Question

Describe your strategies for managing stress and maintaining personal wellness.

**ESSAY FORM*

Answer 1

Ans) Stress:
*The physical, psychological, social, or spiritual effect of life's pressures and events
*A state of threatened homeostasis that triggers an array of adaptive physiological and behavioral responses to reestablish homeostasis; stress is an essential component of being alive; can be situational or maturational .
*overreactive nervous system leads to fight or flight response: prepares body to react to stressful situation/condition.
*Interactive process VS response

Goals of stress management:

- To improve the quality of life by increasing healthy, effective coping, thereby reducing unhealthy consequences of distress
*has been an affective intervention framework for health promotion, disease prevention, and symptom management
Dynamic Interaction of:
-mind
-body
-spirit
-cognitive/emotional states and behavior

Promoting stress management is key to disease management and better health outcomes
*caregiver stress/burden is a major concern; described as the appraisal of the experience of caregiving including the taxing nature of being a caregiver
*particular concern of the sandwich generation; those caring for their parents while raising their own children
*Burnout is a consequence of caregiver stress/burden.

Relaxation
-technique to help develop awareness/counter negative effects of stress
-reduces sympathetic arousal (fight or flight)
-Two components
-repetition of word/thought/activity
-passive disregard of everyday thoughts
-Mini relaxations:
-can be used throughout the day
-keep initial stress symptoms from intensifying (disregard things that are occupying your thoughts)

Alternative/Complementary Therapies
-Developed outside of western medicine
-Acupuncture: Ancient Chinese Method
-Fine needles placed at specific meridian points on body
-used to reduce pain; prevent/manage disorders
-Hypnosis: From greek word "sleep"
-Narrows consciousness: elicits relaxation, inertia, passivity; used for conditions such as smoking cessation, anxiety, pain
-Reiki: Japanese "universal spirit"
-uses life force energy fields to affect health

Expressive writing
telling a story about life events/ personal reactions; useful in disclosing/processing emotions; develops insights into problem-solving.

Assertive Communication
-Need to match statement with intention for effective communication; facilitated by cognitive restructuring
-Nonjudgemental, expresses feelings and opinions, reaffirms perceived goals
-Format: I feel (emotion) when you (behavior) because (explanation).