--Original published at Sydney’s Side

It is important to note, to effectively manage stress, there must be a multitude of strategies used. One coping technique it not going to help with different types of stress. The website “Everyday Health” published an article entitled “College Life: 10 Ways to Reduce Stress.” It is targeted toward college students and the tips pertain to activities many college students struggle with. Some examples of the strategies are; get enough sleep, eat well, and exercise. These strategies are likely to be successful if the student does them accurately. Many of the tips are everyday things forgotten or not done correctly due to the student’s workload. By practicing these strategies there is less stress created in the first place.  Many of the tips given in the article are considered problem-focused coping, meaning the strategies are directly aimed at the stressor. One example of this would be, not overloading with course work or a job. If an individual only takes on what they can handle, there will be less stress created in the first place. Overall the strategies can be helpful but will not completely eliminate stress for college students because college is stressful.  

“Child Development” also published an article to help with stress, but it applies more to parents. It is entitled “Stress Management for Parents” and similar to the previous article, the tips pertain to issues that parents struggle with. All the strategies given to cope with stress are emotion-focused coping which means they focus on feelings resulting from the stressor. The strategies would be effective, parents cannot aim their coping strategies to get rid of stress because it is probably their children. Some examples from the article are deep breathing and taking a mental vacation. If the individual pretends to be in a location where they feel calm and involve as many senses as possible. This can relieve stress and take the person’s mind off the stressor. At the bottom of the article there are a list of stress reducers which are all problem-focused coping because they are strategies to avoid stress. They include making a duplicate key to avoid being locked out, preparing a meal plan the night before, and waking up fifteen minutes earlier in the morning. They all would allow a parent to avoid the stress of last-minute complications with kids. 

Finally, Ohio State University published an article entitled “The P.E.R.F.E.C.T. way to help young athletes reduce stress” which applies to athletes. Many of the strategies have to do with practicing mindfulness which focuses on developing nonjudgmental awareness, acceptance, and staying in the present. The tips include positive self-talk, focus on the now, and chill out. The article claims the strategies will help athletes focus on themselves instead of the expectations others put on them. The strategies seem like they will help because there are many studies based on mindfulness-based stress reduction that make it reliable. Also, if the stress if coming from the pressure put on the athletes, practicing mindfulness will allow the athletes to only focus on themselves which will get rid of the stressor. 

College students: https://www.everydayhealth.com/college-health/college-life-10-ways-to-reduce-stress.aspx  

Parents: https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/family-living/stress/#.W9y4B2hKjrc  

Athletes: https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/perfect-method-reduces-athlete-stress

--Original published at Jayln's Perspective

For our second Spotlight Blog Post, I have decided to focus on evaluating different stress relieving techniques. As we learned in class, stress is a response to a situation, threatening one’s sense of well-being. Different groups of people, such as students, athletes, and parents, all deal with various types of either acute (short-term) or chronic (long-term) stressors, thus it is important to see what kinds of strategies most effectively alleviate stress.

College Students

College students are prone to experiencing large amounts of acute stress. A few examples of acute stress could be an upcoming test, going home over break, or submitting a research paper. Although all of these stressors are different, they are all examples of short-term stress. This means even though college students get extremely worked up and stressed out over these examples, they are acute stressors meaning there is an end in sight. According to Melissa Cohen, who wrote the first website I visited called, “Student Guide to Surviving Stress and Anxiety in College and Beyond,” describes college student’s stress as being episodic acute, meaning they experience short term stress quite frequently. I was interested in this article because it focuses on how stressful testing situations can be, and as a college student, I often feel overwhelmed when I think about my own upcoming tests. Cohen provides many tips on how college students can reduce their anxiety before they go to take the exam. The first tip she discusses is studying effectively and efficiently. Based on what we discussed in class, studying effectively for an exam is a type of constructive strategy known as problem-focused coping. This means by preparing effectively for an exam, the stressor is being tackled directly. Another stress relieving technique she suggests before taking a test is to get a good night’s rest, eat a balanced breakfast, and to limit caffeine intake. Cohen says getting a good night’s sleep and eating breakfast makes college students feel calmer and less stressed going into test day. Also, since caffeine is a stimulate, it speeds up the Central Nervous System, which inhibits the body in terms of feeling relaxed. She then discusses how regular exercise not only provides physiological benefits, but it can also provide psychological benefits, such as easing a stressed-out mind. Cohen then discusses how college students also suffer from negative self-thoughts. Since college can be very difficult at times, she explains students must practice positive self-talk. If stressed-out students go into a testing situation, already feeling defeated, then they are setting themselves up for failure. Just as we discussed in class, she touches on how important social support can be for college students when they are feeling overwhelmed. Talking to someone about stress is another constructive strategy known as emotion-focused coping. Cohen closes by expressing how getting involved in a sports team, club, or pursuing a hobby is not only a great way to alleviate stress, but it is also a perfect way to get involved around campus.

