Mental Health Musings

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Mental Health Musings

Mental Health Musings

Ep. 2: Stress Management

Basics of Stress Management

STRESS MANAGEMENT

An innate protection potential that aims to keep balance, self-organize, and maintain autonomy under challenge—and ultimately, to survive

Stress management is natural but has to be physiologically permitted.

Stress management interventions decrease anxiety and perceived stress.

People who have learned stress management skills often respond to a greater degree to a stressor but return to their resting state sooner than those not trained in stress management.

Trying very hard to control stress will, in and of itself, create stress.

Pleasurable behaviors can be highly stress-reducing and/or protective (e.g., arts, creativity, and music).

Personal direction, goal setting, being passionate about an activity, and having a sense of purpose allow the person to ignore the rapid heart rate, labored breathing, and the tightened gut, sometimes transforming stress responses into fulfillment of one’s life passions.

NEUROBIOLOGY OF STRESS MANAGEMENT

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When an organism chooses the right or successful strategy to fight a stressor and meet the challenge, a boost of rewarding (and stress-reducing) signaling molecules is released into the blood through the brain’s reward and motivation centers to make the individual feel good, become positively motivated, and reinforce the beneficial behavior.

The downside is the possibility of addiction for extremely rewarding activities and behaviors.

The frontal parts of the brain stabilize positive mood.

GOALS OF STRESS MANAGEMENT

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INSIGHT INTO THE STRESS EXPERIENCE

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What stressors do you frequently experience?

Which routine stressors can you eliminate? How?

How does your body typically respond to stressors? How about your psyche?

What do you typically do when confronted with a stressor?

Are there any coping techniques that you use more than others? Do they work for you?

Are there any coping techniques that you believe would be helpful but don’t use often enough?

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