Stress Vaccination

PREPARATION FOR THE STRESSOR/STRESS-FILLED DAY

• What are things you have to do?
• What can you do to plan for the event(s)?

State:

• I can manage the situation
• I can regulate my stress
• There are options to anger
• There are options to disagreement/argument

Take time for a few deep breaths, focusing your attention on the breath and feeling the relaxation course through your body.

CONFRONTING THE STRESSOR

• Time to take a deep breath
• Think: What is my goal here?
• Do I feel muscle tension? Am I feeling upset?
• Anger is a signal of discontent -- what do I need to do?

• Remember, as long as you stay calmer, you're in control
• Don't take incidents personally
• You don't need to yell to be heard
• It's really too bad this person is the way they are

TAKE TIME TO COUNSEL YOURSELF

• If I try a cooperative approach, maybe we'll both be happy
• I'm not going to be a victim, but I'm also not going to be aggressive either.
• I can't always get people to act the way I'd like them to.

• That wasn't as hard as I thought it would be!
• I'm getting better at this all the time!
• I could have been a lot more upset by this.
• Maybe I've been getting too upset for too long, when it wasn't necessary.

© Taylor & Tran, 2000.
Adapted from Johnson, S. L., Therapist's Guide to Clinical Intervention (Academic Press: San Diego, CA., 1997.), 157.