Stress

Stress is the response of the mind, body and behaviour to stressors. Stress is an individual reaction and depending on your particular response, the stressors may be negative (distress) or positive (eustress). When forces (stressors) within your environment act on you, your mind and body react on the basis of your previous experience, how you perceive the situation and how you perceive your ability to cope with the situation.

We all need stress in our lives, but it is when stress becomes unmanageable that people start to experience problems with their health and wellness.

There are many ways to help relieve stress. Many options for stress relief include proper sleep habits, relaxation techniques, adequate time-management skills, to even getting in some exercise at home in the form of yoga.

Sleep Links:

• How much sleep do we really need?
• How Listening to the Body's Clock Can Help Students Learn Faster & Be More Productive
• Twelve Simple Tips to Improve Your Sleep

Relaxation Links:

• 10 Relaxation techniques that zap stress fast
• Relaxation Techniques for Stress Relief
• Relaxation tips to relieve stress

Time-Management Links:

• Time management: Tips to reduce stress and improve productivity

Yoga Links:

• Yoga for Complete Beginners - Yoga Class 20 Minutes
• Beginner's Yoga Class 20 Minutes
• Yoga Relax - 10 Minutes Gentle Yoga Class
• Yoga for your Back - 20 Minute Yoga Class

Stress Management

Although we can't always control what happens in our day-to-day lives, we can learn how we react to and cope with stressful events. The better we become at adapting and coping with situations, the better we are able to manage the stress in our lives.

Coping Tips

The following are some tips you can use to help you cope with and manage your stress more effectively:

• Seek guidance from peers and colleagues (i.e. study group)
• Take care of your health (i.e. get enough rest, exercise and nutritious foods)
• Seek support from faculty
• Maintain positive relationships with family and friends
• Learn how to improve your time management skills. (The Counselling Department offers Time Management workshops, call 828-5023 for more info.)
• Review activities you participate in to see what is bringing you up and what is bringing you down
• Set boundaries and learn to be assertive. This may mean learning how to communicate your feelings in a more clear and productive way.
• Set limits - learn to say no without feeling guilty
• Take frequent time-outs to rejuvenate yourself (i.e. power naps, exercise breaks, breathing, meditation, music, snacks, social time)
• Choose to make room for leisure activity