Stress Day

A One-Day Tutorial On The Nature of Stress & Its Management

WHAT PEOPLE SAY

“An excellent and stimulating day. The aim was to consolidate and expand students’ knowledge and understanding of stress and this was amply met.”

— Mrs K. Cork, Parmiter’s School, Watford

Introduction

Mental stress is associated with every occupational and age group, and with life events as diverse as bereavement, moving house, sitting examinations, divorce and retirement. It has been the centre of much media attention because of the growing evidence linking it with heart disease, hypertension, anxiety and a range of other physical, mental and behavioural disorders. Such attention also stems from our increasing ability to scientifically explain the mechanisms of many stress-induced disorders.

Recent surveys have indicated that over half a million Britons suffer illnesses related to stress at work. The ways in which you cope with stress may actually be more dangerous to your health than the stress itself, when such ways of coping include smoking, overeating, excess alcohol and too little exercise. Stress intervention strategies involve learning new ways to cope with stress. Companies are attracted to such packages because of the growing evidence that they can be extremely cost effective, particularly given the increasing number of out of court payments to workers suffering job stress.

Stress Day is designed to provide the student with an appreciation of the causes, assessment and treatment of stress, and the application of this knowledge to workplace and clinical settings.

Which Students Will Benefit From Stress Day?

This tutorial is designed primarily for able 'A2' level students, but will also be useful to:

AS students with an interest in how stress affects the body
any students considering a university degree and/or

career in the following subjects:

Psychology Medicine Law/Business Studies

Neuroscience/Biology Occupational Health

The material presented will complement and develop upon that encountered in AS/A2 Psychology.

Aims of Stress Day

There are three main aims to this tutorial:

to explore the causes of stress and how to measure it, detailing its effects on the body;
to examine individual coping responses to stress and determine how inappropriate coping methods might be modified;
to explore stress management techniques as tools for combating stress at home, in the workplace and in clinical settings.