After a day of too much noise, too much work, and too much conflict, what choices do you have to bring everything back into balance?

Stress Management
After a day of too much noise, too much work, and too much conflict, what choices do you have to bring everything back into balance? When you think of coping, do you think of eating a pint of ice cream to soothe your distress? Or do you confront the source head-on like a bull charging the matador’s red cape? Based on these two very different responses, there are a variety of ways to cope with stress. However, not all coping mechanisms are a perfect solution to the type of stress you are encountering. For example, it might not be wise to retreat to your imaginary happy place when a mugger confronts you on the street. Nor would it be best to attempt a body-slam maneuver on the mugger if he is waving a knife or flashing a gun. Aligning a variety of the most appropriate and effective coping mechanisms with a stressor is what stress management sets out to do. Whether you are constantly gripping a stress ball, taking a brisk walk outside to clear your head, or resting your eyelids to the sound of your desktop water fountain, you are applying stress management techniques to cope with your situation. While these activities may provide a quick release, stress management is not limited to quick solutions. It also incorporates strategies for coping with on-going as well as more critical stressors. In previous weeks, you examined how the innate coping strategies of your ancestors may not be beneficial in managing today’s stressors. How might you take the stress responses and the coping skills you learned during your lifetime and adapt them to more effectively manage your modern day-to-day stress?

This week you explore a variety of stress management strategies and how to determine which is appropriate and most effective for the specific stressors that arise. You also continue to work on your Final Project by developing a Microsoft PowerPoint presentation.

OBJECTIVES
Analyze measures to evaluate effective stress management techniques
Analyze benefits of providing multiple stress management techniques to stress sufferers
Analyze barriers to effective stress management
Analyze the components of an effective stress management workshop for a specific population
Learning Resources
REQUIRED READINGS
Almeida, D. M., Stawski, R. S., & Cichy, K. E. (2011). Combining checklist and interview approaches for assessing daily stressors: The daily inventory of stressful events. In R. J. Contrada & A. Baum (Eds.), The handbook of stress science: Biology, psychology, and health (pp. 583–595). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Anderson, B., Wethington, E., & Kamark, T. W. (2011). Interview assessment of stressor exposure. In R. J. Contrada & A. Baum (Eds.), The handbook of stress science: Biology, psychology, and health (pp. 565–582). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Edenfield, T. M., & Blumenthal, J. A. (2011). Exercise and stress reduction. In R. J. Contrada & A. Baum (Eds.), The handbook of stress science: Biology, psychology, and health (pp. 301–319). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
Kamarck, T. W., Shiffman, S., & Wethington, E. (2011). Measuring psychosocial stress using ecological momentary assessment methods. In R. J. Contrada & A. Baum (Eds.), The handbook of stress science: Biology, psychology, and health (pp. 597–617). New York, NY: Springer Publishing Company.
American Heart Association. (2011). What is stress management? Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/Stres…

Edwards, D., & Burnard, P. (2003). A systematic review of stress and stress management interventions for mental health nurses. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 42(2), 169–200.

Lehrer, P. (2007). Principles and practice of stress management: Advances in the field. Biofeedback, 35(3), 82–84.

Varlow, M., Wuthrich, V., Murrihy, R., Rémond, L., Tuqiri, R., van Kessel, J., & … Kidman, A. (2009). Stress literacy in Australian adolescents. Youth Studies Australia, 28(4), 29-34.
Walden Writing Center. (2012). Paper templates. Retrieved from http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm
Review the links under the header titled “PowerPoint Presentation.”
OPTIONAL RESOURCE
Smith, M., & Segal, R. (2011, December). Stress management: How to reduce, prevent and cope with stress. Retrieved from http://helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_reli…
Discussion: The Effectiveness of Stress Management Skills
What helps you relieve stress and how effective is your method? There are a variety of reasons individuals select the stress management techniques they use. However, an effective stress management technique allows you lessen the physiological impact of the stress you are experiencing. In addition, it helps you to assess your situation, recognize your emotional response, and support your thought processes regarding a stressor. There are many stress management techniques and selecting ones that might be most effective depends on the individual, the stressor, and the stress response. If you enjoy the calm that comes from communing with nature, you might recognize its effectiveness in how the peaceful nature of the outdoors makes you feel less frantic. One stress management technique cannot serve everyone and all the stressors they face. Therefore, evaluating a variety of stress management techniques is important to reducing stress and its influence on the development of illness. Barriers to effective stress management include lack of adherence to the use of stress management techniques, inadequate or inappropriate support of family and friends, and an unwillingness to forgo unhealthy stress management practices.

For this Discussion, review this week’s Learning Resources. Select a stress management technique from your Week 5 Final Project assignment. Then consider how you might measure the effectiveness of the stress management technique. Reflect on the benefit stress sufferers might derive from using multiple stress management techniques. Finally, consider two barriers to effective stress management.

With these thoughts in mind:

BY DAY 4
Post by Day 4 a brief description of the stress management technique you selected. Then explain a measure to evaluate the effectiveness of the stress management technique. Next, explain benefits of providing multiple stress management techniques to stress sufferers. Finally, explain two barriers to effective stress management. Be specific.

Be sure to support your postings and responses with specific references to the Learning Resources.

Read a selection of your colleagues’ postings.

BY DAY 6
Respond by Day 6 to at least one of your colleagues’ postings in one or more of the following ways:

Ask a probing question.
Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
Offer and support an opinion.
Validate an idea with your own experience.
Make a suggestion.
Expand on your colleague’s posting.
Return to this Discussion in a few days to read the responses to your initial posting. Note what you have learned and/or any insights you have gained as a result of the comments your colleagues made.

SUBMISSION AND GRADING INFORMATION
Grading Criteria
To access your rubric:
Week 7 Discussion Rubric
Post by Day 4 and Respond by Day 6
To participate in this Discussion:
Week 7 Discussion
Final Project: Stress Management Workshop Presentation
Imagine if a Phillips screwdriver was the only tool auto mechanics had available to fix all the automotive problems they might encounter. What if doctors only had one treatment to use in response to all the ailments their clients present to them? In short, some cars would be fixed and some patients would recover; however, many cars would become huge lawn ornaments and many patients would continue to suffer. The same is true for stress management. Without a variety of strategies to resolve all the different types of stressors individuals face, many would continue to suffer and possibly develop serious yet preventable illnesses. Since one stress management strategy does not fit all stressors or people experiencing stress, there are many approaches and strategies that can be incorporated into stress management training. It is wise to teach different methods, thus providing a sense of control and options for choice and type of situation.

For this assignment, review this week’s Learning Resources. Then search the Internet to educate yourself on the concepts behind developing a professional Microsoft PowerPoint presentation. Also, refer to the Walden Writing Center with regard to APA formatting for PowerPoint presentations (http://writingcenter.waldenu.edu/57.htm). Finally, review a variety of online stress management presentations to determine what types of activities you would like to include and the best way to present those activities to your chosen population.

The Assignment (16–25 slides)

Create a PowerPoint presentation of the stress management techniques you developed in Week 5 for the population you selected in Week 3. In 16–25 slides, your PowerPoint presentation should:
Describe the relationship between stress and health
Explain the influence stress might have on the health of your chosen population
Describe the stress management techniques you selected for your Week 5 stress management handouts
Explain how to apply the stress management techniques you are presenting
Explain how and why these techniques work for your chosen population and the common stressors they face
Describe tips on how to successfully incorporate these techniques into the lives of your chosen population
Submit your PowerPoint presentation for Instructor feedback.