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Sources of Stress

Sometimes life seems so overwhelming that everything appears stressful and it is hard to figure out what needs to be worked on first. One way to address this is to develop a source of stress list by reviewing each of the main causes of stress and identifying problem areas in your life. As you are making this list, assign a SUDS (subjective units of distress) score to each item. When you are ready to develop your personal stress relief program you can start by choosing techniques, which will help you manage the top five stressors on your list.

A SUDS score is an arbitrary number that you assign based on your perceived level of stress. You can choose a number system between 1 and 100 or 1 and 10. For example, I may decide to use 1-10 scale and work on all stressors with a score of 8 or more. I suggest assigning the score as you are developing the list versus after the list is complete in order to avoid feeling any pressure to prioritize the items as you assign the score. Just go with the score you feel at the time, and see what you discover.

Sources of Stress:

1)  Environmental Factors: Home and neighborhood, work place, city, country, weather, traffic, etc. - Environmental factors may include rush hour traffic, living around road or building construction, driving in a snow storm, waiting out a hurricane, crowded elevator, etc

2)  Life Changing Events: Marriage, Divorce, Change in family, Financial Gain or Loss, etc. - As we grow and develop it is inevitable that we will experience life events that require a long-term, if not permanent, adjustment of our current routine. These changes may be positive or negative, but either way they may cause distress.

Events requiring major changes may be due to marriage, divorce, birth of a child, death of a loved one, starting school, ending school, car accident, buying a home, getting a new job, unemployment, change in health habits, vacation, moving to a new city or neighborhood, etc.

A review of the Holmes and Rahe Social Readjustment Rating Scale will help you identify major events that may be causing you distress.

3)  Social Pressures: Relationships, financial management, job and family demands, etc. - Social pressures include job demands, too much debt, not enough income, balancing work and family, getting along with others, etc. These pressures result from the threat of something bad happening if we don't meet our deadline, pay our bills, or be nice to our boss.

4)  Changes to the Body: Aging, Illness, Pregnancy, Weight Gain or Loss, etc. - Another cause of stress is due to changes in the body that occur because of poor nutrition, lack of exercise, aging, growing up, illness, accidents, etc. I think people tend to resist changes to their body because we want to be able to do things we are used to doing without any inconvenience.

5)  Your Mind or Thoughts: Self-esteem, Mindfulness, Irrational Beliefs, anxiety, depression, etc. - And finally, there is the mind as a cause of stress. We get frustrated when we don't get something that we want or we are torn between wanting two things at the same time causing an internal conflict. Maybe we just tend to look at life negatively or we just do not respond well to changes in our life.

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