Managing Stress



Managing Stress

Normal, expected reactions after hearing of the need for lifestyle changes:

➢ Feeling overwhelmed

➢ Feeling angry

➢ Feeling that you can never meet the expectations of others

➢ Feeling like your life is being intruded upon by people telling you what to do

➢ Feeling a sense of loss about the changes in your life

➢ Thinking "there's no way I can do all that they are asking"

➢ Thinking "I don't want to change my diet/job/lifestyle"

➢ Thinking "nothing I do will make a difference in my health anyway because it's genetic/ too late/ just the way it is"

➢ Thinking "these changes take too much time away from the rest of my life"

➢ Physical tension

➢ Shallow breathing

➢ Bracing yourself

➢ Anxiety/Anger ( increased heart rate, blood pressure, adrenaline( all revved up and no place to go

Goals of the program:

1. Increase your awareness of the signals that your body is giving you that you are under stress

2. Identifying situations that are likely to produce stress

3. Learning relaxation techniques to reduce physical stress

4. Identifying traps in thinking that can maintain stress

5. Communicating more effectively with family, medical team

6. Taking time for pleasure

7. Maintaining changes that you have made in diet, exercise, stress management

UMass Department of Psychiatry

Health Psychology Program

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