Introduction
Definition of stress
Any factor (including emotional, physical, social, economic, etc) that requires a mental or physical adaptive response. These factors or demands can be real or imagined. They can be outside the body or within.
List the 7 greatest sources of stress in your life
Costs of stress
3 out of 4 employees are overly stressed at their jobs. Stress accounts for ¾ of all visits to physicians’ offices. A USA Today report states that 550 million days of work are lost annually, 60-80% of which are due to stress related illness.
The physical consequences of job stress are staggering – estimated to cost more than $200 billion annually. That’s more than the after-tax profits of all of the Fortune 500 companies combined!
Sources of stress
Finances
Business partners, colleagues or customers
Isolation – home design, office, computers
Media – violence, sarcasm, anger, poor relationship role models
Home maintenance
Family or personal illness
World, national or local affairs
Information overload
Neighbors
Children
Relatives
Work
Physical effects of stress
Decreases immune system function
Increases risk of premature death
Increases rate of mental hospitalization
Increases risk of complication in pregnant women
Increases risk of clinical depression
Twice as likely to develop illness
Releases cortisol which results in fat deposits around midsection
Memory and attention problems
Increases blood pressure and risk for heart disease
Increases anger
Behavioral effects of stress
Isolation
Increases arguing
Appetite changes
Overeating/obesity
Increases smoking, drinking, drug use
Impulse behavior
List 7 most important things in your life
Compare your ‘stress’ list to your ‘most important’ list
Rank your ‘important’ list in order of priority
When you don’t live according to you internal priority list (realized or not), you will experience internal conflict and stress leading to stress.
‘Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony’ Mohatma Gandhi
Sample lists
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