Stress

• Recognizing Stress
  • What is stress?
  • What causes stress?
  • How do you recognize stress in your life?
  • Have you been under stress recently?
  • How does stress affect you?
  • Do you have a kind of red warning flag that indicates too much stress?
  • When you are stressful, how do you feel physically?
    • Do you feel tired during the day?
    • Can you sleep well at night?
    • Does your stomach hurt?
  • How do you feel emotionally?
    • Do you feel nervous or worried about the stressful situation?
    • Do you get angry easily?

• Helping Others
  • Have you ever helped someone who was feeling stressful?
    • What did you do?
    • Did you give them advice?
    • Did you listen to them?
    • Did you do most of the talking?
    • Did you take some action to help them?
  • Have you ever helped someone that you didn't know?
  • What are characteristics of a good counselor?
    • Is it necessary to have shared the same experience?
    • Is it important to be an expert?
    • Is it important to be patient?

• Healthy Stress
  • Do you think stress is ever good, useful, or necessary?
    • Why or why not?
  • Do you play games or sports that are sometimes stressful?
  • When can stress be a good thing?
    • If you are playing a sport and your team is losing, does it give you extra energy?
  • Does stress make you feel more alive?
  • Is your home life stressful?
  • Are you busy at home?
  • Can you relax at home?
  • Do you enjoy having discussions about politics with other people who have different opinions?
  • Do you like to argue about different ways to do things at work or at home?

• Personal
  • Have you felt stress recently?
    • Did the stressful feeling last a long time or a short time?
    • Had the cause of the stress happened to you before or was this a new situation?
  • How often do you think you feel too much stress?
  • Do you feel too busy sometimes?
  • In what way does a too full schedule lead to stress?
  • Do you like being busy?
  • If you are very busy at work or at school, do you have ways to balance your life?
  • If you have nothing to do, do you enjoy yourself or do you get bored?
  • Does stress make it hard for you to think or act?
  • How can you judge what is the right amount of stress for you?
  • Is your stress caused by relationships with other people?
    • At work? At school?
    • At home?
    • With best friends?
    • With partners?
    • Can you think of some examples?
  • Does stress come when you worry about your life?
  • Do you keep your worries a secret from other people?
  • Do you have anyone you can talk to when you are worried?
  • When did we start talking about stress as a psychological condition?
  • What do you do when you have stress?

• Stressful Situations
  • Are there situations that you find stressful?
  • Do you feel tense when you meet someone for the first time?
  • Do you get nervous if you have to make a speech?
  • Do you suffer from stress when you have too much work to do?
  • Do you work or study for long hours under stressful conditions?
  • Does the place you live have a low-stress environment?
  • Can you be alone as much as you like?
  • Can you be with friends as often as you like?
  • Is it easy for you to make decisions about important things?
  • Can you relax when you are sleeping away from home?
  • In what kinds of situations do you observe other people feeling stressed?
  • What are some situations that you enjoy?
  • What are some situations that make you feel stressful?
  • How can you eliminate stressful situations?
  • Plan a low-stress, cheap, one-day holiday.

• Controlling Stress
  • How do you relieve stress?
  • What stresses you out?
  • Do you have a stressful lifestyle?
  • How can you eliminate stressful situations?
  • How do you get control of a stressful situation that is getting too tough?
  • What is the "fight or flight" response? How does it relate to stress?
  • Do you enjoy the feeling of being stressed?
  • If you are feeling stressed, what do you do?
  • Do you like to relax or be active when stressful?
  • Are you capable of relieving your stress or do you need help?
  • Can alcohol cure stress temporarily?

• Living Stress Free
  • How can you live a stress free life?
  • Can you give five suggestions that would be inexpensive?
  • Can you give five suggestions for children?
  • Can you give five suggestions for the wintertime?
  • Give us suggestions for making school life less stressful.
  • When stressful do you like to listen to a certain kind of music?
    • Does it help to go shopping or take a long walk?
    • Do you like to be alone or be with other people?
    • Do you eat more or eat less?
  • Do certain colors make you feel happier?
  • Do you always follow the same pattern to relieve stress or do you try different things?
  • What are some positive ways people deal with stress?
  • What are some negative ways people deal with stress?
  • How do you deal with stress?
  • What is the most stressful experience you have ever had?
  • When was the most stressful time of your life? Did you learn anything from that experience?
  • What do you think is the greatest cause of stress for most people?
  • What is your greatest cause of stress?
  • Do you deal with stress differently that your parents do/did? If so, how?
  • Do you know of anyone who likes to break things or become violent when they are stressed? What have they broken? What kind of violence do they do?
  • What is the most stressful job you can think of?
  • What is the least stressful job you can think of?
  • Which would you choose: A stressful job with very high pay or a relaxing job with considerably low pay? Why?
  • Is being single less stressful than married life? What are the advantages & disadvantages of each?
  • How do you reduce stress in your life? Do you think they would be considered good or bad ways of dealing with stress?