Stress Coping

Stress is your body’s natural reaction to the perceived consequences of an event — something that happens to you or something you observe — that you believe you cannot cope with. Stress is psychological, but causes physical changes in your body such as an increase in stress hormones in your blood.

People experience stress differently. The people, places, or events that one person is exposed to may not bother them, but others in the same situation may experience stress. The individual must perceive an event as being a stress for it to have an effect on his or her health. The perception of stress depends on many factors, including our life experiences, socioeconomic status, education, and how happy we were as children.

A small amount of stress is not harmful. Indeed, a small amount of stress often increases the ability to perform mental tasks. That is why people often wait until the last minute to complete certain tasks. However, once a certain level of stress is experienced, negative health effects can occur. Stress coping increases the amount of stress we can experience before there is a large increase in stress hormone levels.

Our goal is to work with you to train your mind to become less responsive to stress. You will benefit by enhancing the quality of your mental and physical health, and experiencing:

* More patience
* More restful sleep
* Better interpersonal communication
* Improved sense of well-being
* Greater peace of mind
* An increased ability to see change as a natural part of life
* An improved self-confidence during stressful situations
* Decreased depression and anxiety

It is not our purpose to make the stress in your life go away. We cannot do that. However, we can help you lessen the impact of stress on your mental and physical health. We will do this by increasing your ability to cope with stress.
UPMC Lifestyle Program