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Stress and How to Cope Well With It
Nowadays many
people say that they are tired of their hectic lifestyle. They
work too much and stop taking breaks. They forget about
everything striving for their goals and they constantly raise
the bar. Very often they don't find personal satisfaction in
their work and don't love what they do. They have no sense of
personal accomplishment and self-satisfaction. Some people don't
feel content even when they achieve their goal. One the
contrary, they feel disillusioned and dissatisfied. Having
climbed the ladder of success they find nothing worthwhile on
the top. Constant fatigue, physical and moral exhaustion,
monotony and impossible pressure at work and at home can cause
stress.
Stress is the
emotional and physical strain caused by people's response to
pressure from the outside world. Stress causes tension,
irritability, anxiety, alarm, loss of concentration, sensations
of fear and panic as well as headaches and a fast heartbeat. It
can result in a real breakdown of health. Stress can even cause
heart disease and cancer.
There are a lot
of stressful events in our lives, such as divorce, losing a job
or having difficulties at home or at work. But changes for the
better can also cause stress, like a new baby, a wedding, and a
new house. Pupils and students often face stress from problems
at school, poor relationships with peers, strict and demanding
teachers, exams and many other problems.
Feeling stressed
many people try to find some distraction and to escape their
problems. They begin overeating, smoking, drinking, and even
taking drugs. But junk food, cigarettes, sleeping pills and
alcohol don't help. On the contrary, they make things much worse
and more difficult to patch up.
Stress can have a
negative influence not only on our physical and mental health,
but on the lives of those around us. It often makes us lose
control and shout at our spouses, relatives, friends or
colleagues. Taking stress out on our nearest and dearest is the
easiest way to hurt their feelings and to make them feel
depressed too.
People react to
stress in different ways. Some of us are more vulnerable to
stress than others. People who are always angry, impatient and
mistrustful may have more stress-related physical problems.
It is very
important to try to avoid stress or at least to minimize it.
That's why it is essential to notice early signs of stress and
to remove some of its causes. If you catch the trouble early,
the problem may be easy to fix.
One of the best
ways to cope with stress is to keep a sense of humor in
difficult situations. Wise people say that laughter is the best
medicine for all diseases. It increases blood flow and it may
reduce the risk of heart disease. Besides, laughter makes the
body release pleasure chemicals.
Regular leisure
activities and relaxing hobbies are also very important in
reducing stress. If you feel depressed, yoga, swimming,
bicycling, painting or gardening can help you relax, calm down
and get a new lease on life. Anti-anxiety medications and
anti-depressants can be useful for dealing with short periods of
acute stress. But the side effects of such medications can be
rather dangerous, that's why they must never be taken as often
as vitamins. Besides, anti-anxiety medications and
anti-depressants cause addiction and may lead to suicides.
Forget about your
problems. Take a day off work, domestic chores and family. Work
regular hours and don't forget to take breaks and holidays.
Don't expect too much of yourself and don't try to aim higher
than your capacity. Have a balance in life. Walk away from
stressful situations and be positive and enthusiastic. In other
words 'don't worry, be happy.'
1. Complete each sentence (A-H) with one of the endings
(1-8):
A. Stress is the emotional and physical strain caused by
B. Stress causes
C. Feeling stressed many people try to Find
D. Stress often makes us
E. People who are always angry, impatient and mistrustful
F. One of the best ways to cope with stress is
G. Regular leisure activities and relaxing hobbies
H. Anti-anxiety medications and anti-depressants can be useful
for
1. some distraction and to escape their problems.
2. to keep a sense of humor in difficult situations.
3. tension, irritability, anxiety, alarm, loss of concentration,
sensations of fear and panic as well as headaches and a fast
heartbeat.
4. are also very important in reducing stress.
5. people's response to pressure from the outside world.
6. lose control and shout at our spouses, relatives, friends or
colleagues.
7. dealing with short periods of acute stress.
8. may have more stress-related physical problems.
2. Agree or disagree. Explain your point of view
— Stress can result in a real breakdown of health.
— Stress is everywhere.
— Stress is a synonym for 'weakness' and 'helplessness'.
— Changes for the better can never cause stress.
— Overeating, smoking, drinking, or taking drugs don't help to
cope with stress.
— Laughter is the best medicine for all diseases.
— It is impossible to avoid stress.
— The best way to minimize stress is to know your limits and to
be in harmony with yourself.
3. Choose a situation which is the most stressful to your mind.
Say what you would do in this situation to cope with stress.
Describe the situation from your own life experience when you
felt stressed
• You are being asked to speak in public. But you don't know
much about the subject discussed by the participants. Everybody
is looking at you. You are terrified and don't know what to say.
