In our society today many people live such
a fast-paced life that is full of hassles, demands, and frustrations that can
be overwhelming at times which can lead to stress. Stress can make you feel
like your life is out of balance. Every person has different stressors that can
affect them in many diverse ways. Here are my five top stressors:
v College
v Work
v Finances
v Social/personal relationships
v Change
There are certain things that contribute to
each of the stressors that can trigger my stress.
v College is something that
is very time consuming, and very rewarding at the same time. However, I am
currently taking a full course load that includes 18 hours. Taking this many
classes at once is difficult and takes a lot of organizing when it comes to
managing the course load. The triggers that cause my stress related to college
is the deadlines that it creates. I have an average of 12 assignments due a
week, which can be overwhelming to a person that works a full-time job. Most of
the time I have multiple assignments due on the same day, which can trigger my
stress because it gives me the sense of being on a time crunch.
v There are many things
that trigger stress related to my work. I am a full-time nanny that cares for a
two year old, and a nine month old baby. The biggest trigger of stress is the
fact that I am responsible of caring for someone else’s children, and during my
work hours I am constantly worried that something bad might happen to one of
the children and I would forever hold myself guilty for that. Another trigger
of stress is one of their children has speech difficulties, and at times he
gets frustrated when we are not able to understand what he is wanting. It adds
stress to me because I am there to meet his needs as a child and it is
heartbreaking when there is a barrier of speech.
v Financial issues is
another factor in the stress involved in my life. The biggest triggers to my
financial issues are student loan payments for school, rent and a car payment.
All these are big financial responsibilities for a young adult that is still
trying to finish a college education.
v Being single in a big
city means a person needs to be social to interact with others. A stress
trigger in my social life is going on dates. I am constantly worried about
making a good impression, and what their opinions are on me.
v The stress triggers on my
change stressors are the idea of having to get a new job after graduating
college with the possibility of having to move towns. The idea of the
unexpected triggers stress in my life.
When a person is stressed out the body
reacts just as if were facing a life-or-death situations and the fight-or-flight
response kicks in. Exposure to stress over a long period of time can lead to
serious health problems. The physical strains the stress puts on my body is a decrease
in my immune systems which leads to frequent colds. Also, I experience issues
with my digestive system along with body aches. Not only can stress have an
impact on the physical part of the body it plays a major role in the psychological
response. When I am stressed over work,
school, money, personal relationships, and a fear of change it takes over my
mind and feelings. I start to feel over-whelmed as if everything is start to
get out of my control, which leads to a slight feeling of anxiety. At times I
find myself being moody that often makes me short-tempered. One of the biggest
issue I face is self-esteem. I feel as if I am not confident with my appearance
so it takes over my entire demeanor.
Personal Stress Management Plan:
v Good time management. Improving how I spend my
time will give me greater control of my life.
v Stop procrastinating. Putting things off until
the last minute just increases my stress level.
v Perfection doesn’t exist. There is always room for
improvements, but everyone has imperfections.
v Well rested. Getting a good night
sleep will rest the mind and body which will help decrease the stress levels.
v Create to-do list. Being more organized
with a busy schedule will help with the feeling of being overwhelmed.
v Debt-reduction plan. Creating a monthly
spreadsheet of when bills that need to be paid.
v Have confidence. Presenting myself with
more confidence will allow me to be more calm and relaxed.
v Stay positive. When challenges arise
look at them for a chance of personal growth.
v Set aside time. Have time in everyday to
rest and relax. Do something that I personally enjoy.
Rational: After
adding this stress reduction techniques in my everyday life I am hoping to be
more organized, relaxed, with a positive outlook on life. Overall, these techniques
should lower my level of stress.
After putting my
personal stress management plan into effect for one week I was able to see a
big improvement in my overall stress levels, and organization skills. Adding
these specific techniques in my life allowed me to have more control of how I spent
my time, which abled me to have some time at the end of the day to relax and
enjoy myself. Each day I felt well rested and less stressed. I am going to
attempt to make this a permanent change in my life.
