Individual Stress Audit - Essay Example

? Management Essay INDIVIDUAL STRESS AUDIT Table of Contents Introduction 3 List of My Stressful Situations 4 Events 4 Situations 4 Responsibilities 4 Pressures 4 Others 5 Signs and Symptoms of Stress 5 The Stress I Handled Well 5 Eustress and Distress 6 Ways of Managing stress 6 References 8 INDIVIDUAL STRESS AUDIT Introduction The aim of this narrative essay is to describe my personal experiences related to stress and various stressful situations. The description also includes the major causes of stress in my life at present, and the ways I handle them. I have also described the particular signs or symptoms of being stressed, which I feel by myself when I am stressed.  The essay is designed in a manner to describe my insight into the stressors in my life and the way they affect me. A list of events, situations, responsibilities, pressures etc. has been compiled, those which I feel are potentially stressful in my life at present. I have also described the situation, which I actually currently experience as stressful. I have also described the stressful situation, which I handle well and which is not stressful any more now. I have also described the signs and symptoms of the stress I personally experience currently and the ways in which I presently attempt to manage my stress and the successful situations.  Accroding to LeFevre, Matheny and Kolt (2003), adverse situations or adverse influences make people respond differently and the response of the people can be described as a set of psychological and physical behaviour, which is called “stress”. They further added that the adverse situation or the adverse influence is an external force is called ‘stressor’ which acts on a person. De Charms (1968) defined stress as the psychological and physical changes in an individual due to external forces. List of My Stressful Situations I wonder if there is any person who does not have any stressful situation in his/ her life. I find people around me free from any stresses. Is it true or is it my dilemma? I have a number of events, situations, responsibilities, pressures, etc. which cause stressful situations in my life. I am presenting some of them below: Events 1. For the past three weeks I scored very low in my weekly class tests and my teachers are not happy with me at all 2. The selection committee of my university didn’t select me for the football team this year for my poor performance in the selection match 3. My father divorced my mother for another woman 4. My sister is dating with a boy whom I hate the most Situations 1. My roommate is a careless and fussy boy and he always keeps the room dirty and untidy 2. My friends and my girlfriend are angry with me as I am not able to give them adequate time since I am terribly occupied with my studies 3. My mother is broken after my father left and she is all alone at home. I need to meet her but I don’t have time Responsibilities 1. I have to score good grades in my finals so that I get a good job at the soonest 2. I have to earn my for myself and my mother and sister as there is no earning member in my family after my father 3. I have to buy a gift for my girlfriend as her birthday is close Pressures 1. I have the dual responsibility of scoring good grades and earning for my studies and livelihood 2. I have to finish the project within two days which I have not started yet and I have a scarcity of time. 3. I need a good job as soon as possible but I need to pursue some professional courses for which I neither have time nor money Others 1. I am a very average looking person with a lean physique and with no charms in my personality and I hardly influence others 2. I am very shy and introvert Signs and Symptoms of Stress Above mentioned events, situations, responsibilities, pressures, etc. are quite stressful for me and they have affected me tremendously and I noticed many physical and psychological signs and symptoms when I am under stress. Most of the time I suffer from headaches and constipation and my mouth dries when I think about my stresses. I also feel weakness and laziness in my body and prefer to smoke to avoid tension and anxious feelings. Whenever I come across a stressful situation my mind goes blank and my palms sweat. On occasions I have fearful and inferior feelings and sometimes feel like crying. The Stress I Handled Well I read Allen (1983) and learnt to handle stress. I realised that stresses can make a person strong also. The most stressful situation for me was to earn and to continue my studies together. I searched for a job and found it, but it was quite stressful for me to manage between my job and studies. I analysed the situation and made a routine which I follow strictly. I made changes in my attitude also and instead of thinking about the problems I started thinking for the brighter side of it. Now I, not only maintain a proper balance between my job and studies but I am also able to spare time for my friends and football practice. I am planning to spare time and visit my mother also to console her and assure her that she does not need to worry as now I am able to take care of her. Eustress and Distress I learnt from my experiences that a stressor can be perceived as distress (negative) or eustress (positive) as per the attitude of the individual. I was in extreme distress earlier but with time I learnt that I had two options – to fight or to surrender, and I opted to fight and taken stressors as the challenges of my life. I also experienced that most of my stressful situations were interrelated and when I analysed them and decided to tackle them one by one I realised that others were resolved automatically. I also learnt that stress is a matter of attitude also and there is no any person who does not have any stressor, but it depends on how the stress is handled. The quantity of stress is mere a factor to describe overload of it. Stress depends on the mindset of the individual and an optimistic person can take stress as challenges but for a pessimistic person they can become threats. Stress can become eustress if the person has the calibre, desire and skills of dealing with stressful situations efficiently. The impacts of stressors vary from person to person depending on the level of fatigue or energy the person has to deal with them. There is no doubt that a person under stress needs support from others and this helps the person in converting the stress into eustress otherwise generally stress becomes distress. Ways of Managing stress Stress is a common situation encountered by all and managing stress entirely depends on the attitude of the person. Allen (1983) said that for some people stressors are challenges and for some they are threats. To manage stressors it is important to believe first that they are manageable and the stressors can be managed efficiently by analysing them properly. The person under stress must consult other people like family or friends and discuss the situation. If they not able to find a solution of the problem, at least talking to them reduces pressure. The person can use his/ her previous experiences in managing stress. Experiences of others with similar situations can also help in managing stress, but the bottom line is that one should believe that stress is a challenge and not threat. References Allen, R. (1983) Human stress: Its nature and control. Burgress Press, Minneapolis, MN. De Charms, R. (1968). Personal causation: The internal affective determinants of behaviour. New York: Academic Press. LeFevre, M., Matheny, J. & Kolt, G.S. (2003). Eustress, distress, and interpretation in occupational stress. Journal of Managerial Psychology, 18 (7), 726-744. Read More