听力unit6stress

What is stress?

Stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure.

Pressure turns into stress when you feel unable to cope. People have different ways of reacting to stress, so a situation that feels stressful to one person may be motivating to someone else.

Many of life?s demands can cause stress, particularly work, relationships and money problems. And, when you feel stressed, it can get in the way of sorting out these demands, or can even affect everything you do.

Stress can affect how you feel, think, behave and how your body works. In fact, common signs of stress includesleeping

problems, sweating, loss of appetite and difficulty concentrating.

You may feel anxious, irritable or low in self esteem, and you may have racing thoughts, worry constantly or go over things in your head. You may notice that you lose your temper more easily, drink more or act unreasonably.

You may also experience headaches, muscle pain, or dizziness.

Managing stress in daily life

Stress is not an illness itself, but it can cause serious illness if it isn't addressed. It's important to recognise the symptoms of stress early. Recognising the signs and symptoms of stress will help you figure out ways of coping and save you from adopting unhealthy coping methods, such

as drinking or smoking.

Spotting the early signs of stress will also help prevent it getting worse and potentially causing serious complications, such as high blood pressure.

There is little you can do to prevent stress, but there are many things you can do to manage stress more effectively,

such as learning how to relax, taking regular exercise and adopting good time-management techniques.

There's no quick-fix cure for stress, and no single method will work for everyone. However, there are simple things you can do to change the common life problems that can cause stress or make stress a problem. These include relaxation techniques, exercise and talking the issues through.

https://www.360docs.net/doc/eb15064963.html,/Conditions/stress-anxiety-depression/Pages/reduce-stress .aspx

What you can do to address stress

These are Professor Cooper's top 10 stress-busting suggestions:

Be active

If you have a stress-related problem, physical activity can get you in the right state of mind to be able to identify the causes of your stress and find a solution. “To deal with stress effectively, you need to feel robust and you need to feel strong mentally. Exercise does that,” says Cooper.

Exercise won?t make your stress disappear, but it will reduce some of the emotional intensity that you?re feeling, clearing your thoughts and enabling you to deal with your problems more calmly.

Take control

There?s a solution to any problem. “If you remain passive, thinking, …I can?t do anything about my problem?, your stress will get worse,” says Professor Cooper. “That feeling of loss of control is one of the main causes of stress and lack of wellb eing.”

The act of taking control is in itself empowering, and it's a crucial part of finding a solution that satisfies you and not someone else. Read tips about how to manage your time.

Connect with people

A problem shared is a problem halved. A good support network of colleagues, friends and family can ease your work troubles and help you see things in a different way.

“If you don?t connect with people, y ou won?t have support to turn to when you need help,” says Professor Cooper. The activities we do with friends help us relax and we often have a good laugh with them, which is an excellent stress reliever. “Talking things through with a friend will also he lp you find solutions to your problems,” says Professor Cooper.

Have some ‘me time’

The UK workforce works the longest hours in Europe. The extra hours in the workplace mean that people aren?t spending enough time doing things that they really enjoy. “We all need to take some time for socialising, relaxation or exercise,” says Professor Cooper.

He recommends setting aside a couple of nights a week for some quality "me time" away from work. "By earmarking those two days, it means you won?t be tempted to work overtime on those days," he says.

Challenge yourself

Setting yourself goals and challenges, whether at work or outside, such as learning a new language or a new sport, helps to build confidence. That in turn will help you deal with stress.

“By constantly challenging yourself you?re being proactive and taking charge of your life,” says Professor Cooper. “By continuing to learn, you become more emotionally resilient as a person. It arms you with knowledge and makes you want to do things rather than be passive, such as watching TV all the time.”

Avoid unhealthy habits

Don't rely on alcohol, smoking and caffeine as your ways of coping. "Men more than women are likely to do this. We call this avoidance behaviour," says Professor Cooper. "Women are better at seeking support from their social circle." Over the long term, these crutches won?t solve your problems. They?ll just create new ones. "It?s like putting your head in the sand," says Professor C ooper. "It might provide temporary relief but it won?t make the problems disappear. You need to tackle the cause of your stress."

