Stress Coping: Reduce Your Stress

Discover Your Stress Level
Stress in Today's Workplace
Stress And Your Health
Relaxation Techniques
Body Awareness Exercise

Each of us has unique trigger points for stress. What determines the trigger point is your perception of the event that is causing the stress, as well as its intensity and duration. Often, an event is not perceived as being stressful unless it has some significance to the person experiencing it.

Sometimes you can avoid stress, but much of life’s stress — divorce, losing your job, children getting into trouble, caring for a relative with a serious disease, preparing for an exam at school — is unavoidable.

The negative effect of stress can be minimized with the development of “buffering skills.” Buffering skills help make the brain react less to stress. This means that the brain will release less stress hormones, which damage your health. People who incorporate buffering skills into their lives will see less stress-related negative effects on their health.

You can learn “buffering skills” to minimize the activation of the stress-reactive areas of the brain [again, simplify the language]. The principal buffers include:

• Have a social support system that you enjoy and can depend upon.
• Be optimistic that things will go well for you and that problems that occur will not alter your basic belief that you are a good and well-liked person.
• Have a sense of humor so that you can find amusement in events and can even laugh at yourself.
• Be physically fit as appropriate for your age, rather than being sedentary.
• Have a belief system in religion or have a spiritual nature that allows you to relax and calm yourself when faced with stress.

Some good ways to reduce stress include:

• Spending time with friends.
• Going for a walk.
• Laughing.
• Trying to see the glass as half-full, so that you know you will be able to handle whatever is causing your stress.
• Participating in activities that have meaning to you, such as religious or spiritual activities.
• Practicing deep breathing.
• Listening to guided imageries.
• Practicing meditation.
• Writing about what bothers you.

The UPMC Healthy Lifestyle Program provides programs to help educate you and to help you develop the skills you need to reduce the impact of stress on your health. For more information on coping with stress, contact us.