Members, Welcome to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Day (CBT) on the forums! Every Sunday and Thursday will now be known as CBT day. Every Sunday a SSC health educator will launch a challenge. Members are encouraged to take on the challenge and post their results. On the following Thursday, a SSC educator will post specific tips and strategies to aid you in the way you look/interpret yourself and the way you view the world. This week we will be talking about stress… Manifestations of stress are numerous and varied but they generally fall into four categories (this is only a partial list of most common symptoms: •Physical: fatigue, headache, insomnia, muscle aches/stiffness (especially neck, shoulders and low back), heart palpitations, chest pains, abdominal cramps, nausea, trembling, cold extremities, flushing or sweating and frequent colds. •Mental: decrease in concentration and memory, indecisiveness, mind racing or going blank, confusion, loss of sense of humor. •Emotional: anxiety, nervousness, depression, anger, frustration, worry, fear, irritability, impatience, short temper. •Behavioral: pacing, fidgeting, nervous habits (nail-biting, foot-tapping), increased eating, smoking, drinking, crying, yelling, swearing, blaming and even throwing things or hitting There are two kinds of stressors: external and internal. External stressors include: •Physical environment: noise, bright lights, heat, confined spaces. •Social: rudeness, bossiness or aggressiveness on the part of someone else. •Organizational: rules, regulations deadlines and office politics. •Major life events: divorce, lost job, promotion, new baby. •Daily hassles: being stuck in traffic, forgetting your purse Internal stressors include: •Lifestyle choices: caffeine, not enough sleep, overloaded schedule, not eating enough or often enough. •Negative self-talk: putting yourself down, catastrophizing. •Mind traps: unrealistic expectations, taking things personally, all-or-nothing thinking, exaggerating. •Stressful personality traits: perfectionist, workaholic, people pleaser. Thinking back to the record you’ve kept this week, which category did you fall into? Danielle, Bilingual Health Educator