ASU 101

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ASU 101

• Live Well _at_ ASU
• Stress Management

Presenter Name, Ph.D. Presenter Title Arizona
State University Last updated 08-21-07     
www.asu.edu/asu101
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Stress Management Module

• The purpose is to promote ASU students
  well-being and academic success.
• Through this module you will be able to
• Describe what stress is.
• Recognize your own stress symptoms/responses.
• Identify some new ways to prevent overload and
  manage stress.
• This module is designed as an introduction -
  going through this brief presentation will not,
  by itself, prevent overload or manage stress for
  you.
• For the concepts in this course to be effective,
  you need to
• Assess the role of stress for YOU in your life.
• Commit to addressing stress in your life.
• Practice the techniques presented in this module.

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What is stress?

• Stress is a natural and manageable part of life.
• It is the way in which we react physically,
  mentally, and/or emotionally to various
  conditions, changes and demands of life.
• The stress we experience is rooted in the fight
  or flight response, during which our bodies
  undergo physical changes that prepare us to
  respond to an exciting or dangerous situation.
• Once the situation has passed or is under
  control, our stress response subsides, allowing
  us to relax.
• However, the constant demands of academic or
  personal life can prevent us from becoming fully
  relaxed, and can lead to stress overload.

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Types of stress

• Stress can result from positive or negative
  situations.
• Hans Selye discovered that the same arousal
  response (stress response) can be evoked by
  either type of situation
• Distress stress resulting from unpleasant
  events or conditions (from the Latin dis, meaning
  bad such as displeasure)
• E.g. Failing a test in a class
• Eustress situations resulting from pleasant
  events or conditions (from the Latin eu, meaning
  good such as euphoria)
• E.g. Planning and preparing to go home for a
  holiday

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Stress response

• It is important to pay attention to how our
  bodies respond when presented with stressful
  situations
• When we are stressed, our bodies respond in
  specific ways.
• It is the physical response that your body has
  when it encounters stressors. A broader
  understanding of the stress response includes
  physical, cognitive (thinking), emotional
  (feeling), and behavioral (acting) responses to
  stress.

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Immediate physical response to stress Fight or
Flight

• The immediate response to a stressor is called
  the fight or flight response, your body gets
  ready to fight or flee a danger, or gets ready
  for action.

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Immediate physical response to stress Fight or
Flight

• What do you notice going on in your body when
  something startles you?
• This is your stress response

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Thoughts, Feelings, Behaviors
As depicted in the triangle thoughts, feelings,
and behaviors are interrelated.
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Immediate emotional and/or psychological
responses to stress

• What do you notice going on emotionally when you
  experience stress?
• How does this affect your thoughts?
• This is your stress response

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Stress-----------------------------Distress
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Stress---------------------------------Distress
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Relaxation response

• Basically when your body is relaxed, it reverses
  the effects of the stress response.
• Sleep is one of the bodys main relaxation
  mechanisms to bring the body back into
  homeostasis.
• Quality of sleep has an influence on the
  physical, emotional, intellectual, and social
  well-being of a person.
• Most adults require 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
  
• 27.6 of ASU students reported that they got
  enough sleep so that they felt rested when they
  woke up in the morning on 5-7 days of the last
  week.
• 40.5 woke up feeling rested on only 2 or fewer
  days of the last week meaning that the rest of
  the week they did not feel rested
• 61.4 of ASU students reported experiencing sleep
  difficulties during the last school year
• Of these, 40.2 reported sleep difficulties
  impeded their academic performance

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Stress Over Time

• Stress that is continuous or builds up over time
  and is not managed effectively can have serious
  consequences to your health and overall quality
  of life.

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Potential physical responses to chronic stress

• Chronic pain in neck and/or lower back
• Change in appetite
• Change in sleep pattern (e.g. insomnia or too
  much sleep)
• Lowered immune system (e.g. frequent colds, flu)
• Temporomandibular joint syndrome (TMJ)
• Aches and pains
• Tension or migraine headaches
• Increased risk for certain diseases/conditions
• Asthma
• Hypertension
• Ulcers
• Coronary heart disease
• Rheumatoid arthritis

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Potential psychological and/or emotional
responses to chronic stress

• Difficulty focusing and concentrating
• Mood changes
• Anxiety
• Panic attacks
• Depression
• Suicidal thoughts

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How does stress affect you in college?

