Reduce Stress Level in Life - Assignment Example

Reduce Stress in Life Reduce stress level in life a) Health behavior Old habits die hard, especially old bad habits. Each day many of us think of changing our bad health habits, so that we can make our lives better and contribute to a healthier living style. Reducing stress level is a personal health behavior that I am targeting to change for myself in the very nearly future. According to help guide organization, stress is a “normal physical response to events that make people feel threatened or upset individual’s balance in some way” (www.helpguide.org). For each one of us, there are many things in life that can cause stress almost on a daily basis. For example, not enough time of the day to deal with personal issues and work; need to find another higher pay job to afford endless bills. In my case, working fulltime while attend school full-time; a baby is on the way at the same time and not to mention I am a first time mum. However, I do not believe that a stress free life is possible and realistic. Stress is a response to challenges in life that occurred around us and many of these challenges cannot be avoided. As adult, we need to learn to confront the stressful situation, learn to find causes and to escape or cope with the stress around us. Mitigating of stress remains a major concern in every individual and this can only be achieved through the development of new behaviors. However, breaking from the old habits and adopting best practices remains a major challenge to a number of people due to the comfort that the old offers despite the stress that we face as a result of them. In this paper, shading of old traits as a way of mitigating stress will be discussed in line with a number of psychological theories and application (King, Singh, Bernard Merianos, & Vidourek, 2012). b) Cognitive element of stress The management of stress is essential in the development of a normal life and this makes the description of cognitive approaches essential. Stress is considered as an event that has different variables and is influenced by individual’s behaviors and exposures in life. This makes interpretation of fear to differ from one person to another with some viewing the construal of stress and as either positive or negative. Four cognitive factors have been identified to influence fear reception and response in individuals, which ultimately determines their ability to change old habits. Appraisal, retribution, self-efficacy and general stress perception are four cognitive elements essential in the development of stress responses in an individual (Voisin, Stone & Becker, 2013). Initial response to stress is a direct indication of the impact stress has on an individual relating to how the person can be able to cope with the situation. In the transactional model of cognitive approach to stress, the elements of primary and secondary appraisal affect the response of individuals. Primary appraisal considers the harm and challenge that are presented by the stress and this helps in enabling the individual decide the resources available can cope with the situation. Secondary appraisal is also essential in weighing whether to adopt a behavior change in consideration of the stressors and the resources available (King, Singh, Bernard Merianos, & Vidourek, 2012). In medical applications for example, patients suffering from HIV/AIDS or any other terminal condition placed under the care of surrogate caregivers experience appraisal cognitive response to stress. Negative appraisals, such as threats and harmful influences often lead to negative psychological adjustments in human beings. Positive appraisals such as challenges on the other hand create room for the development of positive psychological adjustments and behaviors. Attribution evaluates how post stressful events associated with the old habits influences the coping ability of an individual as captured under the casual attrition. Individuals with the ability to explain the causes of the illness thus having a clear picture of the genesis of their stress are more psychologically healthier. As a result, attribution influences the adjustment abilities of an individual and this affects their willingness to change from old behaviors into newer habits. Attribution based motivation in cognitive coping strategies directly affect the health of the individuals and this places it at a greater position in the process of coping with stress (Radtke, Scholz, Keller & Hornung, 2012). Self-efficacy is the most applicable element of cognition in stress management, adoption of ways of changing from old behaviors and adopting new approaches to issues. Reactions to stress are influenced by low self-efficacy to exert adequate control on different stressful situations. According to self-efficacy theory, the response to fear can be influenced by the stressors and the experiences that an individual is exposed (Dewar, Plotnikoff, Morgan, Okely, Costigan & Lubans, 2013). Based on these theories, the use of cognitive elements in the reduction of stress and the mitigation of old habits challenges is critical. A number of people have adopted cognitive approaches in deciding whether to change their old habits or to retain them based on the situation he is in. According to a research conducted by the Beck institute of cognitive therapy and research, cognitive theories and elements to stress when used effectively can help in the reduction of stress and mitigating approaches to adopt for changing from old habits (Radtke, Scholz, Keller & Hornung, 2012). Cognitive strategies and restructuring in stress Cognitive