Practical Stress Management Training

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Practical Stress management training

Definition of "Stress":
Stress is: A mental and physiological reaction to the environmental pressures and the associated meanings given to them.

Definition of "Stress Management"

Is the art of controlling:

• The focus of your mind
• The physical state of your body

So as to create optimum emotional responses appropriate to the circumstances that face you.

The General Adaptation Syndrome

Hans Selye was the first person to study stress physiology. He was the first to identify this principle, which is true for everyone:

"You can work hard, or you can work long. But nobody can work flat-out for long periods without paying a price".

If the intensity is high, the duration and/ or frequency must decrease.
If the intensity is low, the duration and frequency may increase accordingly.

Anyone who frequently exposes themselves to high intensity stress, for extended periods, eventually meets the inevitable consequence: Burnout.

Three attributes of any stressor:

1. Intensity of the stressors
2. Duration of the stressors
3. Frequency of the stressors

Intensity

Makes reference to the TOTAL LOAD of all the events and stressors in your life.

Duration

Makes reference to the length of time such exposure lasts.

Frequency

Makes reference to the number of times per week of such exposure.

A Law of Nature

You can successfully support a heavy stress, BUT only if you manage the intensity and the frequency of such exposure.

NOTE that: "Intensity" and "Duration /frequency" are mutually exclusive.

You can run hard or you can run long, but nobody can SPRINT a marathon.

Optimum zone

Is the perfect balance of intensity, duration and frequency of stressors such that you feel:

1. Motivated by stress
2. Challenged by stress
3. Inspired by stress

Not

1. Ground down by stress
2. Beaten by stress
3. Overwhelmed by stress

The optimum zone is your target zone

Your goal is to:

1. Reach and
2. Remain in the optimum zone.

Reach and stay in the OPTIMUM ZONE

Question: How?
Answer: Improve your recovery ability

What is "Recovery Ability"?
Recovery ability is the total capacity of your mind-body system to "bounce back" from any environmental, emotional or intellectual setback or stress.

WARNING:
Hardly anyone thinks of developing their recovery ability.

How can you improve my recovery ability?

First, break the problem down into smaller sections. Then solve them one at a time.

The various aspects of Recovery ability in relation to stress management

1. Physiological aspect of stress: Physiology first
2. The emotional element of stress: Management your mind
3. Develop self-confidence
4. The intellectual element of stress: Make the decision
5. The relationship element of stress: Other people

Physiology First

It is a fact that your performance always has a strong physiological element.

Physiological aspects of stress

Specifically, your physiology needs:

1. Oxygen
2. Water
3. Nutrition
4. Rest and sleep
5. Movement

When you need to reclaim your emotional state, remember, PHYSIOLGY FIRST.

Change your physical chemistry

Your life is, from one perspective, an extended chemical reaction.

It starts at the moment of conception and continues until it is interrupted, (hopefully) many years later, on the day you die.

Chemically, you are made from the following 16 elements:

1. Oxygen-about 65%.
2. Carbon-about 18%.
3. Hydrogen-about 10%.
4. Nitrogen-about 3%.
5. Calcium-about 1.5%.
6. Phosphorus-about 1%.
7. Potassium-about 0.35%.
8. Sulphur-about 0.25%
9. Sodium-about 0.15%.
10. Chlorine-about 0.15%.
11. Magnesium-about 0.05%.
12. Iron-about 0.004%.
13. Silicon-very minute amount, to ounce.
14. Fluorine-about 0.004%.
15. Iodine-very minute amount.
16. Manganese-accompanies iron in many tissues.

To change how you feel when you are stressed, you can try fiddling with your physical chemistry.

Many people fiddle with their chemistry.

This is good:

BUT there are two ways to do that:

1. The good way
2. The bad way

Let's look:

Change how you feel by fiddling with your physical chemistry

Option one: The bad way

1. Booze: Alcohol. Attempt to drink yourself happy!
2. Food: comfort eating: Attempt to eat yourself happy!
3. Drugs; Fags: cannabis, "recreational drugs" medication: Take a trip: "Go on a bender"

Option two: The good way

1. Sleep: Sleep your way back to mental health. Rest and recuperation.
2. Nutrition: A championship diet. Give yourself abundant nutritional support.
3. Exercise: Tone, stretch strengthen and invigorate the physical machine.

MOST people get this wrong and go for option one.

They call THAT managing their stress.
We call that "A MAJOR BLUNDER"

We recommend option two

Most people call option two (sleep, nutrition, exercise) "boring"

We call option two "THE ONLY WAY THAT IS GUARENTEED TO WORK".
A thought experiment

Take two identical twins.
Have the first twin follow the

BOOZE< DRUGS< EXCESSIVE EATING model for six years: then see what he looks like after six years of abuse. Ask him how he feels. He will say "Terrible!"

Have more sleep, excellent nutrition, and good exercise programme model for six years: then see what you look like after six years of excellence.

Take back control of your physical body

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