• 80.8 of ASU students reported experiencing
  stress within the last school year.
• Not all students reported that stress affected
  their academic performance negatively.
• But, stress related behaviors and conditions,
  such as sleep difficulties, anxiety, and
  depression are cited by ASU students as factors
  that most impede academic performance.

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How does stress affect you in college?

• ASU survey results are consistent with National
  data where 32 of American college students
  reported that within the last school year stress
  was their top academic impediment
• ASU students ranked stress as one of the top
  health issues affecting academic performance
  (2006 2004 2002 2000)
• 31.7 of ASU students reported that stress
  affected their academic performance
• An increase from 27.2 in 2000
• 35.3 of ASU students reported that being
  overcommitted affected their academic performance
• 34.8 of ASU students reported that being over
  committed had a high effect on their stress levels

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What Stresses College Students?Stressors

• The things that make us stressed.
• Stressors are the demands from the internal or
  external environment that have the potential to
  produce stress.
• Factors or events, real or imagined, that elicit
  a state of stress
• Generally divided into 2 classes
• Discrete, major, stressful life events
• Ongoing, everyday chronic stressors

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Sources of Stress Among College Students

• Many sources of stress for students fall under
  the headings
• School
• E.g. test anxiety, choosing a major, grades
• Time
• E.g. not having enough time
• Money
• E.g. jobs, paying tuition, rent, food
• Relationships
• E.g. roommates, significant others
• Additional sources may also include
• Leaving home
• E.g. homesickness
• Balancing different roles
• E.g. work, home, friends, school

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Activity Stressful Event Checklist

• What are your stressors?

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How can stress be good for us?

• Stress can be looked at on a continuum, from very
  low stress to very high stress. As with many
  things, the extremes are the unhealthy
  experiences.
• Low stress High stress
• Bored Burned out
• Tired Irritable
• Uninterested Overwhelmed
• Down Exhausted

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How can stress be good for us?

• Yerkes-Dodson Law Too little or too much
  stress is not helpful, but a moderate level of
  stress encourages peak performance.

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Activity Identify Your Stress Cues

• Stress affects many areas of our health and well
  being. We have already discussed the effects of
  stress on the body. Stress also impacts the mind
  and spirit.
• The following activity is designed to help you
  identify your stress cues. How do you know you
  are under stress? Are you managing stress well,
  or can you identify areas you would like to
  improve?
• How do you respond to stress?
• What are your cues to action?

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Stress management techniques

• These stress symptoms can cue you in to the fact
  that you are stressed or handling stress well.
• Knowing how you react to stress can help you find
  the appropriate stress management technique more
  quickly.

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Now that you understand stress and its causes
better, we want to provide you specific ways to
apply this understanding.
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Mindfulness

• Becoming more mindful of how you think is
  important so that you can help your thinking to
  be more positive.
• Staying mindful or in the moment helps to
  lessen your worries.
• Most of what people worry about never happens.
• GOAL TO WORRY LESS AND STAY IN THE PRESENT
  MOMENT.

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• Belief at the beginning of anything is the one
  thing that will ensure success. William James
• What the mind can see and believe, it can
  achieve!

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Dreams Goals
What do I want to be?

• Do you dream about your life after you graduate?
• What do you need to do to accomplish your goals?
• For you to succeed, you have to first picture in
  your mind what you would like to be or do and
  keep that picture in mind as you work toward your
  goals.

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Goals plans to achieve your dreams

• Before you start on a cross-country trip, you
  need to plan and map out the route that you would
  take to get from Arizona to New York City.
• In the same way, you need to plan for how you
  will reach your dreams and goals.

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Activity Steps to Creating A Goal

• Write down a dream for yourself that you would
  like to accomplish in the next one or two years.
• Write down weekly goals and tasks that would help
  you to achieve that dream.
• Inch by inch, its a cinch. Yard by yard its
  hard!

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Developing habits to help you reach your goals
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Habit

• An action done routinely without thought.
• Habits take time to develop and time to break.
• The earlier they are made, the more likely youll
  keep them as you grow older.
• It is easier not to start a bad habit, than to
  stop it once it is started.

