Coping with Stress
Think about the stressors in your life that cannot be eliminated or reduced. Based on what you have learned in this module about healthy coping mechanisms, what will you do in the future to cope with these stressors?
Exercise more. Sometimes I am successful with my workout program, sometimes I slip.
I am thinking of cutting back on the number of patients I see in my private practice, but of course that could create financial stresses. It's all a tradeoff.
Eva,
Great idea about your exercise program. Exercise is such a great way to reduce the stress that you are experiencing. As for cutting back on the number of patients that you see, there are tradeoffs as you mentioned. Perhaps there is a way to cope with this stressor without creating a new one.
I need to bit the bullet & hire people for my accounting. It is so hard keeping the books up. Also, I need to ride my treadclimber every morning while I wathc the morning news. i watch it anyway so I might as well get my work out. 3 time a week I need to go to the spa for some weight lifting to build up muscles. And lst, take to the steam room more!
Jo,
Exercising on the tread climber while you watch the morning news is an excellent idea. Accomplishing these two activities at once will be a big time saver – in addition to helping you cope with the stress in your life.
everything in moderation balancing work and family . LIKE EXCERCISING AND BALANCING HOURS AT WORK SCHOOLING AND HOME .
Exercise, and balance all things in moderation
with family, friends, work, is a good way to be creative, and healthy trade off.
Samuel,
I like the "everything in moderation" approach. Instructors spend such large portions of their days working and teaching -- often leaving no time for other important things. Incorporating exercise and family time into your daily schedule can be a great way to restore the balance. Exercise is a great outlet and spending time with family can really help put things into perspective when you are stressed out about things that happen at work. Finding balance in your life can help you cope with stress.
Ricky,
I like your description of coping mechanisms as "healthy trade offs." On one hand, coping mechanisms like exercise and spending time with family can take time away from your work. On the other hand, these things can bring you the health, energy and perspective you need to keep working.
I think good ways for me to cope with stressors that I cannot reduce or eliminate would be to start exercising. I think that would make me feel better physically as well as emotionally. I think starting a journal would also help me, because I could vent about how I am feeling and I wouldn't feel bad having to vent all of my feelings/frustrations out on someone else. I think making time for "ME" at least one day a week would be helpful as well.
Tina,
Writing in a journal is a great way to deal with stress. I am so glad that you mentioned this on our forum. 'Journaling' is a great way to vent your frustrations without worrying about what someone else might think.
HAVING READ THIS MODULE I DO THINK EXCERCISE IS A GREAT WAY TO ELIMINATE OR REDUCE STRESS, I USED TO DO A LOT OF KARATE AND NEVER REALLY SUFFERED FROM STRESS, TIME TO START AGAIN...
The best thing, other than eating right and exercise etc., is quality family time. Making time for your kids (after a long day dealing with high school kids) is the most important way to unwind.
Also, your spouse should hopefully be involved as well. If days go by without focus on what really matters, I find I'm swimming in stress. But if I make an effort to do the family thing before the professsional thing, I'm much better at the professional thing.
And that is my priority, despite any pressure/deadlines/tasks that may need to be done.
Like everyone keeps saying, exercise is the best stress coping mechanism. No matter what our physical abilities are, there are many levels of esercise that can be done. By taking time to exercise, we focus on ourselves and our needs, physically and mentally. This also will help to increase our energy levels. Which, in turn, gives us more ability to focus and concentrate on completing our daily tasks...
Hmmm...it seems that many people look to exercise as being a very solid method of alleviating stress. I try and swim every morning, and often I find myself simply swimming more because I'm starting to think about all the things I need to deal with in that day and getting stressed about them. I'd say that it's not just the exercise, it's when you actually perform it. So if performing the exercise after a stress full day helps relieve the stress, then have you really eleviated it or are you just putting in temporary stop gaps? I'd say the exercise is good for the body, and the mind will feel good about itself when it knows the body is being looked after. That in turn gives us the confidence in ourselves to deal with our stress. Just my perspective.
Create more time for myself and enjoy life and girlfriend.
In order to cope with stressors that cannot be eliminated or reduced I WILL begin an walking exercise routine each day. This will also aid in my overall health issues.
In addition, breathing exercises will be part of each day's classroom lecture time. This will help my students as well as myself. If students are relaxed they are more apt to learn and retain what has been taughted. My school's motto is "Where learning is fun and easy" and that is based on the fact that if you enjoy what is being taught you will retain more. What a win win this is.
Getting the appropriate amount of sleep, on a regular basis, will also be on the top my list of implementing healthy coping mechanisms.
I think it is important to schedule time for myself, at least one hour 3-4 times a week for vigorous exercise. I find the going for a 5 mile run helps clear my mind and thing never seem quite a bad when I am finished.
During stressful moments at work I should take a moment to concentrate on deep purposeful breathing as a mini-mediation break.
Richard,
It sounds like you have two very different methods for coping with stress, depending on the situation and environment. This is important. There are some environments in which certain coping mechanisms work better than others. The workplace is a great example. The workplace is no place for a five mile run but it's a great place for deep and purposeful breathing. When you learn to effectively utilize more than one coping mechanism, you gain the ability to use them interchangeably to deal with stress across multiple environments.
Exercise and finding time for sleep are my salvation as far as coping with stress. Another thing is occasionally saying que sara, sara. You fix what you can and let go of the rest.