restructuring is a process of learning and disengaging oneself from disruptive and unhealthy thoughts through a psychotherapeutic process. In cognitive restructuring, a number of approaches are adopted including thought recording approach, the use of imageries and other cognitive behavioral therapies. Cognitive restructuring can be used in the management of stress and during habit changes in an individual. One of the cognitive restructuring approaches used in stress relief is the art of self-talk. Through this, we develop a proper way of understanding the problem and internalize the situation. Through this process, we can be able to eliminate the life threatening impacts of the habit. However, a trained cognitive therapist is best placed to provide guidance on how to manage behavior change stress through cognitive restructuring. An individual must first be aware of the challenge he is facing before he can develop an approach to mitigate it. The inner power is also essential in cognitive restructuring as it provides assurance of an individual’s ability to handle the situation. c) Health belief model and stress reduction The development of health belief model in 1950s to predict the attitude, actions and behavior of individuals has led to its application in the reduction of stress. According to this model, people are rational in their thoughts and actions and this is adopted as a health supporting action in reducing stress. In the event that an individual has a personal health issue, his individual capacity allows him to solve the issue amicably. This is however, influenced by the positive expectation that an individual has about the approach and the challenge (Voisin, Stone & Becker, 2013). The application of health belief model in mitigating stress and assisting in behavior change for individuals experiencing a crisis have a number of steps. In the first step, a realistic set of actions must be established in regard to stress reduction which acts as a motivation towards abiding by the course of action. While setting the goal, realism is essential as out of range goals can increase the problem and affect the mitigation process. In this case, stress has been identified and associated with increased engagement in old behaviors, which needs to be changed. Using this model, an individual must set achievable goals based on this challenge and develop a program that seeks to eliminate the challenges promptly (Dewar, Plotnikoff, Morgan, Okely, Costigan & Lubans, 2013). According to HBM, any challenge is within the health ability of a problem to solve and this makes these goals achievable at any given time. As a result, one must believe in the benefits of the new behavior to be adopted for the change process to be successful. The goals are thus seen as a catalyst and a motivation for the changes that in this case is the transformation from old habits into a new way of life. The second step involves the recognition of the dangers that are faced in case a change is not made from the old habits to a new set of behaviors. According to the center for disease control and prevention, stress affects the ability of an individual to coordinates his activities and increases the development of a number of heart complications. This should motivate an individual developing a change program to work towards the success of the approaches adopted. Living in fear of the conditions cannot help in any way but only increases the inability to drop the old behaviors and adopt newer approaches (Cheng, Kogan & Chio, 2012). The third step in the process involves the development of a workout routine that aims to reduce the stress. This can adopt an exercising regime that enables an individual to reduce anxiety and pressure while working towards achieving the set targets. Obsessive behaviors affect the activities of an individual and increase their cohesion towards the old habits, which makes the change program ineffective. As a result, it is essential to try to block out negative behaviors and associations, which may remind you of their benefits and make the change approach impossible. In the final step of the health belief model, there is need to recognize the challenges associated with stress and how this affects the quality of life. To experience a change from the old habits, practice is critical and this must be supported with the right attitude. d) Application of social cognitive theory to the health problem In 1941, Millar and Dollar developed the theory of social learning otherwise known as the social cognitive therapy, which has been employed in various constructs in the process of challenge mitigation. According to the social cognitive theory, people are capable of acquiring different behavioral patterns based in the intervention strategies adopted. As a result, environmental factors play a major role in determining the abilities of a person to accept change such as behavior change. Social cognitive theory can be applied to the management of stress by identifying the environmental factors associated with the condition beforehand. Based on social cognitive theory, the management of stress that is considered as a behavior change process is affected by the environmental factors. These factors affect how the individuals concerned are capable to handle the situation despite the environmental pressures placed on them. In social cognitive, the environment is believed to be a predominant factor on the ability of an individual to effectively be managed a stressful moment. Two factors within the environment that affects the reduction of stress is the people one interact with and their individual behaviors. A