Get Tough With Stress

Many years ago the American journalist and sociologist Alvin Toffler predicted that the rate of change in modern civilisation would accelerate to such a degree that enormous numbers of people would experience shattering stress and disorientation. Toffler described this condition as Future Shock. Most countries are now seriously feeling the impact of global change. The effects of change reach into every crevice of life putting people more and more under pressure. Human biological evolution is lagging behind developments in technology and lifestyle. Physiological and psychological stress emerges as a result of a growing deficit between daily demands and coping resources. Today it is virtually impossible to avoid stress. Many try but find that the avoidance strategies they use frequently generate more stress than the amount they are trying to reduce. To cope with the stress of life people need to get tough. A new word has been coined in the social sciences to describe stress-toughness ... the word is HARDINESS. This book will show you how to use stress as a positive, stimulating life-force. It will provide you with knowledge and skills that will enable you to confidently cope with the stressors of life. The strategies in this book are practical, easy to implement and proven to work. We aim to place you in control of your stress and give you tools that will maintain that control. Get Tough With Stress has been presented as a Seminar in many countries throughout the world and is consistently rated as one of the most useful stress management programs on offer today. This book will provide you with the information that is presented in the Seminar so that no matter where you live you can apply it to your immediate needs and situation. This book also includes interviews with people just like you who have been successful in managing their stress. They explain, frankly and honestly, how they did it and give you some practical tips and suggestions that you can apply in your own life. As an added bonus we also include some Stress Reduction Hobbies for you to consider and interviews with people who have reduced their stress through these hobbies. Throughout the book we have included links to additional information so that you can explore, in more detail, particular topics that may arouse your interest. What is Stress? It is different things to different people. To a mountaineer it is the challenge of pushing physical resources to the limit by striving to achieve a demanding goal. To the homeward bound motorist it can be the hassles of heavy traffic and obnoxious exhaust fumes. To the student it can be exam pressure. Take a piece of paper and write the word stress at the top. Now write down all the words and images that come to your mind as you think about this word. Most people respond to the word stress in negative ways. They see it as a destructive, debilitating force. However, not all stress is negative. The word eustress has been coined to describe positive stress. Eustress results from exhilarating experiences. It is the type of stress you are likely to experience when you inherit a large amount of money or receive an unexpected promotion or reward. Eustress is the stress of winning and achieving. Negative stress is distress. It is the stress of losing, failing, overworking and not coping. Distress affects people in a negative often harmful manner. We all experience distress from time to time. It is a normal, unavoidable part of living. Stressors Cause Stress Stress results from failure to adequately cope with stressors. Stressors could be loud noise, uncomfortable air-conditioning, debts, ringing telephones, broken relationships, unrealistic deadlines, discouragement, fear, pain and thousands of other things that impact upon us in the normal course of life. It is impossible to avoid stressors. The only totally stress-free state is death!