Athletes

Athletes of all types and skill levels are often faced with high levels of stress when they realize what is expected of them during practices and games. Just like in college students, the type of stress athletes face is usually acute stress because their game schedules allow them to see an end in sight. On the Sports Psychology website, Aaron Moffett wrote an article targeting athletes which provides a variety of stress relieving techniques. He begins by saying all stress is not necessarily bad. For athletes, a little bit of healthy stress can actually enhance performance. This “good stress” is known as eustress, which can result from the responsibility of leading the team during practice. The “bad stress,” or distress, stems from poor performance in a big game. Moffett says athletes respond to negative stressors in one of three ways. First, they could have a physiological response, which could mean their heartbeat speeds up before a big game. Second, they could have a specific behavioral response, such as nervously passing back and forth. Lastly, athletes could have a cognitive response to a stressor, which could result in them thinking negatively about themselves. He advises athletes to match how they respond to stress with a specific coping strategy. Athletes who respond to stress in a physiological manner should try implementing certain breathing and muscle relaxing techniques. Inhaling and exhaling deeply and calmly will slow the heart rate, and it can also help get more oxygen to the muscles. Those who respond to stress with a certain behavior should first analyze whether or not it is a positive or negative behavior. For example, when some athletes get stressed, they respond with drinking or smoking. These are two examples of detrimental behavioral responses, and they are also ineffective coping strategies. Instead of responding to stress with a potentially harmful behavior, Moffett encourages athletes to either write “to-do” lists or to exercise. By writing lists, a person will feel more in control over what is stressing them out. As mentioned before, exercise has many positive psychological and physiological benefits. Lastly, those who respond to stress with an “I can’t do this” type of attitude need to utilize cognitive coping strategies. For example, it is important for athletes to practice positive self-talk. If an athlete struggles with defense, they should not respond with “I just can’t do this.” Instead, he should focus on how great his offense is, and continually challenge himself to improve defensively.

Parents

 Parenting is no doubt an extremely stressful job. The type of stress parents feel is not just acute, but they also feel a lot of chronic stress as well. For example, worrying about children is extremely different from worry about an upcoming test. The test anxiety has an end in sight, whereas the stress parents feel for their children lasts their whole lives. The article I visited called, “Stress Management for Parents” describes the constant tension parents feel as “chronic tension.” When parents feel worried, their bodies respond with fight or flight, the body’s natural response to threats. The article’s focus is primarily on techniques that relax the mind. The first tip discussed is called progressive relaxation. Tense parents are instructed to tighten each muscle group, and then after a few seconds, the muscles should be released. This technique relaxes both the mind and the body. The next tip discussed focuses on breathing. When a parent gets stressed or anxious, their breathing often gets shallow, which decreases oxygen flow to the rest of the body. The article instructs parents to spend 5-10 minutes a day correctly breathing. By laying on your back, placing your hands on your ribs, and focusing on taking deep breathes, the mind is relaxing, and the body is then fully oxygenated. The next tip recommended is taking a mental vacation. In class, we discussed how effective this strategy can be. When taking a mental vacation, you first picture a place where you feel calm. Then, using as many senses as you can, you put yourself there and imagine how it must feel. This technique engages the mind and provides relaxation.