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Your choices become your habits

• What choices could you make to contribute to, or
  reduce your stress?
• What habits are these choices helping you
  develop?
• How will that likely affect your stress levels
  over time?

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Barriers to developing productive habits

• Misperceptions about peer behavior
• Poor time management
• The media
• Poor self-esteem
• Unmanaged stress and anxiety
• Lack of information
• Unhealthy food that is readily available

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Steps to Change an Unproductive Habit (or any
positive change you want to make)

• Recognize that change is needed.
• Learn about how to accomplish the desired change.
• Make a decision and commit to the change process.
  
• Recognize that change is difficult.
• Set your goal and write it down.
• Believe that you can do it because anything is
  possible when you believe!
• Take action with small incremental steps.
• Keep your eyes on the goal.

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Problem Solving

• The Four Step Process of problem solving
• Identify the problem.
• Determine the cause(s).
• Decide on the best solutions with their pros and
  cons.
• Select the best solution.

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Top 10 Thinking Errors

• All or nothing thinking
• Overgeneralization
• Mental filter or negative colored glasses
• Discounting the positives
• Jumping to conclusions
• Magnification or minimization
• Emotional reasoning
• Should statements
• Labeling
• Personalization and blame

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Activity Correcting Negative Thought Processes

• Use this exercise the next time you are engaging
  in negative self talk.

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Managing stress

• Prioritize, take charge, be flexible
• Develop your skills
• Manage your time
• Use healthy coping strategies
• Regulate your emotions
• Implement a relaxation practice

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Managing stress Prioritize, take charge,
be flexible
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Managing stress Develop your skills

• Communication skills
• Reading and writing skills seek assistance as
  needed at the writing center
• Study skills find a study partner or group
• Organization skills
• Test taking strategies

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Managing stress Manage your time

• Use a day planner and write out your schedule of
  classes, activities, work.
• Prioritize responsibilities.
• Make lists of things to do use sticky notes.
• Find a convenient job you enjoy doing (student
  employment on campus).
• Dont over commit yourself.

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Managing stress Use healthy coping strategies

• When you deal with stressors in ways that will
  help you to decrease stress without harming
  yourself or other people.

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Managing stress Regulate your emotions

• Regulating emotions is a positive way to gain
  control over stress and emotions, such as anger
  or anxiety.
• Emotions, such as anger, anxiety, joy, fear, and
  jealousy are not bad.
• Emotions are normal.
• Its important to recognize and get in touch with
  these emotions when you feel them. Its the
  BEHAVIORS that follow the emotions that can have
  positive or negative consequences.

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Managing stress Implement a relaxation practice

• Abdominal breathing
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Mental imagery
• Yoga
• Meditation
• Biofeedback
• Cognitive self-talk

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Managing stress Implement a relaxation practice

• Relaxation Techniques
• Abdominal breathing
• Breath in Think I am calm.
• Breath out Think Im blowing stress out.
• Progressive muscle relaxation
• Isolate each part of the body, tighten and slowly
  relax
• Stay mindful Stay in the moment

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Managing stress Implement a relaxation practice

• Mental Imagery
• Mental imagery is a healthy way to cope that
  involves imagining that you are in one of your
  most favorite places or doing one of your
  favorite things.

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Activity - Mental Imagery

• Close your eyes and picture the following
• Imagine that you are on a beach the sunshine is
  glowing on your face, your body feels nice and
  warm the sound of the ocean waves is soothing
  and you can feel the cool, grainy sand under your
  feet.

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Activity - Mental Imagery

• Close your eyes and picture the following
• Imagine that you are in the park sitting under a
  tree during the fall season. The breeze is cool
  across your face you are listening to one of
  your favorite songs, and you can hear the birds
  singing.

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Activity Mental Imagery

• How did you feel?
• Were your thinking about anything else while you
  were doing the imagery exercise?
• When your mind is on something pleasant such as
  these types of images, there is no room for worry
  or stress to come into your mind.
• Imagery takes practice like the other skills, but
  by practicing this skill on a regular basis, you
  will learn the skill of relaxing.

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Managing stress - Summary

• Preventing or managing stress will vary from
  individual to individual need to find what
  works for you!
• Steps
• Identify your stress responses
• Identify your stressors
• Find the methods that are effective for you to
  manage your stress
• Prioritize, take charge, be flexible, develop
  your skills, manage your time, use healthy coping
  strategies, regulate your emotions, implement a
  relaxation practice
• Practice those methods

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Helping a Friend who is STRESSED!!!!

