ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE WITHOUT STRESS ( by Nor Maisarah binti Nor Azni, in fullfillment of BEL 492, BBA (hons.) Finance, UiTM Melaka )

GENERAL PURPOSE

The general purpose of this assignment is to inform about stress.

SPECIFIC PURPOSE

The specific purpose is to inform audience about tips in reducing stress.

CENTRAL IDEA

The four tips in reducing stress are learn to plan, change your thinking, be a positive person and learn to tolerate and forgive.


INTRODUCTION

What is stress?

Stress defines as the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made on it. Stress is essentially an individual’s reaction to the various pressures and challenges faced at the workplace and in his or her personal life.

Stress is also defines as mental or physical tension that results from physical, emotional or chemical causes.

Stress itself is neither negative nor positive. Some stress is productive, too much can be deadly. What is stressful to one person may not be so for another. Indeed, many people do their best work when under pressure. The matter is our ability to cope with stressful situations.


TYPES OF STRESS
There are two types of stress:-

Eustress (good stress)
Distress (bad stress)

Eustress is mild or constructive stress which actually improves personal productivity. Examples of eustress are producing quality work within deadlines, taking exams and making an important presentation.

Distress is severe and persistent stress which results in excessive psychological or physiological strain. Examples of distress are tension that one might experience when going through a lot of assignment and facing the death of a close family member.
Stress is also linked to six leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, accidents, suicides etc.

SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF STRESS

Stress affects the mind, body, and behavior in many ways. The specific signs and symptoms of stress vary from person to person, but all have the pontential to harm your health, emotional and our education performance. Below is a partial list of stress signs and symptoms that a person undergoing stress might experience.

1. INTELLECTUAL SYMPTOMS:
How stress can affect our mind
- Memory problems
- Confusion
- Poor judgment
- Desire to escape or run away
- Seeing only the negative

2. EMOTIONAL SYMPTOMS:
How stress can make our feel
- Moody and hypersensitive
- Lack of confidence
- Anger and resentment
- Restlessness and anxiety

3. PHYSICAL SYMPTOMS:
How stress can affect our body
- High blood pressure
- Weight gain or loss
- Skin problems
- Sleep disturbance

4. BEHAVIORAL SYMPTOMS:
How stress can affect our behavior
- Eating more or less
- Sleeping too much or too little
- Losing our temper
- Overreacting to unexpected problems


EFFECTS OF STRESS
Stress can affect us physically, emotionally, behaviorally and mentally.

Physical
Ø Acute (short-term) stress is the physical immediate reaction to any situation that seems demanding or dangerous.

Ø The body usually recovers quickly from acute stress, but it can cause problems if it happens too often or your body doesn't have a chance to return to normal.

Ø Adrenalin is released into the bloodstream. The heart rate and respiration increases. Muscles become tense.

Ø Tense muscles are tight and feel "hard" to the touch.

Ø Stressful situation goes on for too long without any relief. We might experience diseases and disorders, such as colds, ulcers, asthma, heart attack or stroke.

Ø We may feel tired, irritable, depressed, or anxious. You may have trouble with sleeping, eating (either too smoking).

Emotional
Ø Emotional stress can lead to psychosomatic illness, a condition that's caused at least in part by stress, but has physical symptoms that need to be treated as any other illness does.

Ø Many feel irritability, anxiety, irritability, depression or sadness, or even exhilaration and extreme happiness and more anger.

Behavioral
Ø Some experience stress as a loss of physical coordination and control, lose sleep, or act irrationally.

Ø Stress also makes a person more anger, and increased smoking.

Ø Stress people sometimes have relationship conflicts with other people. This made them difficult to have new friend and sometimes they start to blame others.

Mental
Ø Stress can reduce one's ability to concentrate process and store information in memory, and solve mental problems.

Ø A tense mind makes you feel jumpy, irritable, and unable to concentrate.

Ø Stress can also make him or she feels more pressure especially when they in strained situation such as too many work that they haven done and assignment.

4 TIPS FOR REDUCING STRESS

1. Learn To Plan
- Disorganization can cause stress. Having too many projects or work going at the same time often leads to confusion, forgetfulness, and the sense that uncompleted work are hanging over

- Furthermore, in order to have good plan, we need to manage time successfully and be discipline. We must organize, make a daily list, avoid procrastination and be assertive. Learn to say “no” to unreasonable demands from others.

2. Change Your Thinking
- Most of us set unreasonable and perfectionistic goals for ourselves. We can never be perfect, so we often have a sense of failure no matter how well we perform. Set achievable goals for yourself.

- So think logically and be rational. Talk about your worries or frustrations with someone you can trust.

3. Be a Positive Person
- Avoid Criticizing Others. Learn to praise the things you like in others. Focus upon the good qualities those around you possess. Be sure to give yourself credit and appreciate your own good qualities, as well.

- Beside that, by build up self esteem we can learn to be positive and believe in ourselves. Do not worry unnecessarily, we must accept what we cannot change and avoid being perfectionist.

4. Learn To Tolerate And Forgive

-Intolerance of others leads to frustration and anger. An attempt to really understand the way other people feel can make you more accepting of them. Accept and forgive yourself also.

-Take charge of your life and avoid blaming others for your problems. We must set our goals and prioritize them, so we can make decision wisely. In addition, we must accept ALLAH faith after put strong effort on it.


CONCLUSION

Stress is a necessary part of life. We cannot and would not want to eliminate all sources of stress. Students can, however, learn to cope more effectively with stressors by employing effective physical, behavioral, and mental strategies. There are a number of behavioral strategies which can be used to reduce the intensity of stress. Time management is a particularly effective method. Making a schedule of available time an put some sense of structure into a seemingly overwhelming semester. It is also important to establish realistic and achievable goals and to maintain a balance between academic, work, and social commitments. Thus, hopefully, by managing stress, student can get better performance in their academic.

REFERENCES

- Wayne A. Payne & Dale B. Hahn, Understanding Your Heallth.

- University of Maryland Glossary of Medical Terms, Definition of Stress http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=20104

- Webmd- Better information, Better health.
http://www.webmd.com/balance/Stress-Management/Stress-Management-Effects-of-Stress

- Gary A. Baker, Memorial Hospital's, STRESS EFFECTS
http://www.memorialhospital.org/Library/general/stress-STRESS-2.html

- http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu

- Mahli (2004), TQM Consultants Sdn.Bhd

- http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/tp/thinking_skills.htm

- http://stress.about.com/od/studentstress/a/school_anxiety.htm

- Karen Londre, Clinical Psychologist

- http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/03/060308084247.htm

- Student Stress: Effects and Solutions. ERIC Digest 85-1.
http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-926/stress.htm

- Elizabeth Scott, M.S.

-Time Management Exercise
http://homeworktips.about.com/od/studymethods/qt/taskdiary.htm