The three articles I visited all mentioned how negative stress can be detrimental. Each article revealed healthy techniques, very similar to the ones we discussed in class, for college students, athletes, and parents.

https://www.learnpsychology.org/student-stress-anxiety-guide/

https://appliedsportpsych.org/resources/health-fitness-resources/stress-management-tips-for-good-health/

https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/how-to-be-a-parent/angry_child/stress/#.W92eLi-ZNQJ

--Original published at RachelsCollegeBlog

There are multiple things or events that can cause someone stress, these are called stressors. Some stressors include, daily hassles, traumatic events, and different life changes. There are many strategies that people can participate in to relieve stress. Everybody is unique, and one strategy may work for one person but not for another.

The first site that I came across provided stress management tips for athletes. Some of the stress management tips that they provided included, have a support system, have a positive attitude and participate in other physical activities. Most of the strategies that were provided have a possibility of being successful. A support system is a coping strategy that has been shown to have a positive effect on decreasing stress levels. Sometimes you just need a hug or someone to talk to. Having a support system will allow for you to have hope for the future and confidence in your own abilities. Having a positive attitude or being more optimistic is a good stress management strategy as well. When someone is optimistic they are able to better cope with stress and stressful situations as well as have better health in both eh short and long term. Those that are optimistic also have smaller increases in their blood pressure during times of stress. Finally, participating in other recreational activities can help manage stress as well. Regular physical activities have been shown to have a positive impact on both mental and physical health. Exercise reduces stress as well as mild depression. Aerobic activities have also been shown to put people in a better mood, as people who participate in aerobic activities express more self-confidence and a decrease in fatigue.

The second site that I found was directed towards college students. Obtain emotional support, get enough sleep, and breathe were a few stress management strategies that the website referenced. Emotional support is a good stress management strategy, as it allows you to talk about what is stressing you out. This is a constructive strategy called emotion-focused coping. The strategy is when you focus on the feelings that are involved in what is stressing you, the emotional support them comes from family and friends. This allows you to get what is causing you stress off of your chest. People who sleep do not leave enough time to sleep, end up being fatigued and lack alertness. This increases the amount of stress that a person may be under. When getting a decent night’s sleep, you are allowing yourself to be less fatigued allowing you to be more productive during the day, decreasing the amount of stress you are under. Breathing is a large part of relaxation and relaxation techniques that reduce stress. Those who have used relaxation techniques have been shown to have less stress. Breathing techniques have also been shown to reduce suffering and improve compassion and insight.

The third sight that I found was directed towards teachers. Some of the stress management tips that they provided included keeping a journal, make time for faith, and make time for physical affection. Keeping is a strategy that allows you to write down your stresses, allowing you to get the issue off of your chest. Faith is a something that allows people to destress themselves. Lack of control is a large factor that plays into stress, which is why religion is a technique that can be used to manage stress. Religion allows you to have control over yourself, which is something that allows you to reduce stress because you have control over something. In most religions you also have a support group, as people in religious groups are there for one another. Physical affection is also something that the website mentioned to be a technique to manage stress. This is something that may help for some, as it provides support both positive physically and emotionally support.

https://www.recruitingrealities.com/blog/5-stress-management-tips-for-student-athletes

https://www.everydayhealth.com/college-health/college-life-10-ways-to-reduce-stress.aspx

http://www.coolcatteacher.com/manage-teaching-stress/

--Original published at Rachel Bickelman's PSY 105 Blog

Website 1: Athletes – https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/blog/perfect-method-reduces-athlete-stress

