In this video Dr Sarah Wrigley explains how we can learn to manage our stress.
As mentioned in the video, a good way to overcome your stress is to break it down into manageable chunks. We can do this by:
- Describing how stress affects our thoughts
- Describing how stress affects our actions and behaviours
- Describing how stress affects our body
It is these three areas which feed our stress cycles
Stressful Thoughts
Stress and worry affect the way we think and the way we think affects stress. This results in a vicious circle and helps keep stress alive. If you control your thoughts, this will help control your stress. To learn how to identify and control unhelpful thoughts click here
Stressful Body Symptoms
We can reduce our physical stress symptoms by getting rid of the things that will make it worse, such as alcohol and cigarettes. To learn about other factors which might be contributing to our stress click here
We can also learn how to reduce these symptoms in the short term and long term. You can get a good idea on how to manage the unpleasant physical symptoms of stress with the help of our stress management booklet.
One good technique to manage the physical strain of stress is ‘progressive muscular relaxation’. This technique will help you learn how to relax your body. When your body is relaxed then you can identify the onset of stress a lot quicker. Listen to some of our progressive muscular relaxation exercises below.
Progressive Muscle Relaxation (Male Voice)
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Short Relaxation (Male Voice)
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Progressive Muscle Relaxation (Female)
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Short Relaxation (Female Voice)
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Stressful Actions and Behaviours
:One way of coping with stress is to identify any unhelpful actions or behaviours that may be contributing to our stress. Our booklet will help you learn ways to identify and manage unhelpful actions and behaviours.
The Cycle of Stress
All these factors combine to give you that general feeling of stress and make it difficult to know where to start dealing with stress.
We have developed 4 booklets which cover all these areas of stress. This will help you understand why you get stressed and more importantly it will give you the knowledge to help you manage your stress. The booklets contain tips, techniques and strategies that are designed to help you deal with your stress.
If you would like to read all about these skills and how to apply them into your life, then you can visit our download area.
If you would like to learn how to control your stressful thoughts, stressful bodily symptoms and stressful behaviours then you can try our stress management classes. You need to be registered with a Newcastle GP.
