Take a few minutes to do a personal stressor inventory and determine your top two stressors; try to select one stressor that is temporary and one that is chronic.

/in /by

Lab 10.1: Evaluating and Balancing Stress

 

Name ____________________________________________ Section __________ Date _______

(type, first and last)

 

 

Purpose

One key concept in stress management involves changing how you think about a stressor so that it loses its ability to invoke the stress response. Lacking control over a stressor creates a larger response to it; in contrast, deciding purposefully to do something—or to do nothing—about a situation can reduce the stress response because you are implementing a choice about it.

 

Instructions

 

1. Take a few minutes to do a personal stressor inventory and determine your top two stressors; try to select one stressor that is temporary and one that is chronic. Next, list one stressor in each of the two blanks labeled Main Life Stressor that accompanies the following two charts. Remember that what is identified as a stressor is very personal.

 

2. Evaluate your top two stressors and develop a course of action for reducing them. To do so, use the following chart, which is based on the decisional balance tool presented in chapter 3.

 

 

Main Life Stressor 1: ___________________________________________________________

  Not changing main life stressor 1 Changing main life stressor 1
Pros What is something good that could come from not taking action on this main life stressor?

____________________________

____________________________

 What is something good that could come from taking action on this main life stressor?

____________________________

____________________________
Cons What is something bad that could come from not taking action?

____________________________

____________________________

 What is something bad that could come from taking action?

____________________________

____________________________

 

 

Main Life Stressor 2: ___________________________________________________________

  Not changing life stressor 2 Changing life stressor 2
Pros What is something good that could come from not taking action on this main life stressor?

____________________________

____________________________

 What is something good that could come from taking action on this main life stressor?

____________________________

____________________________
Cons What is something bad that could come from not taking action?

____________________________

____________________________

 What is something bad that could come from taking action?

____________________________

____________________________

 

3. Reflection: Summarize the conclusions you have drawn about your identified stressors based on the decisional balance analysis.

Stressor 1 Summary

 

 

 

 

Stressor 2 Summary

 

 

 

 

4. Strategies: For each stressor, provide three strategies that you will use to reduce your stress or, more specifically, your stress response to the stressor. Frame these strategies with SMART-goal language.

 

Fill in the following charts with your SMART goals for each stressor. After writing each goal, check off whether your goal is specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time bound. If there are elements you cannot check off, refine your goal until all elements can be checked off.

 

SMART Goal: Stressor 1, strategy 1

Enter your SMART goal here.

 

 

 

Use the following checklist to ensure that you have written a SMART goal.

Specific: ☐

Measurable: ☐

Attainable: ☐

Relevant: ☐

Time bound: ☐

SMART Goal: Stressor 1, strategy 2

Enter your SMART goal here.

 

 

 

Use the following checklist to ensure that you have written a SMART goal.

Specific: ☐

Measurable: ☐

Attainable: ☐

Relevant: ☐

Time bound: ☐

 

SMART Goal: Stressor 1, strategy 3

Enter your SMART goal here.

 

 

 

Use the following checklist to ensure that you have written a SMART goal.

Specific: ☐

Measurable: ☐

Attainable: ☐

Relevant: ☐

Time bound: ☐

SMART Goal: Stressor 2, strategy 1

Enter your SMART goal here.

 

 

 

Use the following checklist to ensure that you have written a SMART goal.

Specific: ☐

Measurable: ☐

Attainable: ☐

Relevant: ☐

Time bound: ☐

 

SMART Goal: Stressor 2, strategy 2

Enter your SMART goal here.

 

 

 

Use the following checklist to ensure that you have written a SMART goal.

Specific: ☐

Measurable: ☐

Attainable: ☐

Relevant: ☐

Time bound: ☐

 

SMART Goal: Stressor 2, strategy 3

Enter your SMART goal here.

 

 

 

Use the following checklist to ensure that you have written a SMART goal.

Specific: ☐

Measurable: ☐

Attainable: ☐

Relevant: ☐

Time bound: ☐