.stressfree.com
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Stress Quizzes
Here is a chance for you to quiz yourself and find out how stressed you are. You can also
compare your scores to the average.
How tense are you?
Stress Inventory Survey
Stress Assess
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