10 Steps to Mastering Stress
From the outside, Joe looked
like a classic success story. At age 45, he owned a prof table business, had a
beautiful family, and had just built a new home. Inside, however, Joe felt
miserable. Although he stayed at work later and later each night, he never
seemed to accomplish enough. When he f Nally arrived home, his head was
pounding, and he yelled at his children so often that they began to shy away from
him. Nothing made Joe happy not his business, not his family, and, most of all,
not himself. Each day brought new irritations, until one-day Joe looked around
and realized that he was hurting everything and everyone that mattered to him. Stress
was ruining Joe’s life. He is not alone. Stress is a common problem facing
people in today’s complex world. You can’t see it, hear it, or smell it, yet
stress can threaten both your physical health and psychological well-being.
If you are a chronic worrier, if you push yourself toward perfection each day and then punish yourself for all that you have not accomplished, then you are waging your own battle with stress. Perhaps you are irritable and tense most of the time, and your doctor has said that stress is causing your headaches and upset stomach. Different people react to stress in different ways. Whatever your own response may be, it is important to know one thing: You can learn to master stress and the problems it causes you. Our 10-step program will help you identify what is causing your stress, teach you to relax, and show you how to think more realistically. It will also give you strategies for dealing with the stressful
events life can throw at you. You will emerge calmer and more in control. Picking up this book was your f rest move toward these goals.
The program presented in this book is the result of over three decades of research, f rst at the Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders at the State University of New York at Albany and, more recently, at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston University. This is the largest research center of its kind in the world, and, in recent years, researchers at the center have learned
more about stress than was ever known before. In Australia, we have continued this research in the Centre for Emotional Health at Macquarie University. Hundreds of people who have come to these clinics for help have followed a program like this one and found themselves much biter able to cope with stress.
We have selected four case studies that we will follow throughout the book as they apply each of the 10 steps. These case studies are based on combinations of actual patients we have seen in our clinics. You will see that they have a range of backgrounds and life circumstances, and experience their stress in different ways. Perhaps you will relate to one or more of them. We hope that their examples will illustrate how you can apply our 10 steps to reduce stress in your own life.
If you are a chronic worrier, if you push yourself toward perfection each day and then punish yourself for all that you have not accomplished, then you are waging your own battle with stress. Perhaps you are irritable and tense most of the time, and your doctor has said that stress is causing your headaches and upset stomach. Different people react to stress in different ways. Whatever your own response may be, it is important to know one thing: You can learn to master stress and the problems it causes you. Our 10-step program will help you identify what is causing your stress, teach you to relax, and show you how to think more realistically. It will also give you strategies for dealing with the stressful
events life can throw at you. You will emerge calmer and more in control. Picking up this book was your f rest move toward these goals.
The program presented in this book is the result of over three decades of research, f rst at the Center for Stress and Anxiety Disorders at the State University of New York at Albany and, more recently, at the Center for Anxiety and Related Disorders, Boston University. This is the largest research center of its kind in the world, and, in recent years, researchers at the center have learned
more about stress than was ever known before. In Australia, we have continued this research in the Centre for Emotional Health at Macquarie University. Hundreds of people who have come to these clinics for help have followed a program like this one and found themselves much biter able to cope with stress.
We have selected four case studies that we will follow throughout the book as they apply each of the 10 steps. These case studies are based on combinations of actual patients we have seen in our clinics. You will see that they have a range of backgrounds and life circumstances, and experience their stress in different ways. Perhaps you will relate to one or more of them. We hope that their examples will illustrate how you can apply our 10 steps to reduce stress in your own life.
WHY MASTER STRESS?
In recent years, we have
come to realize just how important controlling stress can be for our well-being.
It has become clear that stress can interfere with many parts of our
lives—stress increases the chance of developing diseases, it increases work
absenteeism, it can lead to relationship difficulties and interpersonal strain,
and it can increase the risk of turning to artificial relaxation such as drugs
and alcohol. On the extreme side, stress increases the risk of developing serious
illnesses in the future, and even on the mild side, stress can reduce our
enjoyment of life.
Stress claims from workers’ compensation have been on the rise. Stress costs the community vast amounts of money each year—both from direct medical and legal claims and from indirect costs associated with missed work, divorce, and accidents. So, as you can see, reducing your stress will be of tremendous benefit, not only to you personally, but also to the community as a whole.
Stress claims from workers’ compensation have been on the rise. Stress costs the community vast amounts of money each year—both from direct medical and legal claims and from indirect costs associated with missed work, divorce, and accidents. So, as you can see, reducing your stress will be of tremendous benefit, not only to you personally, but also to the community as a whole.
Our program will be shared
these steps:
Step 1: Understand Your Stress
Step 2: Relax Your Body
Step 3: Think Realistically
Step 4: Evaluate Consequences
Step 5: Test Predictions
Step 6: Stay Present
Step 7: Take Control
Step 8: Be Assertive
Step 9: Manage Your Time
Step 10: Solve Problems
10 Steps to Mastering Stress
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