Avoid Stress
[cortisol is corrosive to the body]: (a) choose a job that helps you avoid
freeway commuting or any commute that takes longer than one hour each way; (b)
Observe the following rules for dealing with stressful situations:
Pause
(count to ten) before taking any specific action;
Perform a deep-breathing exercise and/or muscle relaxation;
Write down on a pad of paper other possible ways of
interpreting an adverse event that does not force you to be the culprit or
“at fault”;
List all the constructive ways to respond to this
anxiety-provoking event.
The following table lists five examples of irrational thought patterns that are
known to produce continuing anxiety:
|
Stressor/Adversity |
Example |
|
Catastrophizing — Exaggerating the |
When |
|
Personalizing — Seeing yourself as the |
Your |
|
All-or-Nothing Thinking — Reducing complex |
You |
|
Overgeneralization — Interpreting one |
When |
|
Mental Filtering — Focusing on the bad |
Obsessing |
