What events cause stress in my life?

If you are like many people, you may think that stress is an event, like seeing a ghost, which exerts an influence upon us. It is common to think of the word stress as an event which happens to us and exerts a force upon us. Much like an earthquake, or war, many people think that, under certain events, all people will act the same. Try the following exercise and see if you fit this category of people who believe stress is an event, which if intense enough, will cause you to react in a specific way.

                                        List 10 events that cause you stress

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2. 

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10.

What do all of these events have in common? How are they similar, or how are they different? Would everyone think these events are stressful and how would you know?  Why or why not? Explain your reasoning. Can you begin to examine some of the assumptions you are making? What difference does it make what assumptions people make about stress? What about an individual's interpretation they are making about the event? What did you learn from this exercise about stress?

Bonus Credit ( 5 points ) Search the Internet and take a stress management quiz. Provide the hyperlink and your test results.

E-mail: rbrehm@msn.com Copyright © 1998 [Robert Brehm]. All rights reserved.