You feel your hands shaking and your cheeks blushing.
• You are the first-year student of the University. You are
taking your first exam. You are absolutely calm and
self-confident as you know the subject very well. You are taking
a question card and feel a cramp in the stomach. You don't
remember the answer to the question.
• You are a secretary for a large firm. You like your job as it
is well-paid and interesting. The only problem is your boss. He
gives you much work and charges you with a great number of
errands both important and unimportant. This time he has ordered
you to type a pile of urgent documents, though your working day
is over and you have a date in the evening. But your boss
insists that you should do this work right now.
• Your best friend has fallen ill and he has asked you to go to
the chemist's to buy some medicine. You've gladly agreed to help
him. Standing in the queue you suddenly realize that you've lost
your friend's purse with a considerable sum of money in it. You
are shocked and don't know what to do.
• You've seen your brother's girlfriend kissing some other guy.
You don't know whether you should tell your brother about it.
You are afraid that he won't believe you if you tell the truth.
But on the other hand he will never forgive you if he learns
that you have concealed this unpleasant fact.
• You've been asked to baby-sit your 5-year-old nephew. Your
sister has promised that he will be sleeping the whole evening
so you will have no trouble with him. And now when she has left
you are locked in her house with a shrieking child who is having
a fit of hysterics and you don't know what to do to calm him
down.
4. Answer the questions
1) Why do many people feel stressed at work?
2) What kind of situation can be called stressful?
3) How do many people cope with stress? What mistakes do they
usually make?
4) Why is stress dangerous not only to our health but to the
health of those around us?
5) Why do people react to stress in different ways?
6) How can we avoid or minimize stress?
7) Why are anti-anxiety medications and anti-depressants
dangerous to our health?
8) Do you know any effective ways to cope with stress? Say a few
words about them.
5. Much can be said about the negative consequences of stress.
But some people are sure that stress can be very useful. Read
their opinions and say if you agree with them or not. Fill in
the table below and give your own reasons for and against stress
1. 'Stress is inevitable. It goes hand in hand with the work
we do. People don't hire us to do easy things, they hire us to
do difficult things and to think that you can remove stress from
that is a fool's errand. Isn't this pressure why people work in
the first place? I work with people who are up for the
challenge, focused on being successful and pressure helps them
reach their goals.' (Stevan Rolls, head of human resources at
Deloitte)
2. 'I don't think you should shy away from stress. It forces you
to perform to live up to your full potential. I like to think
that even when I am on the verge of retirement I'll still be
pushing myself. It's what gets me out of bed in the morning.'
(Charlie Bagot Jewitt, a former Royal Naval commander)
3. To live without stress would be to live in a vegetative
state. It's just not viable. Even the act of getting up in the
morning requires effort. For many workers it is the fact that
they feel 'driven' that makes the job worthwhile and that once
that feeling is gone, it is time for them to move on. It is this
environment that allows them to produce their best work.' (Glynis
Kelly, senior lecturer in psychology and sociology at Cornwall
College)
4. 'Spikes of stress help us to develop and survive. So view
being stressed as being resilient. Resilient people see pressure
as a challenge, trust that they have control and don't see
themselves as powerless. Those kinds of attitudes are at the
root of any career success.' (Dr Wolfgang Seidl, executive
director of the Validium Group, which provides employee
assistance programmes)
(from the article 'I love stress' by Cath Janes, The Guardian)
Stress
For
Against
6. Read the quotations below. Choose any statement and
comment on it
• 'Stress is basically a disconnection from the earth, a
forgetting of the breath. Stress is an ignorant state. It
believes that everything is an emergency. Nothing is that
important. Just lie down.' (Natalie Goldberg)
• 'Stress is nothing more than a socially acceptable form of
mental illness.' (Richard Carlson)
• Stress is a designer ailment that many of the so-called
afflicted suffer from with pride.' (Janet Street-Porter)
• 'Every stress leaves an indelible scar, and the organism pays
for its survival after a stressful situation by becoming a
little older.' (Hans Selye)
• 'Much of the stress that people feel doesn't come from having
too much to do. It comes from not finishing what they've
started.' (David Allen)
I believe that stress is a factor in any bad health.' (Christopher Shays)
A.
There are hundreds of definitions of stress but even the highest
medical authorities don't know what it really means. Give your
own definition of stress.
B. Read the text 'Stress and How to Cope Well With It' and think
if stress can be called the disease of modern society.
Find an article about stress and prepare a short speech on the
problems raised in it. Speak about the author's attitude to
these problems.
Из учебного пособия
"Открывая
мир с английским языком. Современные темы для обсуждения.
Готовимся к ЕГЭ" Юнёва С.А. 2012г.
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