Do volunteer work

Cooper says evidence shows that people who help others, through activities such as volunteering or community work, become more resilient. “Helping people who are often in situations worse than yours will help you put your problems into perspective,” says Professor Cooper. “The mo re you give, the more resilient and happy you feel.”

On a more basic level, do someone a favour every day. It can be something

as small as helping someone to cross the road or going on a coffee run for colleagues. Favours cost nothing to do, and you?ll fee l better.

Work smarter, not harder

Good time management means quality work rather than quantity. Our long-hours culture is a well-known cause of workplace illness. “You have to get a work-life balance that suits you,” says Professor Cooper.

Working smarter means prioritising your work, concentrating on the tasks that will make a real difference to your work. “Leave the least important tasks to last,” says Cooper. “Accept that your in-tray will always be full. Don?t expect it to be empty at the end of the da y.”

Be positive

Look for the positives in life, and things for which you're grateful. Write down three things at the end of every day which went well or for which you're grateful. “People don?t always appreciate what they have,” says Professor Cooper. “Try to be glass half full instead of glass half empty,” he says.

This requires a shift in perspective for those who are more naturally pessimistic. “It can be done,” he says. “By making a conscious effort you can train yourself to be more positive about life. Problems are often a question of perspective. If you change your perspective, you may see your situation from a more positive point of view.”

Accept the things you can't change

Changing a difficult situation isn't always possible. If this proves to be the case, recognise and accept things as they are and concentrate on everything that you do have control over.

“If your company is going under and is making redundancies, there?s nothing you can do about it,” says Professor Cooper. “There?s no point fighting it. In such a situation, you need to focus on the things that you can control, such as looking for a new job.”

What is stress?

The physical and mental symptoms of stress:

Deal with stress:

A brief time-out is the simplest possible approach to stress. Stop the activity or onverstaion that was causing you stress. Go away or go for a short walk.

If you learn to control your breathing, it will help you regain control over the effects of stress. As you breathe in, silently say calm. As you breathe out, silently say smiling.

When you notice negative thoughts in your mind, just say stop to yourself. It may sound too simple to be effective-but it works. Even though you may have to repeat the word several times.

Exercise regularly. When your body is in first-class condition, your mind and emotion will also benefit. Regular exercise is one excellent way to stress-proof yourself, or reduce the bad effects of stress.

Being a Police Officer Is a Stressful Job

Interviewer: Welcome to our program, Sam.

Sam: Thank you.

Interviewer: Sam, ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿a police officer?

Sam: I've been a police officer for thirty years.

Interviewer: Thirty years. And you've had ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿on the police force, I guess.

Sam: Yeah, I've done everything from patrol to undercover work to detective work, and now I'm supervising investigations.

Interviewer: Sam, I think most people would say that being a police officer is a very stressful job. Would you agree?

Sam: Yes, it's＿＿＿＿＿＿＿a stressful job. But it depends on your assignment. Interviewer: So, what's ＿＿＿＿＿＿the most stressful assignment you can have?

Sam: I'd say patrol is the most stressful assignment.

Interviewer: That's interesting! In what way?

Sam: Well, I guess the biggest part of the stress is the fear factor -- the fear of ＿＿＿＿＿＿.

Interviewer: What do you mean, Sam?

Sam: Well, in patrol work, you don't know from moment to moment who you are talking to or what their reaction is going to be to justify your presence. Let's say, for example, a patrol officer stops someone for a traffic violation. It seems ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿that would be a very low-stress situation.

Interviewer: Yes, it is a very low-stress situation.

Sam: But the truth is, there are more police officers injured during a routine stop.

Interviewer: Really?

Sam: Really! That's why all police officers are taught from the very beginning to ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿their surroundings. People back over policemen, people shoot policemen, people jump out at policemen -- different kinds of things. So that's probably the most stressful time.

Interviewer: I see. Let's take a break and then we'll ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿＿our next topic.

Sam: All right.