number of assumptions exist that guide the application of the social cognitive therapy in the reduction of stress and management of behavior change. The triadic reciprocal-ity describes the progressive functioning of an individual and this makes the process of reducing stress either easier or more challenging. By using the social cognitive theory key concepts, the process of stress management as a behavior change process is highly enabled. To begin with, an individual must set the goal of the change management decision before any progress can be made in the process. Through goal setting, a clear objective is attained that is critical in the control of anxiety, hunger and reduction of stress in an individual. In the adoption of the social cognitive therapy in stress reduction approaches and pursuit, the recognition of the fact that stress management is a learning process is critical. Most of the time, the comfort of the old behaviors prevent us from adopting new behaviors as we develop a perceptual conform from the oldies irrespective of the harm it causes to us. The process of managing stress must take a correct step, which pays attention to the steps followed and respects the advances made. According to this theory, effort and commitment impacts positively on the pursuit of stress elimination and adopting a new habit that is positive. Outcomes also affect the ability to change into new habits as it reflects the belief of an individual on the approaches adopted and their effectiveness. With a high valued outcome on a process, the frequency of a behavior has been shown to tremendously increase. However, when the continued existence of stressful factors is associated with unfavorable results and problems associated with the implementation, the frequency of success of the behavior reduces (Cheng, Kogan & Chio, 2012). Social cognitive theory also employs self-efficacy constructs to develop the best options that an individual can chose to avoid the challenges of changing habits. Individuals with greater self-efficacy have a higher possibility and confidence in succeeding in behavior change endeavors. With high levels of self-efficacy, the motivation in individuals is doubled and this makes it quite easier for them to make a commitment to change their old behaviors (Kaiser, Razurel, & Jeannot, 2013). In the process of changing a behavior, the attainment of a certain level of confidence is necessary as it acts as the motivation for the process. In this situation, stress reduction remains a key goal as a way of changing behavior and moving towards a stress free environment. Based on the theories that have been described, the process of stress elimination can be successfully achieved. This is more so with the use of social cognitive theory that provides ground for making massive progresses in the process. e) Stress, social support and habit change Stress and social support have a critical role to play in the process of habit change in organizations that makes its applications in this stage critical. By winning the support of social institution, the process of stress management can be made easier and the individuals can enjoy a proper change management approach. Vacations are part of any work assignments and all employees are entitled to them within a specific period of the year as outline in the engagement contract. However, some employees resist the need for vacation and request to work continuously without break or leave. This affects the processes of change management in such individuals and increases their stressful experiences. While such employees may feel that they are benefiting the organization and building their careers, lack of vacation affects the mental stability of an employee and this reduces the overall productivity. Organizations must therefore make it compulsory for members to go on vacation or take some time off from work to reduce boredom and fatigue. Use of group and team vacation also provides a better environment for employees to relax and interact with each other far away from the work environment. This was identified in the social cognitive approach as of the approaches that can be effectively used to manage stress in individuals especially in organizations. Stress is related to the mental and physical status of an individual and this affects their ability to concentrate and deliver on the expectations placed on them. The association of stress with mental health has created a situation where organization use different health and safety polices to reduce its impacts and prevalence. Health and safety approaches have contributed significantly to the development of safe work environment with less stressors and depressive moments. It aims at increasing the workplace safety and the overall health status of the employees with the belief that this will significantly affect the productivity of the employees. This is true but cannot be considered as fully effective in reducing workplace stress (Abolghasemi, Bakhshian, & Narimani, 2013). In the 21st century, the process of stress reduction and mitigation in an organization depends on business practices and proper management policies by the management, which ensures the development of good work environment. A policy in an organization establishes principles and practices that govern the behavior of different managers and employees within the organization. It binds all employees and is respected by all the stakeholders irrespective of their position, influence and control (Cheng, Kogan & Chio, 2012). In establishing policies, an organization must ensure its consistency with the organization’s values and