Stress Management VPS100

Learn to manage stress successfully! Anxiety, tension,and mental and emotional strain are all common problems in modernsociety. This course introduces you to some practical approaches to understanding how it affects the body, dealing with the symptoms, and giving you tools to combat stress. Study:

• Causes of stress, physical changes that occur in the body as a result of stress, short term and long term problems, cumulative affect of stressors.
• Understanding relaxation, fostering an easy living attitude, putting stressors behind you -forgiving yourself.
• Common drugs (Alcohol, cigarettes, cough mixtures, decongestants, headache tablets etc) and their relationship with stress: short term and long term affects.
• Self Esteem (how we feel about ourselves) is influenced by many factors. A person\'s upbringing, peer group pressure, current employment, physical appearance and so on, all interact to help determine how we feel about ourselves.
• Self Esteem (how we feel about ourselves) is influenced by many factors. A person\'s upbringing, peer group pressure, current employment, physical appearance and so on, all interact to help determine how we feel about ourselves. We consider the term career in it‚Äôs broadest context ‚Äìit is what you do with most of your time: it does not need to necessarily be paid employment.
• Problem Solving techniques, Decision Making; Self Assurance and Insecurities
• How diet can affect physical and mental stress; identifying areas of tension and deciding on relaxation techniques that suit you.
• Understanding what type of person you are; and living with that knowledge.
• Undertake an inventory of your own personality, and gain insights into yourself

Course Structure There are 8 lessons in this course:

1. Body Changes
2. Easy Living
3. Drugs and Alcohol
4. Self Esteem
5. Managing Your Own Career
6. Security and Decision Making
7. Relaxation & Nutrition
8. Personal Style Inventory

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school\'s tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Identify changes that occur to the body as stress develops.
• Identify the relationship between lifestyle and stress.
• Discuss the impact of legal drugs on the psychology of a person.
• Discuss the importance of self esteem in minimizing stress.
• Determine options for career management that will minimize potential for stress.
• Identify and address security issues that impact on stress levels.
• Identify aspects of relaxation and nutrition in a person‚Äôs life that may impact upon stress levels.
• Identify the relationship between stress and personality type.

Learn to recognise the signs of stress

While the understanding of the relationship between stress and disease is still in its infancy, there is increasing evidence of the physiological changes induced by prolonged high stress. Some of the more common symptoms of stress include:

• Dry mouth and throat
• Sweaty palms
• Yawning, feeling bloated
• Rapid heartbeat, increased blood pressure
• Headache or jaw pain when you wake up (clenching your jaw in your sleep!)
• Restlessness, fidgeting
• Stomach ache (butterflies)
• Anxiety, panic
• Inability to sleep
• Inability to concentrate
• Feeling generally ‚Äòon edge‚Äô

The physiological effects of stress are varied and can include:

• Poor immune system function o Constantly catching colds and flus, feeling run-down
• Digestive disorders o Stomach ulcers, weight gain, bowel and intestinal diseases
• Psychological illnesses o Anxiety, paranoia, depression
• Chronic and serious diseases o Constant high stress levels appear to leave a person at increased risk of developing diseases such as cancer and heart disease, and to suffer heart attacks.

Learn to Respond to Problems of Stress and Minimise the associate Problems