Project on Stress Management
CHP:1 INTRODUCTION
What is Stress?
Stress is a complex phenomenon. It has been defined in many ways, but simply put; it is the wear and tear of everyday life.
In everyday’s life people are subjected to a wide range of pressures. Similarly there are also a wide range of resources and strategies for coping with pressure. Sometimes people cope well and will not feel that the pressure is having any adverse effect upon them. At other times they will have difficulty in dealing with the situation and that is when we may use the term "stress".
In reality, any situation that puts pressure is technically "stressful". Stress is not necessarily unpleasant or harmful. When people are able to cope satisfactorily with the stress and find it to be positive in its effect, they tend to use other words - such as "stimulation" or "challenge".
In this regard a simple but accurate definition of stress is:
"Stress occurs when the pressures upon us exceed our resources to cope with those pressures."
It follows, therefore, that we can attempt to tackle stress either by reducing the pressures or by increasing our coping resources - or, indeed, a combination of both strategies.
The problem is that different people find quite different situations and circumstances to be stressful. At the extremes, a situation which one person experiences as positive and stimulating will cause another person acute distress.
“The Changing Times model” is one of the few to recognize this fact. It is also one of the few, and widely known and successfully implemented programs, which has been specifically designed to avoid both psychological jargon and an unhelpful emphasis on medical models of stress.
Some people who suffer from mental disorders may be more susceptible to stress. Equally, prolonged or acute exposure to excessive stress can lead to illnesses. For the great majority of people, however, stress is a perfectly normal and natural state that
What is Stress?
Stress is a complex phenomenon. It has been defined in many ways, but simply put; it is the wear and tear of everyday life.
In everyday’s life people are subjected to a wide range of pressures. Similarly there are also a wide range of resources and strategies for coping with pressure. Sometimes people cope well and will not feel that the pressure is having any adverse effect upon them. At other times they will have difficulty in dealing with the situation and that is when we may use the term "stress".
In reality, any situation that puts pressure is technically "stressful". Stress is not necessarily unpleasant or harmful. When people are able to cope satisfactorily with the stress and find it to be positive in its effect, they tend to use other words - such as "stimulation" or "challenge".
In this regard a simple but accurate definition of stress is:
"Stress occurs when the pressures upon us exceed our resources to cope with those pressures."
It follows, therefore, that we can attempt to tackle stress either by reducing the pressures or by increasing our coping resources - or, indeed, a combination of both strategies.
The problem is that different people find quite different situations and circumstances to be stressful. At the extremes, a situation which one person experiences as positive and stimulating will cause another person acute distress.
“The Changing Times model” is one of the few to recognize this fact. It is also one of the few, and widely known and successfully implemented programs, which has been specifically designed to avoid both psychological jargon and an unhelpful emphasis on medical models of stress.
Some people who suffer from mental disorders may be more susceptible to stress. Equally, prolonged or acute exposure to excessive stress can lead to illnesses. For the great majority of people, however, stress is a perfectly normal and natural state that