Central Idea: Understanding what stress is and its symptoms, learning to cope with stress, and using relaxing techniques are key elements toward a healthy, happy life.
Introduction: At least 75% of doctor visits in the US are from stress related complaints. 43% of American adults suffer adverse health effects from stress. (These surprising statistics come from the book Good Stress, Bad Stress by Barry Lenson) We’ve all had that feeling. Sweaty palms, a dry mouth, that nervous nauseating feeling, a seemingly permanent pain in our neck and shoulders. These are all symptoms of stress. Stress effects everyone in one way or another. No one is completely free from stress. We’ve all been there. Cramming for finals the night before the exam, stuck in traffic on our way to an important appointment, dealing with the death of a loved one. These things all cause us to experience stress. I had never thought about the stress in my life. Every day was like the one before. Work, school, eating, sleeping. I figured it was nothing different than most people my age was going through. Then I signed up for a (transferable) course on stress management right here at De Anza. Honestly, I took the class because it sounded like an easy “A”. (After all, a class on stress management can’t possibly add more stress.) I learned so much about how stress effects the body and how much stress I had in my life. Hopefully I can inform you how to deal with stress and its symptoms. First we need to understand what stress is and what symptoms it causes. Learning to cope with stress as well as learning some relaxation techniques are extremely important to having a healthy and happy life.
(Transition) Most of you are familiar with the term “stress” But I will bet most of you aren’t familiar with the harmful effects stress can have on your body.
Body:
I. Understanding what stress is and the seriousness of the symptoms it causes is the first step toward dealing with stress.
A. Stress can be...