Introducing Stress Management...
Our main definition of stress is that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.
With this in mind, we can now look at how you can manage all of the stresses that your career will bring.
From our definition, you can see that there are three major approaches that we can use to manage stress:
* Action-oriented: In which we seek to confront the problem causing the stress, changing the environment or the situation;
* Emotionally-oriented: In which we do not have the power to change the situation, but we can manage stress by changing our interpretation of the situation and the way we feel about it; and
* Acceptance-oriented: Where something has happened over which we have no power and no emotional control, and where our focus is on surviving the stress.
Action-oriented approaches - best where you have some control
To be able to take an action-oriented approach, we must have some power in the situation. If we do, then action-oriented approaches are some of the most satisfying and rewarding ways of managing stress. These are techniques that we can use to manage and overcome stressful situations, changing them to our advantage.
The early sections on the navigation bar to the left focus on action-oriented coping. These sections introduce skills that help you to manage your job actively, work well with your boss and co-workers, and change your surroundings to eliminate environmental stress. The Action-oriented sections of this site are:
* Cope with the Stress of Work Overload
* Survive the Stress of Problem Jobs
* Deal With Problem People
* Manage Environmental Stress
* Manage Performance Stress
* Avoid Burnout
Emotionally-oriented approaches - subtle but effective
If you do not have the power to change a situation, then you may be able to reduce stress by changing the way you look at it, using an emotionally-oriented approach.
Emotionally-oriented approaches are often less attractive than action-oriented approaches in that the stresses can recur time and again; however, they are useful and effective in their place. The section on Reducing Stress With Rational Thinking explains some useful techniques for getting another perspective on difficult situations.
Acceptance-oriented approaches - when there's no valid alternative...
Sometimes, we have so little power in a situation that all we can do to survive it. This is the case, for example, when loved-ones die.
In these situations, often the first stage of coping with the stress is to accept one’s lack of power. The section on Defenses Against Stress looks at building the buffers against stress that help you through these difficult periods. Arguably, the section on Useful Relaxation Techniques also falls into this category.
These different approaches to stress management address our definition of stress in different ways: the action-oriented techniques help us to manage the demands upon us and increase the resources we can mobilize; the emotionally oriented techniques help us to adjust our perceptions of the situation; and the acceptance-oriented techniques help us survive the situations that we genuinely cannot change.
Our main definition of stress is that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.
With this in mind, we can now look at how you can manage all of the stresses that your career will bring.
From our definition, you can see that there are three major approaches that we can use to manage stress:
* Action-oriented: In which we seek to confront the problem causing the stress, changing the environment or the situation;
* Emotionally-oriented: In which we do not have the power to change the situation, but we can manage stress by changing our interpretation of the situation and the way we feel about it; and
* Acceptance-oriented: Where something has happened over which we have no power and no emotional control, and where our focus is on surviving the stress.
Action-oriented approaches - best where you have some control
To be able to take an action-oriented approach, we must have some power in the situation. If we do, then action-oriented approaches are some of the most satisfying and rewarding ways of managing stress. These are techniques that we can use to manage and overcome stressful situations, changing them to our advantage.
The early sections on the navigation bar to the left focus on action-oriented coping. These sections introduce skills that help you to manage your job actively, work well with your boss and co-workers, and change your surroundings to eliminate environmental stress. The Action-oriented sections of this site are:
* Cope with the Stress of Work Overload
* Survive the Stress of Problem Jobs
* Deal With Problem People
* Manage Environmental Stress
* Manage Performance Stress
* Avoid Burnout
Emotionally-oriented approaches - subtle but effective
If you do not have the power to change a situation, then you may be able to reduce stress by changing the way you look at it, using an emotionally-oriented approach.
Emotionally-oriented approaches are often less attractive than action-oriented approaches in that the stresses can recur time and again; however, they are useful and effective in their place. The section on Reducing Stress With Rational Thinking explains some useful techniques for getting another perspective on difficult situations.
Acceptance-oriented approaches - when there's no valid alternative...
Sometimes, we have so little power in a situation that all we can do to survive it. This is the case, for example, when loved-ones die.
In these situations, often the first stage of coping with the stress is to accept one’s lack of power. The section on Defenses Against Stress looks at building the buffers against stress that help you through these difficult periods. Arguably, the section on Useful Relaxation Techniques also falls into this category.
These different approaches to stress management address our definition of stress in different ways: the action-oriented techniques help us to manage the demands upon us and increase the resources we can mobilize; the emotionally oriented techniques help us to adjust our perceptions of the situation; and the acceptance-oriented techniques help us survive the situations that we genuinely cannot change.
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