Introduction

Stress management is an important skill that all adults

need in order to improve themselves as problem
solvers and to be more in control of their lives. Many
adult learners come back to school when there has
been a change in their lives. Sometimes the change is
triggered by a stressful event in an adult’s life. In many
classroom situations, there are several opportunities for
learners to voice what they are feeling and what they
are experiencing in their lives. This lesson focuses on
what stress is, what causes it, where individuals are on
the Social Readjustment Rating and what you can do to
manage your stress.

Meaning of stress management

Stress management is the process which is aimed at controlling and
managing the level of stress among employees in the organization.
Stress is caused by burdensome circumstances that create pressure on
the individual. It not only affects the mental health but also physical
health. Stress management is a technique used to relax the individual
or the employees in the organization so that effective and efficient
results can be obtained. Stress does not allow an individual to work up
to the maximum level of their capacity utilization, that is why stress
management process takes place in the organization.

Sources of stress
The major sources of stress are as follows:

 Environmental
Environmental stress is the stress which arises out of five things that
have a very bad and negative effect on the individual like weather,
traffic, disturbing images, noise pollution, etc.

 Social
This is a source of stress that includes psychological stressors that are
created or developed when time, attention, and skills of an individual
are demanded during job interviews, presentations, public speaking,
competing priorities, interpersonal conflicts, financial problems, loss
of loved ones or relationships. These are the reasons for the stress that
is caused due to social reasons.

 Physiological
This source of stress includes various physical stressors that are
created at different stages of human life like adolescence, lack of
physical exercise, menopause, improper sleep, malnutrition, aging,
illness, etc. Physical stress that causes muscle tension, anxiety attacks,
bouts of depression, stomach upsets, etc. are also included in this
source of stress.

 Cognitive-emotional
This source of stress is developed form our own thoughts. The
changes in the environment and in the body are easily interpreted by
our brain and the assessment of threat has been done in order to
mobilize the body’s defenses.

Importance of stress management

The points of the importance of stress management are as follows:

 Enables the organization to motivate employees better

Stress management is important for the organization as it enables the
organization to manage the levels of stress of the employees in an
organization through stress management skills which helps in
motivating and boosting the morale of the employees to a great
extent. The increased level of stress lower down the morale of
employees and increases the rate of absenteeism and employee
turnover in the organization.  So, with the stress management skills
well in place, the employees can be motivated and the rate of
absenteeism and employee turnover can be reduced.

 Reduced chances of workplace conflicts

There are various factors such as differences in the personalities,
backgrounds, opinions, etc. that contribute to conflicts in the
workplace and the increased level of stress is one of those factors.
Due to increased conflicts, the relationships and environment of the
organization are completely ruined. But this can be tackled with good
stress management skills. Stress management skills help in preventing
conflicts and distractions in the organization.

 Improves productivity even in stressful conditions

Stress management is important as well as the crucial process in the
organization and it also helps in improving productivity in the
workplace. When stress management is applied in the workplace there
are very few chances of poor decision-making and customer
complaints.

Ways to improve stress management skills

There are different ways which can be used to improve stress
management in the organization. The ways to improve stress
management skills in the organization are:

 Identify the sources of stress and prioritize

There are different sources in the organization that create stress and
pressure among the employees. Sometimes, the source of stress can
be personal as well that hampers the working of an employee in an
organization. The first way to improve stress management skills is to
identify different sources that can cause stress and prioritize these
sources on the basis of the level of stress that they can cause. When
the stressors are identified then they must be tackled one at a time.
Being organized helps the organization in reducing the level of stress.
  Motivate yourself to find solutions
The other way in which stress management skills can be improved is
to motivate yourself to find the best optimal solutions for the
problems. The employee or an individual can motivate himself or
herself by recalling the past situations in which he or she has tackled
the stress very well. This gives a boost to the morale of the individual.

