[A quick note before I begin: I wrote this for a health assignment in which we had to find ways to cope with stress online, try them and then write about it. I hope I get an A!!]

Perhaps 'frustrating' is a better word to describe what I'm feeling.

Anyway, I went online (as the assignment says) to see what stress relieving techniques I could find and use so I could get a good grade for the assignment. I, however, found two problems:

1. I am not particularly stressed this week.

and

2. I am already doing most of the stress relieving techniques I came across.

After getting quite frustrated with what I found online and worried about the deadline, I realized that, ah ha! I was now stressed enough to repeat some of these things I had found. I went back to a page on Stress Management Techniques and took another look at the first strategy.

Number One: "Avoid Unnecessary Stress"

Well, I couldn't do that; this is an assignment! Avoiding it wasn't an option. So I went to the next one.

Number Two: "Alter the Situation"

How does one alter an assignment? I briefly considered writing about Chris Crocker's stress management tips "It ain't no thing! It's a hairflip!" but I came to the conclusion that I'd really like to get an A in this class. The only other thing in this catagory was to break the project into small steps, but I know that if I don't do it all at once, I won't do it at all. So that plan was nixed and I went strategy three.

Number Three: "Accept the Things You Can't Change"

Ah ha! Now here is something I can try! I called my friend and complained to her. "I have a health assignment to do!" I said. "It's really frustrating and I don't like it!" "Health is dumb," she said, then reconsidered as she had just gotten over a bad cold.

After I hung up, I reread the bullet points for this section. "Learn to Forgive" it said. So, I forgive you, stressful and obnoxious health assignment. I harbor no hard feelings against you!

Number Four: "Adapt to the Stressor"

I looked at the big picture. "Well," I said to myself, "If I fail this, I might get a lower grade in the class. And if my grade is too low, I may fail. And... if I fail... I will have to retake the class!" That did nothing to help my stress.

Following that, I focused on the positives. Positive #1: I had a doughnut in my refrigerator. I ate it, and wouldn't you know it relieved some of my stress? Brilliant!

The last thing I tried in this section was to Adjust My Standards(TM). "Perfectionism is a major source of avoidable stress. Stop setting yourself up for failure by demanding perfection. Set reasonable standards for yourself and others, and learn to be okay with 'good enough.' " it said. "Hmm," I thought to myself. "Perfectionism is something I have problems with. I know! In order to try this, I will write this assignment in one sitting with little to no editing! That's good enough for me!" And I did.

In closing, having (almost) finished this has lifted a weight from my shoulders, so I would say that the Stress Management Techniques that I have learned in this assignment have indeed helped me cope with the stress of the assignment! What a paradox! See you in the next discussion board, folks!


Oh yeah, here's the website I used. Maybe it'll help you too!
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/stress_management_relief_coping.htm