Show Stress De-Stress rest est to Help Students Relax The Human Side s By Diane Cashel Director Drug Alcohol r ry y i Education You woke up late the parking lot is full and you have to park out in no mans man's land again You cant can't get along with your roommate cant can't register for the class or time slot you need cant can't seem to get your parents to understand understand understand un un- un- un cant can't find the time to do doall doall doall all that you need forgot about an important test being given next hour hate Math and cant can't seem to find the money for the upcoming holidays Sound familiar familiar familiar famil famil- The resulting stress is your body's response to pressures and strains Stress is your physical emotional and mental response to change regardless of whether the change is good or bad S Stress tress is natural So to the extent that stress is a sign of vitality stress is good The trouble is you dont don't learn how to cope effectively with stress pro situations As a result they can be overwhelming Symptoms of stress include rapid breathing increasing heart rate tightening of muscles in the shoulders forehead and neck Hands become cold and sweaty Headaches and digestive digesti ve problems occur Mou th and lips Hands and knees may Inay begin to shake and tremble and the voice may octave Other manifestations are confusion confusion confusion sion memory blockage nervousness nervousness nervousness nervous nervous- ness irritability difficulty concentrating concentrating concentrating concen concen- changes in eating or and/or sleeping habits fatigue and an urge to run away or give up Frequent repetition of the stress responses can cause wear and tear on the body There are two types of stressful situations those you can change and those you cant You can reduce reduce reduce re re- re- re duce stress by recognizing and acting acting acting act act- ing upon those situations that you youcan youcan youcan can change There are many ways to control stress such as removing the sources of stress from your life or removing yourself from stressful situations Ask yourself How important is the situation which is causing me stress If the problem is important important important im im- im- im confront it directly If you cant can't confront the problem directly directly directly di di- talk it out with a sympathetic sympathetic sympathetic listener On Dec 1 the Drug Alcohol Education program and the BACCHUS BACCHUS BACCHUS BAC BAC- CHUS Club is planning on helping you through the final weeks by having a Stress De Fest The activities activities ac ac- ac- ac ti vi ties will be in the Sunken Lounge from 10 am a.m. 1 1 pm p.m. Neck massages soft music and food will be offered to students staff and faculty who want to come and hang in the Stress De-Stress Zone Holiday ornaments will be on sale along with our Tails Fun nonalcoholic nonalcoholic nonalcoholic non al coholic recipe book Come by and relax and provide yourself some relief You need to todo todo todo do something each day that helps you to let go of the stress before it builds up Your body and mind need a chance to recoup o |