The first website provides stress management tips for athletes using the “P.E.R.F.E.C.T.” acronym. This method os stress management targets building one’s self-esteem and managing the pressure athletes may feel from their coaches or selves. The P.E.R.F.E.C.T. acronym is as follows: positive self talk, embracing adversity, reverse engineering, focusing on the now, evolve, chill out, and talk it out. Positive self talks and embracing adversity are important because each can affect secondary appraisal, if athletes build up their confidence towards handling stress and having the belief they are capable of reaching their goals, stress will diminish. Secondary appraisal is key in combating stress because the belief in oneself to overcome stress has a key impact in how stress plays a role in everyday life. Those with low secondary appraisal will not manage their stress as people will high secondary appraisal because they will feel incapable, hopeless, and weak. Reverse engineering could also manage stress, this tip is a problem-approach to stress meaning it logically tackles the root the problem and finds different solutions to the stressors. While the problem based technique works psychologists highlight the importance of tackling the emotional repercussions of stress. This emotion based stress management is incorporated through the “chill out” and “talk it out.” These techniques are helpful for when athletes may get in their head and rather than tackling the stressor logically, may need emotional support to help them cope. It is known that self-disclosure to trusted peers and mentors is important in stress reduction. Additionally, everybody has a different way of dealing with stress, so the website also suggest evolving, trying new hobbies. By doing so, the website states having different endeavors can help diversify your life, i.e. get away from stressors, and allow athletes to grow. While finding something one is passionate about and enjoys may aid in stress management, it could also add to the stress if the athlete is continually ignoring the stressors and simply substituting it for different activities; thus, they would not fix the stressor itself. A majority of these strategies are both cognitive and behavioral; all are adaptive as they do not add in complications or stressors.

Website 2: Children/Parents – https://psychcentral.com/lib/7-tips-for-helping-your-child-manage-stress/

PsychCentral presents 7 tips to reduce stress in children. These tips highlight problem-focused coping to teach children how to problem-solve and approach stressors in a healthy manner versus maladaptive coping strategies like food, drugs, alcohol, or self-harm. By doing so, children can learn primary appraisal, how to quantify and understand the stressor. These tips are problem-focused coping because it effects the stressor at its source; the website suggests avoiding over scheduling children and allowing them time to play. The emotion-focused coping suggested includes talking to children and ensuring they know mistakes are not setbacks. This could increase secondary appraisal, and foster kid’s belief in themselves to cope with stress and overcome stressors. An additional tip is just for parents recommending they show as little stress around their children as possible to prevent both lashing out, unhealthy self-disclosure, and observational learning. If children see their parents coping with stress in unhealthy ways, observational learning will take place and children will mimic the parent’s ways. Finally, the website suggests reminding children to assess how they are feeling. It is important to remember the physiological and biological consequences of stress especially because of its correlation with future health status.

Website 3: Students – https://campusmindworks.org/help-yourself/self-care/managing-stress/

The University of Michigan has a website page dedicated to stress management and coping. Again they offer mostly problem-focused coping strategies and while problem solving is important in coping with stress, usually a mixture of both problem and emotional strategies are necessary. The webpage does include self-disclosure, or “venting” to friends and family. They incorporate optimism into many of their strategies, which is a good tip. Optimism has shown to be a quality of those with better quality of life and longer lives. The webpage also highlights to avoid pushing yourself too hard, this is important when considering general adaptation syndrome. When the body is exposed to stressors for too long, it reaches exhaustion since its resistance has been depleted. Another coping strategy the webpage includes is meditation, breathing exercises, and visual imagery. Visual imagery has its benefits; because the brain is so easily influenced, imagining relaxing sceneries and engaging your senses with those relaxing environment can help in temporarily reducing stress. This type of stress coping strategy is part of the mindfulness based stress reduction technique. While the strategies suggested are all good, they mostly focus on problem-solving tactics and do not highlight the importance of regular exercise and social support.

--Original published at AlyssaM

Source 1: College Students

The first source lists 10 ways for college students to manage their stress. Several of them we discussed in class as beneficial such as, exercise, getting enough sleep, having a social support system, and taking a moment to breathe. However, there were a few the article listed that were not discussed in class. One is to eat well, or so it suggests. There is not a lot of support backing it up and simply claims it is “leading to lower threshold for stress,” yet it provides no evidence. I feel eating well would only benefit health and has nothing to do with stress. If people tried only eating better, they would not be successful in dealing with their stress because it is not dealing with the stressor in an Emotion-Focused Coping or Problem-Focused Coping method.

