Stress Management by Melinda Smith and Robert Segal

Stress Management by Melinda Smith and Robert Segal This article talks about stress management and different ways that a person can do to reduce stress in one’s life. In life there are so many obstacles and challenges one faces and all this lead to a stress life. In this article the authors say, “In fact, the simple realization that you’re in control of your life is the foundation of stress management” (Smith and Segal).The authors are trying to show the power one has interms of dealing with stress. Since it is he or she who knows what he or she is dealing with. The main purpose of this article was to show how an individual would deal and cope with stress and through this the authors listed different ways to manage stress. There are healthy ways and unhealthy ways of reducing stress. Unhealthy ways of reducing stress are temporary and they cause damage in the long run. These include: smoking, drinking too much. using pills or drugs to relax, sleeping too much. If one adapts to these ways he or she is likely to face stress even more. The authors also try to show the healthier ways of managing stress. There are many ways of managing stress and cope with it as the authors write but they all require change. This means that an individual needs to dedicate and decide whether to change the situation or change his or her reaction. Melinda and Robert list the four A’S of dealing with stress situations which are; avoid the stressor, alter the stressor, adapt to the stressor, and accept the stressor. Through all these interms of avoiding the stressor, it is advised for the individual to avoid people who stress him or her out, he or she needs to avoid repeatedly actions that stress him or out. In altering the situation, the best way is to be willing to compromise if the situation cannot be changed where as this will help one to accept the situation and move on. Also it is advised to be able to manage time. Melinda and Robert write, “Poor time management can cause a lot of stress”. In addition another way to reduce stress is to adapt to the stressor, which advices one to reframe his or her problems by viewing the situation from another perspective. One also needs to adjust his or her standards and accept everything and not try to be perfect or perfection everything. Lastly is accepting things one cannot change. It’s impossible to control uncontrollable situations, hence one needs to know and understand things in life are beyond our control. Sharing of feelings is also one of the ways to reduce stress. Individual could talk to a friend, a family member or a therapist on issues that he or she is going through. This is very helpful as one receives advice and also gets to relieve the burden he or she has been carrying. Other healthy ways include writing in one’s journal, going for a walk, watching a comedy, taking a long bath and so many others. Reading this article has been helpful and definitely an eye opener interms of dealing with stress. The authors touched every necessary point that a person can experience in his or her stressful life. Being stressed is inevitable in our lives and the list we could do is just learn how to cope with several situations and learn to deal with them as they come. There are no enough participants used in this article however I believe it’s because stress is a general problem for everyone in our society. Hence whoever reads this article gets the insight of how to manage it. The information given in this article is accurate and educating for anyone who reads it. In conclusion, this article can be helpful in today’s society in so many ways. As stated before, stress is something one goes through in his or her life hence by reading this article people will try and adapt to the ways of how to cope with it. Healthy ways are the best ways since once one adapts to them he or she is likely to permanently avoid stress in their lives and live happily. However a huge population of people tends to go for the unhealthy ways of coping with stess.This should not be the path and authors and other therapists need to eliminate these ways by avoiding writing about them as ways to reduce stress. References
Smith, Melinda.,and Robert Segal.”Stress Management.” helpguide.org.January 2013.Web. 3rd February www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm013. Sleep Disorders and Sleeping Problems by Melinda Smith, Lawrence Robinson, Greg Booze, and Robert Segal. This article generally talks about sleep disorders and sleeping problems. Many people experience problems when sleeping at one time or another and sometimes its due to stress or other factors. However if the sleep problems continue occurring and interfere with one’s daily life, he or she may be suffering from a sleep disorder. This article shows and talks about different signs and symptoms of sleep disorders. It goes on and talks about types of sleep disorders which the authors prove by explaining how each type occurs. In this article there are three main common sleep disorders one can experience. These include insomnia, sleep apnea and Restless legs syndrome (RLS).Insomnia being the most common one is the inability of getting the amount of sleep one needs. Causes of insomnia could be due to stress, anxiety, and sometimes depression. Symptoms of insomnia include waking frequently during the night, difficulty falling asleep at night, and also sleepiness and low energy during the day. To avoid all this the authors state,” Whatever the cause of your insomnia, being mindful of your sleep habits and learning to relax will help you sleep better and feel better”(Smith et al.).Sleep apnea is another disorder and it occurs when one’s breathing temporary stops during sleep due to blockage of the upper airways. It is said that people with sleep apnea do not remember themselves waking up during the night and as a result they feel unproductive, exhausted each day. It is advised to see the doctor right away in case one experiences sleep apnea since its life-threatening. The last disorder is the Restless legs syndrome which is a sleep disorder that causes irresistible urge t move legs or arms. The authors in this article used more than enough participants and vivid examples. The information provided is also accurate and helpful to the readers. The details stated in the article are important and also relevant to one’s daily life since sleeping is a part of each individual’s life. In today’s society many individuals go through all these sleep disorders. Some seek for help and some just deal with it in their own manner. For insomnia its better for a person to use sleeping pills even though they help temporary; but insomnia is not as serious as apnea. All individuals with sleep apnea should visit the doctor and get help as it is the most serious sleep disorder todate.Through reading this article there are different ways a person can learn so as to avoid these disorders and also one can help another person facing this problem deal with disorders since the article is very educating
REFERENCES
Melinda, Smith., et al.”Sleep Disorders and Sleeping Problems.”helpguide.org.Web. January 2013.3rd February 2013. http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleep_disorders.htm