Stress Management

Stress management is a wide spectrum of techniques and psychotherapies aimed at controlling a person’s level of stress usually for the purpose of and for the motive of improving everyday functioning. In this context, the term ‘stress’ refers only to a stress with significant negative consequences, or distress in the terminology advocated by Hans Selye, rather than what he calls eustress, a stress whose consequences are helpful or otherwise. The process of stress management is named as one of the keys to a happy and successful life in modern society. Although life provides numerous demands that can prove difficult to handle, stress management provides a number of ways to manage anxiety and maintain overall well-being.

OPENING ACTIVITY – Stress Test is a simple opening activity to get the group talking about stress.

The directions are easy:

• Everyone get pen and paper. Tear the paper into 6 pieces
• On each piece of paper, everyone should write about 6 situations that stress them out. (One per paper)
• Gather the papers and pick them one by one. As a paper is picked, the stressor should be read aloud. Then everyone in the group should vote, by show of hands, if they find that situation stressful in their personal viewpoint or not.