Secondly, the article mentions “avoiding unnatural energy boosters” such as energy drinks students are addicted to. For this they claim it deals with stress because then it doesn’t result in sleep lost. Really the issue here is the sleep not the energy drinks and they hardly provide incite as to that. This method could work, if the energy from the boosters are keeping the individual awake at night, but otherwise it may not always be the best method.

The article suggests making time for passions, even if there is a ton of work to be done. Doing something one enjoys, is a good way to de-stress and it helps most people put it from their mind. I agree that this method is a strong one in dealing with stress, although it does not eliminate the stressor because it is using the Emotion-Focused Coping to do something fun that the individual enjoys – while the stressor is right there still waiting. Generally though, this is a good method and works well taking the college student’s minds away from the work and deadlines to have a little own-self-time.

Source 2: Parents

Parents like teens stress a lot, even if they never let it show, so this article has a few suggestions as to what they can do to deal with it. One they mention seeking guidance from professionals, such as a therapist or a psychologist. This can be a good method because the psychologists are well informed on the topic and that is there job to help others with their situation. It can be a successful method, but it may not work for every parent due to not having time to fit it in, or they don’t want to get outside help.

Luckily, this article has backup suggestions in case one of the methods do not work for everyone. The second it suggests is an effective method, spending time with family and putting all other tasks aside. Having a good time with family is a good way to take the mind off, while (potentially) engaging in exercise like running around the yard, or playing a game of soccer with the dog. Plus this method helps strength the bond between those all involved in the time, regardless if it is exercise or sitting together for a meal. Being around people that care about you and you care for helps ease one’s mind.

However, as the article suggests it is important to take time for oneself as well, otherwise one could get emotionally exhausted. Every now and then even parents need to take alone time and do something they want to do like reading a book because it will refresh their mind.

The article also suggests using support systems. As discussed in class having good close friends and social groups to raise one up, is a great method. The friends can be there to be a shoulder to lean upon in to help emotionally if needed, or they may offer advice as to what to do to get rid of the stress that is hanging above the parent like a storm cloud. As we know from class and reading the studies in the textbook, it is important to have a support group because every now and then we all need a friend to tell us it is going to be okay.

Source 3: Writers

Finally, the source I chose deals with stress management for writers. I myself am a writer, so I know what methods do and don’t work for me at least. However, one of my methods to dealing with stress is writing, so that is a different story.

The article starts off by suggesting the writer sets a realistic goal. I understand how hard it can be to reach getting to a certain point by a certain day. However, I the article talks about setting goals as in pages or words written, but that can create more stress than it eliminates. Putting the bar too high can definitely add to stress, so I agree making realistic standards is a good idea, but still if it is how much content there is it can create a problem. A better suggestion would be to set a goal of how long to focus on writing each day.

Like the first article, it suggests eating nutrients to add more energy and keep the creative mind thinking. It also suggests exercise again because writers sit a lot, so they need to get up and do more sometimes. I agree these can be helpful methods in this case and are definitely beneficial.

It advises writers if they are stressed to try a different genre of writing. I disagree that this is a good method. Trying a different genre that a writer is not familiar with can create a heck of a lot more stress than initially. It is better to stick with what they know because writers can find comfort in their bubble. Save the experimenting with different genres for when one is not extremely stressed out and using writing as a way to cope.

Another it suggests is imagining the finished result, whether it is the published version, or just finished manuscript. This could be a successful method because it helps the writer remember the end goal and it could create the feeling that the “happy” place we talked about in class can.

A helpful method it suggests is to “free your mind,” which can include Mindfulness Meditation as a way to clear the mind. When it comes to writer’s block it is best not to think about it and let other thoughts wander the brain. Going for a walk or simply changing tasks can help clear the mind and then the imagination will have gotten a chance to replenish and maybe will have formed an idea in the process.

Regardless of all three sources, each method they suggest has its good points and its bad. Still though stress is like a person, it is different for each individual and there is no right way to deal with it; one must find their own methods that are the most beneficial for them.