Lesson Structure: Stress Management VPS100

There are 8 lessons:

1  Body Changes

• Modern Day Stressors
• Symptons and Effects of Stress: The Muscles Response, The Gastrointestinal Response, The Cardiovascular Response, The Skin Response
• The Fight or Flight Response (GAS)
• Effect of Stress on Health and Well-Being: Stress and the Immune System
• A Stress Management Response Program

2  Easy Living

• Easy Living: Understanding Your Stress Symptoms, What Exactly Is Causing Your Stress?, Decide How to Deal With Your Particular Stressor
• Terminology: Anxiety, Depression, Tension, Fear, Phobia, Unconscious Anxiety, Free-floating Anxiety, Panic
• More on Self Image
• Tips for Relaxation: Massage, Aromatherapy, Exercise, Get a Hobby, Hypnosis, Autogenics
• Controlling Stress: Dealing with a Crisis, Responses to crisis (Physical, Mental, Emotional, Behavioural)
• Too Little Stress

3  Drugs and Alcohol

• Alcohol: How Much Is Too Much?
• Drugs: Over The Counter and Prescription Drugs, Illegal Substances
• Seeking Help

4  Self Esteem

• What is Self Esteem?: The Importance of Self-Esteem
• Realistic Expectations – Stress and Perfectionism
• Altering Your Perception
• Social Support: Low Self-Esteem in Teenagers
• Building Self Esteem In Others

5  Managing Your Own Career

• Work Satisfaction
• Managing Your Career
• Reviewing Your Career
• Standing Out And Progressing

6  Security and Decision Making

• Self Assurance: Development of Security and Self Assurance, Analysing Ourselves
• Decision Making: Strategy

7  Relaxation & Nutrition

• Nutrition: Dietary Fibre, Vitamins and Minerals
• The Balanced Diet: The Food Pyramid – Summarised, The Basics for Healthy Eating
• Carbohydrates, Proteins And Fats: Carbohydrates, The Glycemic Index, Proteins, Fats
• Problems Of Nutrition And Diet: Eating
• General Principles Of Weight Loss: Attitudes, Progress, Exercise, Balance, Cause and Effect
• Tips For Healthy Living
• Food Allergies/Intlerance: Food Intolerance, Allergies
• Sleep Disorders: What is Sleep Apnoea? Is There Any Treatment?
• Relaxation
• Alternative Methods For Relaxation And Reducing Stress: Reiki and Stress Management Techniques, Breathing Exercises, Crying, Crystals, Sex to Reduce Stress, Humour and Stress Relief, Yelling Loud
• Anger: Expressing Anger

8  Personal Style Inventory

• Classic Research: Other Personality Traits and Stress
• Ideal Self: Trait and Type Approach
• Genes And Personality
• Personality Disorders
• Personality Index
• Introversion – Extroversion

Learning Goals: Stress Management VPS100

• Identify changes that occur to the body as stress develops.
• Identify the relationship between lifestyle and stress.
• Discuss the impact of legal drugs on the psychology of a person.
• Discuss the importance of self esteem in minimizing stress.
• Determine options for career management that will minimize potential for stress.
• Identify and address security issues that impact on stress levels.
• Identify aspects of relaxation and nutrition in a person€™s life that may impact upon stress levels.
• Identify the relationship between stress and personality type.

WHAT IS SELF-ESTEEM?

“Self Esteem” (how we feel about ourselves) is influenced by many factors. A person’s upbringing, peer group pressure, current employment, physical appearance and so on, all interact to help determine how we feel about ourselves. It is our perception of ourselves, and in many cases it is not 100% accurate!

It can also be based on flawed perception of what others think of us.  Too often people are focused on how they do not match up to society’s current ideal, rather than focusing on their positive attributes.  It is in essence our personal assessment and judgement of ourselves as compared to those around us.

However volatile or inaccurate a person’s perception of themself is, self esteem is the key to a successful, happy and productive life. It affects the state of our personal happiness, for we cannot be happy if we do not like ourselves; and it also affects the way we do our job, the kind of relationships we have, the success or failure of raising our children.

It’s the generator of human motivation!  Someone with low self esteem is generally depressed and/or anxious, second guessing themselves, conditioning themselves to failure and lacking in motivation.  “It’s all too hard”, “I’ll never be good enough” etc is the common mindset of low self esteem.

Our self esteem therefore is the index of how we feel about ourselves.  It reflects if we see ourselves as a worthy, capable, lovable, significant persons, or as a useless, inept, unlovable and insignificant person.

