PSY103
- IDENTIFICATION
As humans, we come into contact with situations called stressors that disturb our peace and therefore cause stress. These stressors, though short term, usually result in long-term impacts. Stressors can originate from our problems or social problems (McCann, 2016). Currently, the situations that are causing stress in my life are environment-based. With the current global pandemic inform of COVID-19, I have been anxious about our fate, especially taking into consideration the impact that the epidemic has had on America. Going out to get food, I cannot help but feel insecure about contracting the virus. On top of that, the virus has me worried about my family back at home, especially my parents hoping that they survive this pandemic. Additionally, considering that I will be working in the healthcare industry after school, I cannot help but worry about my fate if another outbreak should breakout in the future.
- ANALYSIS
Since every human being is bound to experience, I have adopted several tactics that I use to help me relieve the stress. One of the tactics that I have chosen is using distractions (Scott, 2020). According to Scott (2020), distractions are known to be among the most effective ways of reducing stress. Distractions re-direct your mind away from the pressing issue, therefore, helping in reducing the stress associated with such situations. The other technique that I have adopted for reducing stress is taking walks. When I am under stress, I take nature walks, for instance, to the park or go hiking. Nature has a way of helping me relax my mind and deal with stressful situations. Finally, my rapid stress reliever technique is concentrating on my breathing. When I need to relieve stress immediately, for instance, when I am under stress about a job interview, I close my eyes and breath in and out slowly for a few seconds. This helps me lower the stress levels immediately.
- APPLYING YOUR SOLUTIONS
Going through the text, I learned about stress moderators that I was not aware of before. One such stress moderator is sleep. According to McCann (2016), long hours of sleep help in improving the cognitive functioning of the brain, which is responsible for problem-solving. Considering how much of a sleep fan I am, I believe that this is a method of stress management that is worth trying. The other strategy is using meditation. Meditation is a Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), a technique that is known for improving awareness and mental reaction to stressful situations. Finally, engaging in physical activity such as exercise is also an effective stress reduction technique (McCann, 2016).
References
McCann, V. (2016). Human relations: The art and science of building effective relationships. Pearson.
Scott, E. (2020). Effective Stress Relievers for Your Life. Stress Management Techniques. Very Well Mind. Retrieved from https://www.verywellmind.com/tips-to-reduce-stress-3145195