 Manage stress through exercise

Exercise is the other way in which stress management can be
improved. Physical health must be well taken care of in order to avoid
stress. Healthy eating habits should be practiced and excessive sugar
must be avoided. Muscle relaxation exercises must be done. Yoga is
also very helpful in reducing the level of stress.

Types of stress
There are different types of stress which are as follows:

 Acute stress
This is the most common form of stress which is generated from the
pressures that are of recent past or of the near future. This stress also
comes from the demands of the past and the anticipated demands of
the future. Acute stress does not create any problem until the level is
low but when the level of stress increases too much it becomes
exhausting. Acute stress is short-term stress that can result in
headaches, tensions, psychological distress, upset stomach, etc. Acute
stress is a type of stress which do not prevail or continue for a long
period of time and its effects are also very short-term. The symptoms
of acute stress are mostly recognized by all the people as such level of
stress is very common these days. The impact of acute stress is not
very long lasting and do not cause any damage to the individual that is
associated with long-term stress.
The common symptoms of acute stress are:
Emotional distress can be a combination of different things like anger,
depression, and irritability. Another common symptom of acute stress
can be the muscular problems which can be in the form of headache,
tensions, jaw pain, back pain and it also results in muscular tensions
that lead to pulled muscles and tendon and ligament problems.
Stomach problems, acid stomach, constipation, diarrhea, heartburn,
irritable bowel syndrome are the other common symptoms of acute
stress.
Sufferers of the acute stress are always resistant to change and they
often fear to get the treatment only the promise of relief of pain and
discomfort can help them in early recovery.

 Chronic stress
Chronic stress is a type of stress in which the person feels miserable
and has zero confidence in himself. This type of stress occurs due to
the situation of poverty, being trapped in an unhappy marriage and
career or job-related problems. This stress destroys the mental peace
of a human being and makes his or her situation more miserable. It's
the stress that the never-ending "troubles" have brought to the people
of Northern Ireland, the tensions of the Middle East have brought to
the Arab and Jew, and the endless ethnic rivalries that have been
brought to the people of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
In this type of stress, the individual has given up all the hopes in
search of the solution to his or her problems and experience
unmeasurable pain which cannot be defined in words. Some painful
childhood experiences affect the mental stability of the person and the
wrong beliefs of uselessness capture the mind and body of the person
and reduce the hope and desire of living in the life of the person.
Chronic stress may be a result of the past experience of life or some
past mishappening or bitter childhood experiences which are resulting
in the stress and discomfort in the life of the person. The worst aspect
of chronic stress is that people easily get used to it and hard to get rid
of the habit of feeling miserable in their own mind and heart. Chronic
stress kills through suicide, violence, heart attack, stroke and, perhaps,
even cancer. People wear down to a final, fatal breakdown. Because
physical and mental resources are depleted through long-term
attrition, the symptoms of chronic stress are difficult to treat and may
require extended medical as well as behavioral treatment and stress
management.
Some symptoms of chronic stress are anxiety, restlessness,
depression, feeling of isolation, headache, abdominal pain,
concentration problems and lack of sleep. The risk of psychiatric
disorders and some physical disorders like cardiovascular diseases
can also be increased by chronic stress. Chronic stress also reduces
the resistance of infection and inflammation, and might even cause
the immune system to attack itself.
There is no such medicine which can purely reduce the stress and can
reduce its effects, the harmful effects of stress can be reduced only by
proper care and by helping the person in getting its confidence back.
Instead, physicians provide some medications for the management of
stress which can be helpful up to a certain limit but cannot provide
100 percent result. For instance, sedatives (also referred to as
tranquilizers, hypnotics, and/or anxiolytics), antidepressants, and
beta-blockers have all been used to help people cope with stress. A
note of caution is appropriate with regard to using medicines for stress
relief. Many of the medications that are useful for stress relief are also
addictive. Serious behavioral and health problems are possible and
even likely to occur as a result of using such substances unless care is
exercised.