Some have defined self esteem as our inner mirror.  This is a particularly useful metaphor since it is concrete and helps us visualize the concept of self esteem.  The inner mirror of self esteem is created in the early years of life.

It is brought about through the way we perceive the attitude toward us of people who are significant in our life, especially our parents.

Self esteem is established through respect and approval from others, actual achievement and success, and acceptance of, and acting upon ones inner nature.  The way in which parents, extended family friends and siblings respond to, treat and interact with a child is critical in the development of their self-esteem.

It is important to emphasise positive traits and characteristics and to engage in positive, sincere and reinforcing interactions with even small children.

Therefore, self-image is a neutral description of ourselves. E.g. I am a woman.  Self-esteem is an estimation of our worth e.g. “I am a lovely woman.”, “I am a kind woman.” “I am an ugly woman”. Etc.

The Importance of Self-Esteem

How a person feel affects how they live our lives. If they feel loved and liked –

• They often have better relationships with others.
• They are more likely to ask family and friends for help and support.
• They will believe they can accomplish our goals and aims.
• People who think they can accomplish goals are most likely to do well in school.

Therefore, having good self-esteem allows people to accept themselves and live life more fully.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Here is a list of the most often asked FAQ’s.

General

Q. Why should I enrol with the Academy for Distance Learning?
A. Here at ADL, our students are our priority – we treat everyone as a unique individual.

Q. Do I need to buy text books?
A. No, as each module has been written by highly qualified industry professionals. The content of the material is presented in such a way that text books are not required. However, if you require additional reading your tutor will be able to supply a list.

Q. What happens if I have to stop studying for a while? (eg. become sick, go on holidays, have a baby, move house, etc)
A. It’s OK to take a break and start up your study at a later point in time. Just let us know.

Q. Is there an age limit?
A. There is no maximum age limit. We do however, have a minimum age limit of 18 years. Below that age parental consent would be required.

Q. Are your courses up-to date?
A. Our courses are revised and updated on a rotation system.

Q. Do you have a Cancellation policy?
A. Yes. We have a cancellation policy that is fair and equitable. For further details please click here.

Q. Will I have any opportunity to engage with other students?
A. We have a Student Community group based on facebook! If you don’t have a facebook account already, you could make one just for talking with fellow students on the group.

Enrolment

Q. When can I enrol/start?
A. You may enrol and start at any time of the year – it’s all self- paced.

Q. Can I study from anywhere in the world?
A. Our courses are available to anyone, anywhere in the world from the comfort of your own home. The course content is relevant to any country, culture or economy.

Q. How long do I have to complete the course?
A. You complete the course at any time that is convenient for you.

Q. Completing a 100 hour module – how long will it take?
A. For some students a 100 hour module will take approximately to 3- 6 months to complete. Others take less time and some even longer.

Assessment

Q. Assessment – how does it work?
A. For each 100 hour module you are assessed by assignments (at the end of each lesson) and a final one and a half hour exam (or you may elect to complete a Project, instead of sitting the exam) – the choice is yours – you sit for the exam in your own location.

Q. I don’t cope well with exams – what can I do?
A. You may elect to undertake a Project (set by your tutor) instead of sitting the exam. Projects are completed from your home and can usually take a couple of weeks to complete.

Q. If my assignment is not up to standard is there an opportunity to resubmit my work?
A. Yes –

Q. How many assignments do I need to complete for each module?
A. At the end of each lesson, there is an assignment – so if a course has say, 10 lessons, there would be 10 assignments.

Q. I am having difficulty attending workshops/industry meetings, what can be done?
A. If your course requires attendance at workshops, conferences, or industry meetings; alternative arrangements can be made in your country.

Qualifications

Q. Can I customize my diploma/higher qualification?

A. Not all educational institution’s certificates /diplomas meet everyone’s needs. The opportunity to Design Your Own Diploma at the Academy (subject to our approval) is an added bonus, not found at other colleges. You choose modules that you think will help you in achieving your goal.

Q. What do I get when I complete the course? Will I receive a transcript?
A. At the completion of all courses and providing all assignments and exam requirements have been met, you will receive your Award and a Transcript.

Tutors

Q. Our tutors – who are they?
A. We appoint Tutors and require that they must be currently active in their industry, with at least 5 years’ experience in their chosen profession.

Q. Can I contact my tutor at any time?
A. Yes – you have unlimited access to your tutor via email through our Online Classroom. You can always leave a message with ADL requesting your tutor to contact you. You decide on how much or how little contact you wish to have.

Q. Practical work – How is this done?
A. To find out more about this part of the course please visit the section on How Our Courses Work here.