Stress Effects and Management Report

Topic: Stress Words: 974 Pages: 2

Introduction

Stress is the feeling which results from situations that are overwhelming which the body or mind are not used to. When someone is under stress, a feeling of insecurity is evident. As a result, hormones react to the prevailing situation which may lead to a faster heart beat. Also, the breathing patterns of a stressed person may instantly go up.

Not all stress conditions are unhealthy. It is important that a human being get stressed over some situations so as to create an automatic body system response which may be towards response to some kind of danger. For instance, stress can help a person complete an urgent and important task in good time.

However, frequency and life span of a given stressing condition matters a lot. If one encounters stress several times in a week and these stress sessions last for a long time, it may lead to other adverse health conditions. At this point, stress management becomes imperative and should never be ignored. The positive thing, however, is that stress can be managed in a variety of ways. This is an essay proposal paper on the best way to manage stress using relaxation methods through breathing.

Breathing for Relaxation

Breathing is a very important biological process. Proper breathing habit might help in a big way to alleviate stress (Jeffrey, 1997). Oxygen is required in our entire body system to “clean” the blood in circulation. In exchange, we breathe out carbon dioxide. If we dot breath well, the flow and exchange of these gases becomes poor.

Personal experience

After trying the relaxation technique of breathing for two days, I found out that it was very effective as a stress management technique. Before the breathing exercise, it is important to be keen on your personal breathing style (Jeffrey, 1997). Breathing right from the diaphragm is the best way to ease the tension in the muscles. This exercise is quite easy to learn and it does not take too long before one becomes an expert. Moreover, the beneficial outcome is almost instant when the exercise is done in the right manner (Rubenstein, 1998). Nonetheless, it is important that the breathing exercise is done regularly for best results to be realized. As they say, practice makes perfect. A single or just few breathing episodes may not be sufficient. It should be noted that persistence pays.

The procedure for abdominal breathing

You initialize the exercise by lying right on your back while keeping the legs horizontal with the ground but not touching each other. The toes should be facing away from you while your arms sideways and not in contact with the rest of your body and then ensure your eyes are not open (Rubenstein, 1998). Test your breathing pattern with your hands, each time breathing deeply in and letting out air slowly. This will help you release tension. Each time you breathe in, you need to halt slightly before exhaling.

In a nut shell, I would recommend this technique to any person willing to manage stress at no negligible cost and very easily.

Assessment Chart

Name ______________

Stress Management Proposal

Name of technique:	Breathing
Description of technique:	You initialize the exercise by lying right on your back while keeping the legs horizontal with the ground but not touching each other. The toes should be facing away from you while your arms sideways and not in contact with the rest of your body and then ensure your eyes are not open. Test your breathing pattern with your hands, each time breathing deeply in and letting out air slowly. This will help you release tension. Each time you breathe in, you need to halt slightly before exhaling. Repeat this procedure severally.
Summary or analysis of personal experience:	The technique is easy to learn because all one needs is a flat surface and instructions to be followed. There are no costs involved in the breathing exercise and so can be done at any time and as frequently as possible. It has flexible time requirement in the sense that the exercise takes less than fifteen minutes and can be done during work breaks or after work. The exercise can be conducted by a single individual without being assisted by another party.
Time needed during each session and frequency of sessions per week:	You need about ten to fifteen minutes per session. Within one week, four to five sessions can be performed depending with the availability of the person and stress intensity.

Equipment and space needed:	A free space measuring a square of eight feet is sufficient for one person. A floor cover using a rug or preferably a mat measuring six feet by six feet is desirable. Alternatively, a comfortable bed can be used in place of a mat on the ground.
Estimated costs	The grand total cost for the above requirements is about US $ 25 per single person
Disadvantages of technique:	Few demerits of the technique. For instance since it does not require supervision, some individuals might fail to perform the exercise as regularly as required. Moreover, no follow up procedures that is in place for this technique.
Effects of stress on Physical and Psychological Health:	Stress would cause one or all of the fallowing impacts namely hypertension, headache, stiff joints, prostrate pain, abnormally high breathing rate, profuse sweating, and indigestion. Persistent sweating might lead to weak immune system and other terminal conditions like heart attack.

Recommendation for the company:

I would recommend the company to adopt this stress management technique due to its varied advantages which outweighs the demerits. A stressed work force cannot perform and may lead to low productivity. With this technique, the company will save up to 50% of time wasted by employees owing to stress related complications which might further cost the company heavily in terms of medical insurance cover for its workers.

References

Jeffrey P.D. (1997). The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Managing Stress. New York: Alpha Books

Rubenstein L. Lori A. (1998). The Stress Management Handbook: Strategies for Health and Inner Peace. New Canaan, Conn. NTC Contemporary