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Stress Less Workshop
University of Southampton Counselling Service
INCREASED PERSONAL AWARENESS
TO MAKE MORE INFORMED CHOICES
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Aims
• To gain more understanding of stress and responses to stress
• To gain increased personal awareness regarding individual symptoms of stress
• To identify techniques for managing stress
• To gain experiential understanding of relaxation techniques
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Stress
Stress is a normal response to challenge or threat. The term "fight or flight" describes a mechanism in the body that enables humans and animals to mobilize a lot of energy rapidly in order to cope with threats to survival.
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Fight or Flight
Some Automatic responses include:
• The autonomic nervous system automatically puts body on alert.
• The adrenal cortex automatically releases stress hormones.
• Heartbeat and breathing automatically become more rapid
• Muscles become more oxygenated
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Freeze
The “freeze” response is triggered eitherbecause the experience feels overwhelmingor because it is an adaptive response to acontinuing threat.
Either way, the body is on the alert and muscles remain frozen in a tensed statepoised for action
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Neurology
The amygdala (the part of the brain that initiates the automatic part of the fight or flight response) can be triggered directly bysensory information from the thalamus which has bypassed the neocortex (the “thinking brain”) as a result of past experience
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Symptoms of High Stress Levels
• Cognitive – thinking errors, negative thinking, catastrophising
• Emotional – fear, anxiety, boredom, frustration
• Physical – headaches, sleeplessness, increased heart rate, nausea
• Behavioural – avoidance, procrastination, over eating, drinking, gaming, over working
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Personal Stress Profile
For later: Identify personal profile of stress symptoms
Physical
Cognitive
Behavioural
Emotional
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Personal Stress BarometerStart with Level 1: Best place possible, relaxed and stimulated
Next, Level 5: Worst place, panic, illness, feeling totally overwhelmed
Next, Level 2: Just one step away from first level, signs just beginning to show
Next, Level 4: Just one step away from hitting the wall, serious warning signs
Next, Level 3: Between 2 and 4, the most important level to bring awareness to as it is particularly at this point where you can take action to move up the scale or spiral downwards
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Destressing Techniques• Cognitive – challenging negative
thoughts, reality checking• Physical – sleep, eating well, relaxation,
exercise, rest• Behavioural – pacing and time
management, using destressing techniques
• Emotional – expressing feelings, using emotional support from others
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Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
Maslow’s theory consisted of two parts
(1) The classification of human needs, and(2) Consideration of how the classes are related to each other
The classes of needs were summarised by Maslow in a hierarchical structure (see separate handout)
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Personal Plan
• The Importance of Reflection
• Self awareness: – knowing your stressors – knowing your symptoms– knowing what destressing techniques work for
you
• Setting do-able objectives
• Forgiving yourself, having compassion
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