• Pay attention, be mindful about your friends
  behaviors
• Are they becoming overwhelmed by stress?
• Are they showing symptoms of stress overload?
• What can you do?
• Initiate a compassionate conversation

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Campus resources available for support Tempe
Campus

• Advocacy
• Student Advocacy and Assistance Office
• www.asu.edu/vp/advocacy/
• Counseling
• Counseling and Consultation
• www.asu.edu/counseling
• Counselor Training Center
• www.coe.asu.edu/ctc
• Clinical Psychology Center
• www.asu.edu/clas/psych/cpc
• Judicial
• Student Judicial Affairs
• www.asu.edu/studentlife/judicial

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Campus resources available for support Tempe
Campus

• Medical
• Campus Health Service
• www.asu.edu/health
• Police
• ASU Police
• www.asu.edu/dps
• ASU Police Crime Prevention Office
• www.asu.edu/dps/police/prevent.htm
• Recreation
• Campus Recreation
• www.asu.edu/src
• Wellness Health Promotion
• Wellness and Health Promotion Department
• ww.asu.edu/wellness
• www.asu.edu/wellness/livingwell.html

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Campus resources available for support West
Campus

• Advocacy Judicial Affairs
• Student Advocacy and Judicial Affairs Office
• http//www.west.asu.edu/advocacy/
• Medical Counseling
• Student Health Services Counseling Center
• http//www.west.asu/sa/studenthealth
• Student Life
• Office of Student Life
• http//www.west.asu.edu/studentlife/
• Recreation
• Diablo Performance Recreation Center
• http//www.west.asu.edu/fitness/index.cfm

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Campus resources available for support
Polytechnic Campus

• Counseling
• Student Counseling Services
• http//www.poly.asu.edu/students/counseling       
   
• Medical
• Student Health Center
• http//www.poly.asu.edu/students/health/
• Recreation
• Campus Recreation
• http//www.poly.asu.edu/reccenter/index.htm

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Campus resources available for support Downtown
Campus

• Advocacy
• Student Advocacy
• http//www.asu.edu/downtownphoenix/student-campus-
  development/StudentAdvocacy.htm
• Medical Counseling
• ASU Health Center at the Downtown Phoenix campus
• http//www.nursing.asu.edu/anc/asuhc
• Recreation
• Downtown Phoenix Campus Recreation Center at the
  YMCA
• http//www.asu.edu/downtownphoenix/downtown-studen
  t-life/student-recreation.html

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References

• American College Health Association. American
  College Health Association-National College
  Health Assessment Reference Group Executive
  Summary Spring 2006. Baltimore American College
  health Association 2006. (n94,806)
• American College Health Association. American
  College Health Association-National College
  Health Assessment at Arizona State University,
  Spring 2006. (n1206)
• American College Health Association. American
  College Health Association-National College
  Health Assessment at Arizona State University,
  Trend Report. Spring, 2004 (n738) Spring, 2002
  (n1070) Spring, 2000 (n1149).
• Hahn, D.B., Payne, W.A. Mauer, E.B. (2005).
  Focus on health (7th ed.). Boston, MA McGraw
  Hill.
• Romas, J.A. Sharma, M. (2000). Practical stress
  management A comprehensive workbook for managing
  and change and promoting health (2nd ed.).
  Boston, MA Allyn and Bacon.

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References

• Beck, A. (2005). The current state of cognitive
  therapy A 40 year retrospective. Archives of
  General Psychiatry, 62, 953-959.
• Reinecke, M. (2005). Vulnerability to depression
  among adolescents Implications for
  cognitive-behavioral treatment. Cognitive and
  Behavioral Practice, 12, 166-176.
• Reinecke, M., Ryan, N., Dubois, D. (1998).
  Cognitive-behavioral therapy of depression and
  depressive symptoms during adolescence A review
  and meta-analysis. Journal of the American
  Academy of Child Adolescent Psychiatry, 37,
  26-34.
• Robinson, M., Alloy, L. (2003). Negative
  cognitive styles and stress-reactive rumination
  interact to predict depression A prospective
  study. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 27(3),
  275-291.