practices and the available legal legislations governing employee rights. These policies are thus supported by law and give employees better ground for claiming compensation in case of injurious workplace stress. Workplace stress is more of a management problem as opposed to operational challenge in a business thus requiring the adoption of better management policies (Abolghasemi, Bakhshian, & Narimani, 2013). Health and safety approach seek to address the physical work environment that can be attributed to workplace stress as opposed to the action of the managers and leaders. It agitates for the development of a safe work environment that ensures the consideration of employee welfare. An organization should thus develop better polices and regulatory steps aimed at creating a positive work environment devoid of disrespectful behaviors and policies. Stress impacts on the social stability of an individual and makes it either easier or difficult to work towards ensuring the success of the approaches adopt. In this section, the stress and social support impacts on old habit change will be analyzed in line with the social cognitive theory discussed (Wright, 2013). f) Process and stages of change for old habits The process of changing from old habits, which are stressful presents a number of challenges to people and this, makes the use of a step by step approach effective and more directing. By adopting a step-by-step approach, individual’s ability to succeed in their desire to change their behaviors and adopt new habits is improved. In step one of stress reduction, the analysis of the causes is critical as it assists in understanding the nature of the problem and viability of the approach adopted. The existence of a given habit in an individual can only be attributed to the fact that it was considered for positive reinforcement at some stage in life (Liviatan & Jost, 2014). However, that reinforcement may not be available now, which makes the habit unwarranted. This calls for a change process that first evaluates the impacts of withholding the new habit and change into new behaviors. A habit cannot be removed or added as it behaves like matter that makes it only possible to remove at any particular time (Abolghasemi, Bakhshian, & Narimani, 2013). After the habit analysis, the formation of a change strategy is critical as this strategy will depend on the results of the evaluation and weigh on the expense of the habit change. Habitual adjustments are critical in the smooth transition from a process that has remained an elemental part of life for a long time. For example, individuals who are tobacco addicts cannot just stop the behavior overnight due to the implication of such an approach and the withdrawal symptoms on their lives (Chao, Chen & Wang, 2014). After developing a strategy, the preparation of the change itself is also beneficial to an individual as it eliminates the challenges associated with abrupt change especially on health issues. Intellectual need to change must be changed for bad habits to be changed into good ones and the risks faced by an individual eliminated. Pain that is witnessed as a results of a given behavior or habit must be associated with the behavior itself for the change to be possible. References Abolghasemi, A., Bakhshian, F., & Narimani, M. (2013). Response Inhibition and Cognitive Appraisal in Clients with Acute Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry, 8(3), 124-130. Cheng, C., Kogan, A., & Chio, J. (2012). The effectiveness of a new, coping flexibility intervention as compared with a cognitive-behavioral intervention in managing work stress. Work & Stress, 26(3), 272-288. doi:10.1080/02678373.2012.710369. King, K. A., Singh, M., Bernard, A., Merianos, A. L., & Vidourek, R. A. (2012). Employing the health belief model to examine stress management among college students. American Journal of Health Studies, 27(4), 192-203. Cao, Z., Chen, Y., & Wang, S. (2014). Health belief model based evaluation of school health education programmer for injury prevention among high school students in the community context. BMC Public Health, 1426. Doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-14-26. Kaiser, B., Razurel, C., & Jeannot, E. (2013). Impact of health beliefs, social support and self-efficacy on physical activity and dietary habits during the post-partum period after gestational diabetes mellitus: study protocol. BMC Pregnancy & Childbirth, 13(1), 1-7. Doi: 10.1186/1471-2393-13-133. Radtke, T., Scholz, U., Keller, R., & Hornung, R. (2012). Smoking is ok as long as I eat healthily: Compensatory Health Beliefs and their role for intentions and smoking within the Health Action Process Approach. Psychology & Health, 2791-107. doi:10.1080/08870446.2011.603422. Liviatan, I., & Jost, J. T. (2014). A Social-Cognitive Analysis of System Justification Goal Striving. Social Cognition, 32(2), 95-129. doi:10.1521/soco.2014.32.2.95. Dewar, D., Plotnikoff, R., Morgan, P., Okely, A., Costigan, S., & Lubans, D. (2013). Testing social-cognitive theory to explain physical activity change in adolescent girls from low-income communities. Research Quarterly For Exercise and Sport, 84(4), 483-491. Voisin, D., Stone, J., & Becker, M. (2013). The Impact of the Ant tobacco Norm on the Selected Mode of Cognitive Dissonance Reduction. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 43(1), 57-67. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2012.00981.x. Wright, S. (2013). Influential Factors in Academic and Career Self-Efficacy: Attachment, Supports, and Career Barriers. journal of counselling and development, 92(1), 36-46. Read More