Assertive

Stress is a fact of life. Stress is any kind of pressure that affects us in our daily life. This effect may be healthy or unhealthy depending on our reaction to the stress factors. The sources of stress that affect us normaly are environment, life's events and situations.

The invironment is one of the sources of stress. it is usually related to the external factors that affect a person. Environmental stressors include temperatures, crowded places, noise, infectious or atmospheric condition. Noise and crowds contribute to stress and tension, similarly we may feel stress when the temperature becomes extremely hot or cold. On hot and humid days, we tend to become lethargic, irritable and some times emotionally explosive when things do not go our way.

The form of situations that confront the person daily namely psychological stressors. Because they are recurrent, these stressors are dangerous. They are often that induce fear, frustration and conflict.

Fear is a tension that comes when a person is in the presence of or expects to be in the presence of danger or pain. Being confronted by a violent man, an overly demanding boss or dentist's drill are cetainly fearful situations for most. Some people live in situations of fear everyday . It could be fear that work is being evaluated and they may not measure up, or that their children may not be accepted by the better schools or they obtain highly debt to pay monthly. The fear of being left behind on the social or economic ladder confronts many of us.

Blocked goals may become frustration and is brought on by the high expectations others have of us. Departments that set rigid deadlines and impose heavy schedules produce stress and frustration for their staff.

Social stressors are normally related to life's events that associated with changes in our life.
These include losing a loved one, illness, unhappy events, divorce, retirement, or other role and status changes. Some people cannot accept retirement and those who have problems because they were not prepared for it and feel they have become worthless and need to prove their in other ways.

In managing stress, it is important to examine our thinking and ensure that our attitudes are as reality based as possible. We can find the answers in a technique known as Assertiveness Training, through which by changing our actions, we change our attitudes and feelings about ourself.

We learn how to be a truly assertive person like we feel free to reveal ourself. Through words and action we make the statement, "This is me. This is what I feel, think and want".

We can communicate with people on all levels, with strangers, friends or family. This communication is always open, direct, honest and appropriate.

We have an active orientation to life. We go after what we want. In contrast to the passive person who wait for things to happen, we attempt to make things happen.

We act in a way we ourself respects. Aware that we cannot always win, we accepts our limitations. However, we always strive to make the good try so that win, lose, or draw, we maintain our self-respect.

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