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