Stress Reducers

Interviewer: Sam, you've talked about the police officers' stressful time. Now let's move on to the next topic. ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿, there's a connection between stress and illness. Do you think that there's ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿illness among police officers than in the general population? I mean, do they get more colds or anything? Is this really true?

Sam: Yes, it is, and the stress level not only manifests itself in daily health -- whether or not you've feeling well on any given day. It also manifests itself in things like ulcers, heart disease -- police officers ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿have a higher rate of heart disease and ulcers than people in other professions. Interviewer: Really? That's documented?

Sam: Yes, it's documented. And also ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿among police officers is much higher.

Interviewer: Is there something that the police department does to help you deal with this stress?

Sam: Yes, there are several programs that most police departments have in place. One is an exercise program where some part of your day is spent on some type of physical exercise. They've found that's a great stress reducer. Besides, there's also a psychological program with counseling for officers to help them reduce their stress. And there are several discussion groups as well. They've found that sometimes just sitting around and talking about the stress with other officers helps to reduce it. So, those things are ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿.

Interviewer: And what do you do, ＿＿＿＿＿＿＿, to help you deal with the stress of your job, Sam?

Sam: Well, during the baseball season, I'm the biggest baseball fanatic, and I will either be reading about baseball, or listening to baseball, or watching baseball. Another thing I try to do is to get some sort of exercise every day. And then I work hard at keeping up my personal relationships, especially my relationship with my wife. Fortunately I get along very well with my wife. When I come back home, I can talk about my day with her, and then just forget about it.

Statements:

1. The dialogue is mainly about how police officers can deal with stress.

2. According to Sam, most police officers enjoy good health.

3. According to Sam, the divorce rate among police officers is higher than among people in other jobs.

4. Counseling is the most effective program to help police officers relieve stress.

5. Sam knows how to reduce his stress.

Part C

Short Conversations

1. M: You look so nervous, Rose. Are you all right?

W: Frankly speaking, I'm on pins and needles. I have to give a presentation to a group of important visitors this afternoon.

Q: Why does Rose feel nervous?

2. M: You look so upset, Sue. What's worrying you?

W: My son Jack made me extremely unhappy. He seems to be playing video

games all the time. Whenever I talk to him he turns a deaf ear to me.

Q: What's the woman's problem?

3. W: David, you don't look happy. Anything wrong?

M: Well, you know, my mother died three years ago. And since then my father has lived in an apartment on his own and has very few friends.

Q: What is David worrying about?

4. W: Michael, I don't know what has happened to Mother. Her memory seems to be going. I have to remind her of almost everything.

M: Don't worry, Mary. She's just getting old.

Q: What do you know about Mary?

5. W: I'm worried about sending my son Peter to college. You see, nowadays many college students behave rather strangely. They don't seem to be interested in their studies.

M: Just a few. Most students still concentrate on their studies.

Q: What can you infer from the man's response?

Part D

Finding Creative Outlets for Very Stressful Times

Beautifying your home is a fun and practical pastime that can offer a wonderful sense of accomplishment. Few people may realize, however, that painting the walls, knitting bedspreads or sewing pillows can help relieve the life pressures we all experience.

Studies indicate that engaging in creative endeavors such as sewing and crafting can lower one's risk of stroke, kidney damage and heart disease.

These calming, repetitive activities relax the mind and can lower blood pressure. Sharing such activities can also be a way to spend time with loved ones, which increases our sense of belonging and further reduces stress.

People have always turned to working with their hands in times of stress. Handicraft works, with their symbols of hope, have a far greater impact when created by groups.

Keep in mind the following tips to increase the stress-relieving benefits of your craft projects:

1. Work with materials that stimulate the senses; work in a comfortable area without distractions; play your favorite music.

2. Make a family project of selecting your favorite photos, and frame them so they can be enjoyed every day. In stressful times, the photos can lift your spirits as you recall happy moments.

3. If your schedule is hectic, choose a practical project that will make the most of crafting time. If a simple kitchen curtain needs to be replaced, start there. Change sometimes compels us to see things in new ways.

Questions:

1. According to the passage, what is one of the benefits of engaging in creative endeavors?

2. How does the speaker characterize activities such as sewing and crafting?