Diane McIntosh - Stress: The Psychology of Managing Pressure

CHAPTER 1
STRESS IN PERSPECTIVE

What is stress?
What it is, and what it isnt

Naturally stressed
A necessary part of life

Can stress be good for us?
A boost to the system

Acquiring resilience
Bend but dont break

The bodys alarm system
The physiology of stress

Identify your stressors
Finding the problem spots

Coping mechanisms
Getting some control

Stressed by nature?
Personality and pressure

Taking it like a man?
Men, women, and stress

Perfectly imperfect
The relief of realistic standards

Self-compassion
Becoming your own comforter

Writing it out
Keeping a stress diary

Am I worth it?
Stress and self-esteem

Finding meaning
Making stress worthwhile

Feeling in control
Understanding our limits

Breaking the worry cycle
Dealing with uncertainty

De-stress your thinking
The power of CBT

How stressed?
Between discomfort and danger

CHAPTER 2
A CONSTANT COMPANION

Pressures of today
Is life more stressful than ever?

Tackling technostress
Coping in the digital age

Balls in the air
The stress of multitasking

Mirror, mirror
Body issues

Secure in love?
Stress and relationships

Not tonight, honey
Sex and intimacy

Pressures of parenthood
Creating a calm home life

In the workplace
Pressure to perform

Job burnout
Knowing when to stop

The pressure to spend
Managing your money

Money worries
Surviving debt and insecurity

Assert yourself
Learning to draw the line

Speaking up
Asking for what you want

Stop crowding me!
Coping with busy spaces

In green places
The time-honored cure of nature

Music and silence
The ear as healer

Stress and older people
Growing old gracefully

Always there for you
How to be a stronger caregiver

Letting things go
The power of forgiveness

Giving thanks
How gratitude can lower stress

CHAPTER 3
STRESS IN THE MOMENT

Turning points
Stress in times of change

The big day looms
Handling performance anxiety

At odds with others
Managing the stress of conflict

I cant stand it!
How to deal with frustration

When love ends
Breakup and divorce

Life after loss
How to deal with bereavement

Learning to face facts
Acceptance and commitment

Breathe in, breathe out
Breath control remedies

Learning to loosen up
Progressive Muscle Relaxation

Take a moment
Mindfulness and meditation

Lets celebrate
Making holidays less stressful

I need a drink
Stress and alcohol

Avoiding avoidance
How to stop stress ruling you

Staying well
Stress and ill health

CHAPTER 4
DE-STRESSING YOUR LIFE

Too much on your plate
How to prioritize

Balancing act
How to juggle work and home

Why free time counts
The value of leisure

Fighting fit
The role of exercise

The walking cure
How to de-stress with a stroll

Mindful movement
De-stressing with yoga and tai chi

Stress and food
Eating under pressure

A good nights sleep
Beating insomnia

The simple life
Decluttering home and habits

Strong enough
How to manage your willpower

Resisting old habits
Staying firm under pressure

Total immersion
The art of finding flow

The human safety net
Friendship and support

Positive talk
The benefits of avoiding complaints

Seeing the funny side
The role of humor

Get creative
Beating stress with arts and crafts

The power of pets
The calming effects of animals

All on your own?
The stress of loneliness

The art of grit
Persistence and passion

CHAPTER 5
RESILIENCE AND RESOLUTION

I dont feel well
The physical symptoms of stress

Big bad wolf
Overcoming an abusive childhood

Taking care
Mental illness facts and fiction

Under a gray cloud
Low mood and depression

Managing fears
Four anxiety disorders

Lifeboat ahoy
Could a therapist help?

Holding steady
Living a resilient life

A ge, race, gender, moneynothing can shield us from having to face stressful situations that might feel difficult, even impossible, to overcome. Nor should they, because stress is an essential part of life. Any experience or situation that makes you feel threatened or overwhelmed is a stressor. Good stress helps you to focus on your goals and complete important tasks. Without stress, we would fail to achieve our greatest accomplishments, because the ones we value most are usually stressful and require a great deal of effort. Bad stress isn't productive and can halt your advancement and dampen your spirits. This book will help you master life's stressors, good or bad, with greater easenot by eliminating stress, but by building on your strengths and encouraging the development of new coping skills.

The five chapters that follow are based on a careful review of the most recent and important scientific research, which has been translated to be relevant and helpful for anyone who wants to feel better able to manage their stress. When youre trying to overcome lifes challenges, particularly the more stressful or unpleasant ones, understanding how your body and your brain react, and how you can influence that reaction, can help you to feel a greater sense of control. focuses on just that, by defining stress and explaining how your body reacts physically and emotionally to scary situations. These pages will help you determine why you feel stressed, which is the first step toward taking control.

We all have our own ways of dealing with stress, but there are some simple yet powerful proven coping techniquesand by understanding their pros and cons, you will be able to choose the strategy that's right for you. How you manage stress must work for you, so that you can develop a realistic, practical plan that fits your own needs.

In , you'll see that you are not alone in feeling stressed when you're coping with the ongoing pressures of day-to-day life. It can sometimes feel like we're juggling many balls and struggling to keep them all in the air. Whether that's in our work or home life, all of us can feel under pressure sometimes, but there are many useful approaches to dealing with stress that can help us lead a more peaceful life, even during busy times and in stressful situations.

We also face the stress of difficult, even life-altering events at some point, such as caring for a loved one during illness, dealing with a painful loss, or living through a difficult divorce. In , youll learn that feeling overwhelmed, sad, or frightened is a completely normal reaction to major stress, but it is possible to learn skills that will help you to endure and build strength as you weather the storms.

discusses the importance of knowing when stress has become so serious that you need to ask for help. While this book aims to help you manage your stress before you're feeling completely overwhelmed, it's good to know there is help available and that you are not alone.

Most importantly, this book is about building resiliencethe ability to bounce back after a very stressful period. If you think of resilience as being your emotional muscles, you might feel that those are a little weak right now. The stress management tools you will learn about in this book will help you to build those muscles by using your existing strengths and further develop them to become a more powerful resource, so in the future when stress happensand it willyoull be able to recover rapidly and without lasting harm. Some people are naturally more resilient than others, but these are skills that anyone can learn throughout life.