Course Description:
No matter what you call it; stress affects your quality of life. The purpose of this course is to help you understand what this feeling is, what causes it, what perpetuates it, and some basic tools and strategies for overcoming it. This course is intended to help overcome the patterns of discomfort and/or avoidance that undoubtedly interfere with life goals, communication, social situations, relationships, work, and more.
Stress occurs as a consequence of a threat of potential or actual loss of valued resources. The assumption is that people strive to establish, amass, retain, protect, and build resources. Psychological stress occurs when there is a threat of a net loss of these resources; when there is actual loss of resources; or when there is a lack of resource gain following the investment of resources. Resources can be things like money, can be personal characteristics, skills or creativity, relationships, intangibles such as seniority, or psychic states such as self-esteem.
By the end of this course, you will:
Provide education to promote insight into the physiological and psychological effects of stress and its impact on health.
Facilitate the exploration and identification of the nature and extent of individual stressors and the difference between acute vs. chronic stress
Explore factors contributing to stress: personal/work
Explain the General Adaptation Syndrome
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Promote the development of individualized effective coping mechanisms such as:
Self-monitoring of dietary and sleeping needs.
Relaxation training and seeking flow/mindfulness
Use of imagery
Group support, relationships and social connections
Food as medicine
Exercise