Stress diary guide: Stressors and causes or triggers of stress.

1. Stress Diary Journal Guides Guide 1: Stressors
HP
Stressors
Stressors Types
Physical Environment
Stressors list • Noise
• Poor Lighting
• Heat
• Confined Spaces
What are stressors?
Social Interaction
It is often the perception of growth or advancement. Additionally, there may be no • Rudeness
things that causes stress. Here  Insufficient training or specific reason for developing • Bossiness
are some of the most common poor study techniques stress. It may result from • Aggressiveness
reasons we get stressed:  Overcrowding many years of minor problems, • Bullying
 Unrealistic Expectations or on-going, long-term
 Long hours  Noise and pollution problems such as illness of a
 Heavy workload... close family member. Organisational
 Infrequent breaks Other stressors (or the • Rules
 Boredom anticipation of them) can lead Simply, stress can be caused • Regulations
 Tasks that don’t utilise to stress: by anything. • Deadlines
peoples' skills
 Poorly defined goals and  Pressure to perform Short-term stress, such as
job/task specifications (school, sports, sexually, giving a speech or going for an
interview, are finite, has a short Major Life Events
 Too much responsibility. socially or Home) • Birth
 Poor management or  Threats of physical vio- and immediate focus and,
• Death
teaching style lence therefore, less problematic.
• Transfer
 People are not involved in  Money worries It is though, our perception of • Promotion
decision- making  Arguments both the event and our ability to • Marital problems
 Poor communication  Family conflicts cope, deal with it, or overcome
 Lack of support or help  Divorce it [our Self-Efficacy], that
from co-workers and  Bereavement causes the problem. Daily Hassles
supervisors/teachers or  Unemployment • Commuting
staff  Moving house • Mechanical breakdowns
 Job insecurity  Alcohol or drug abuse.
 Lack of opportunity for
& Internal Conflicts
S tress Factors - Which factors influence stress at work?
In recent times, there has been or hot and cold temperatures. • Noise
increasing interest in distin- Physical internal stressors • Poor Lighting ‘Indentifying
guishing the effects of physical include things like infections or • Heat
and psychosocial workplace inflammation. • Confined Spaces and knowing
stressors on the aetiology of your stressors
work-related health disorders External psychological Social Interaction
Generally, people are prone to stressors are such things as • Rudeness are halfway to
either internal or external poor working conditions or • Bossiness cancelling
stressors, and both types have conflicting relationships. • Aggressiveness
physical or psychological ori- External psychological stress- • Bullying them out’
gins. Physical external stress- ors include:
ors include unpleasant environ- Organisational
mental conditions such as pain Physical Environment • Rules

2. Page 2
S tress at work
• Regulations situation. These stressors are Mind traps
• Deadlines anxieties about events that may • Unrealistic expectations
or may not happen, and the • Taking things personally
Major Life Events stress response continues to • All or nothing thinking
• Birth be active as long as one is • Exaggeration
• Death worrying about it. The internal • Rigid thinking
• Transfer psychological stressors
• Promotion include: Personality traits
• Marital problems • Perfectionists
Lifestyle choices • Workaholics
Daily Hassles • Caffeine
• Commuting • Lack of sleep Stress can affect your overall
• Mechanical breakdowns • Overloaded schedule performance and for some
could result in serious ill health
Internal psychological stress Negative self – talk - both mental and physical.
can often be the most harmful • Pessimistic thinking Such ailments as hypertension,
because there is frequently no • Self criticism coronary thrombosis, migraine
resolution to the stressful • Over analysing and peptic ulcers are only a few
E ffect of S tress on work performance
“ Modern of the illnesses recognized as equates with professional and unsocial or excessive
having a stress-related success and people crave for hours.
society is background. In the workplace it status and abhor failure. The
driven by has been seen, through demand for monetary Overwork: Stress may occur
on-going research, to have a success / professional status through inability to cope with
work” very detrimental effect. is simply overwhelming. the technical or intellectual
Common causes of stress demands of a particular task.
within the workplace include: Working Conditions: Physical Circumstances such as long
and mental health is adversely hours, unrealistic deadlines and
The Drive for Success: affected by unpleasant working frequent interruptions will
Modern society is driven by conditions, such as high noise compound this.
‘work’. Personal adequacy levels, lighting, temperature
Working conditions and S tress
Under-work: This may arise with their personal, social and alter psychological,
from boredom because there is family values. physiological and behavioural
not enough to do, or because a routines such as promotion,
job is dull and repetitive. Responsibility: The greater the retirement and redundancy are
level of responsibility the particularly stressful.
Uncertainty: About the work - greater the potential level of
role objectives, responsibilities, stress Stress Therapy are available as
and expectations, and a lack of a professional service.
communication and feedback Relationships at work: Good www.stressdiaries.com
can result in confusion, relationships with colleagues
helplessness, and stress. are crucial. Open discussion is
essential to encourage positive
Conflict: Stress can arise from relationships.
work which the individual does Copyright © www.stressdiaries.com
not want to do or that conflicts Changes at work: Changes that

3. Page 3 Stressors list
Identify Your Stressors from this list
No Stressor Type Yes Maybe No
1 Workplace Stress: Some of the biggest causes of stress in the workplace: low wages, har-
assment, performance appraisals, threat of layoff, obnoxious bosses, annoying co-workers,
2 Family Stress: A few family stressors: interference, long-distance, rivalry, labels, family
history, expectations, communication, comparisons, roles, secrets, educating children, dys-
3 Relationship Stress: A few relationship stressors: communication, loyalty, honesty, emotional
abuse, assault and other violence, betrayal, compatibility, affairs, unplanned pregnancy, sexual
4 Dating Stress: A few dating stressors: blind dates, first dates, online dating, sexually-
transmitted diseases, date-rape drugs, contraceptives, drinking, drugs, drinking and driving,
5 Gambling Stress / Addiction: Some of the biggest causes of stress for gamblers: loan
sharks, racking up debt, addiction, knowing limits, gangs, recovery, relapse, violence, depend-
6 Credit & Debt Stress: A few credit and debt stressors: debt load, mortgages, house pay-
ments, late payments, credit rating, interest rates, bankruptcy, collections, debt settlement,
7 Holiday Stress: A few holiday stressors include: missing work, vacation planning, getting lost,
dealing with borders and passports, air travel, communication, cultural issues, cost, language
8 School / Academic Stress: A few education-related stressors: deadlines, tests, studying,
overwhelming workload, rules, conflicts with instructors, conflicts with other students, course
9 Emotional/Mental Stress: A few mental stressors: fear, self-expectations, embarrassment,
feelings, attitude, needs, wants, goals, lack of goals, illness, drugs, head games, friendships,
10 Parenting Stress: A few of the biggest causes of stress for parents: discipline, education,
behaviour, neglect, proper care, money, time, communication, chores, routines, health care,
11 Marriage Stress: A few of the biggest stressors for married couples: wedding planning, in-
laws, religion, money, children, the holiday season, housing, cohabitation, personal space,
12 General Financial Stress: General financial stressors include the following: financial planning,
savings, banking, earning enough income, having multiple sources of income, money scams,
13 Societal stress: Expectations, sanctioning of norms, taking and up-keeping values of society,
Media influence, ‘must have’ stressors, your role determined, restrictions and controls, laws
Are these some of yours? Cope with it by joining in
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4. The Stress Diaries we have available
Page 4
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