Nursing - Stress Management
STRESS Management
According to many physicians, stress is the most common source of illness in modern society (Posen 1995), consisting of both external and internal causes. Generally, external causes of stress are less under our control than internal causes; therefore, most strategies for effective stress reduction relate more to identifying and minimizing internally-caused stress (such as unrealistic standards for ourselves or expectations of others in our lives) than to reducing outside stressors that are less under our control.
Besides addressing the causes, effective stress management also includes physical exercise, personal reflection or formal meditation techniques, and recreational activities that we enjoy. Exercise reduces stress by releasing the energy associated with the buildup of anxiety, mainly because stress is a biological response to accumulated energy that needs to be released. In earlier times, human existence entailed much more physical exertion, but modern life provides much less opportunity to reduce stress in this fashion (Posen 1995). Personal reflection or meditation contributes to stress reduction by providing a mans of addressing issues in our lives for which little time is often available without purposely setting aside time for that purpose (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005).
In that regard, recreational interests often serve a dual purpose by allowing us to release energy in a context that also provides the opportunity to engage in self-reflection that is very similar to mediation. In my particular case, working on my cars and boat serves a stress-reducing role: the activity is physical enough to release energy in the same manner as moderate exercise, and the solitary focus of the activity is conducive to self-reflection that allows me to think about ways of addressing the external sources of stress in my life and helps clear my mind by identifying the avoidable internal causes.
References
Gerrig, R, Zimbardo, P. (2005) Psychology and Life. 17th Edition.
New York: Allyn & Bacon.
Posen, D.B. (1995) Stress Management for Patient and Physician; the Canadian Journal of Continuing Medical Education. Retrieved May 8, 2008, at http://www.mentalhealth.com/mag1/p51-str.html#Head_1
