REVIEW OF LITERATURE

A review on the previous studies on stress among the employees is necessary to know the areas already covered. This will help to find our new areas uncovered and to study them in depth. The earlier studies made on stress among the employees are briefly reviewed here. The research study of Jamal. M* finds that job stressors were significantly related to employees psychosomatic problems, job satisfaction, unproductive time at the job, and absenteeism. Type A behaviour was found to be an important moderator of the stress outcome relationship. Hans Selye was one of the founding fathers of stress research. His view in 1956 was that stress is not necessarily something bad it all depends on how you take it. The stress of exhilarating, creative successful work is beneficial, while that of failure, humiliation or infection is detrimental. Selye believed that the biochemical effects of stress would be experienced irrespective of whether the situation was positive or negative. The most commonly accepted definition of stress (mainly attributed to Richard S Lazarus) is that stress is a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize. In short, it's what we feel when we think we've lost control of events. Brief. A. P. and J. M. Atieh*, argues that it is not safe to assume that job conditions that have an adverse impact on affective reactions to the job will also have a negative impact on overall subjective well-being.

Fienmann views stress as a psychological response state of negative effect characterized by a persistent and a high level of experienced anxiety or tension. Hans Seyle, the endocrinologist, whose research on General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS), for the first time, revealed how human beings adapt themselves to emotional strives and strains in their lives. According to him emotional stress occurs in three important stages. 1. Alarm reaction stage 2. Resistance stage 3. Exhaustion stage. Alarm reaction is caused by physical or psychological stressors. Resistances are brought about by ACTH hormone of the body. Exhaustion follows when ACTH dwindles as a result of continual stress. (ACTH-Aprinocorticotropic) According to Stephen .P. Robbins*, stress related headaches are the leading cause of loss of work time in U. S. industry.

* Jamal M. Job stress-prone Type A behaviour, personal and organizational consequences, Canadian Journal Administration Sciences, 1985. pp 360-74. * A. P and J. M. Atieh, Studying job stress: Are we making mountains out of molehills? Journal of occupational behavior, 1987 pp115-26.

Cooper and Marshall* visualize stress as characteristics of both the focal individual and his environment. They designate the internal and external consultive forces as pressures or stressors and the resulting stalk of the organism on stress.

Recent research into the interaction between the mind and body show that we may place our body on stress alert quite unconsciously, because of our psychological and emotional attitudes to stress. Anticipatory emotions like impatience, anxiety, and anger can produce the same nerve impulses and chemical reactions as being faced with a concrete challenge. So when faced with a stressful situation, we must either use up the energy created by the body to challenge or learn how to turn off, the response using a conscious relaxation technique.

*Stephen Robbins, Organizational Behavior, Prentice Hall, U.K, 1989 pp 499-501. *Cooper. C. L. and Marshall. J, Understanding Executive Stress, The McMillan Press Ltd, 1978 p 4.

Working conditions in the banking sector

A risk assessment survey among employees in the banking sector found that the main risk factor perceived by the respondents is computer use and its related effects: poor sitting position (reported by 76%, leading to musculoskeletal disorders) and eye problems due to excessive use of screens (reported by 91%). A team of Bulgarian experts, headed by Professor Ivanovich, department head at the National Centre of Public Health Protection , conducted a survey on working conditions in the banking sector, aimed at determining risk levels based on employees self-evaluation. A case study was carried out in 2004 in a large bank that has branches throughout the country. It covered 1,023 people, of whom 804 were women (79%) and 219 were men (21%). The results of the case study are representative for the particular bank, but may not fully reflect the entire banking sector in Bulgaria. Nonetheless, the data provide a useful starting point for general analysis.

Profile of the respondents The banking sector is characterised by a predominance of female workers performing routine operations on computer. This suggests a clear gender dimension, which is represented proportionally in the survey. The prevailing age groups surveyed are 36-45 years of age (37%) and 26-35 years (29%). Some 40% report more than 20 years of total working experience. About 13% of employees (5% for men, 15% for women) have worked in the sector for more than 20 years. One in four has significant specialised working experience in the sector (6-15 years). Some 46% of banking employees are smokers (43% of men and 47% of women smoke).

Survey results Working with computers A total of 91% of the respondents work on a computer for more than four hours a day, including a group of 73% who do so for more than eight hours a day. Only a small proportion of respondents (4%) work with computers for less than four hours a day. The length of computer usage also shows a clear gender difference: only 2% of women, compared with 12% of men, work on computers for less than four hours a day.

Working environment indicators

The number of computers in the workplace range from one to more than 25. Most employees work in an environment with one to six computers (72%), 12% of respondents work among seven to 15 computers, and 3% are exposed to more than 25 work stations.

Risk factors are ranked as follows: working posture (sitting position, reported by 76% of employees: 78% of women and 72% of men), lighting (13%: 13% of women and 11% of men), noise (11%, no gender difference), dry air (10%: 10% of women and 8% of men), high psychological pressures (9%, no gender difference) and high work pace (5.5%, no gender difference).

Inconveniences related to workplace design mainly concern video display units. The most common problems are inappropriate screen-to-eye distance, brightness, screen vibration and lighting.

Nearly 42% evaluate their job as very strenuous. Another 52% find that their work risk is at a moderate level (no gender difference).

The workload is perceived to cause the greatest strain for the back (reported by 57%: 58% of women and 52% of men), for the eyes (23%: 24% of women and 22.5% of men), and to a lesser extent for the upper and lower limbs (6%, no gender difference).

Some 17% of respondents use protective equipment. Only 8% of men and 2% of women believe that protective equipment is unnecessary.

Work-related health problems About half of the respondents (47%) feel that working conditions damage their health (no gender difference), although only 4% of employees believe that their working conditions are poor. Figure 3 illustrates the most common complaints by sex.

Further indicators regarding work-related health outcomes once again underline their strong correlation with gender, in that women are more affected than men.

46% of women and 31% of men wear corrective glasses;

16% of women and 10% of men have taken sick leave during the past 12 months.

Sources of work stress Almost 40% of workers believe that work stress is caused by factors external to the workplace, followed by working conditions (23%), relationships with colleagues (14%) and relationships with management (5%).

Conclusions Overall, 96% of the persons interviewed reported various work-related ailments. A gender breakdown reveals that women are more vulnerable than men with respect to certain complaints:

female employees experience physical pain and discomfort more often;

the feeling of fatigue appears earlier and increases more quickly among women (particularly after the fourth hour at work).

As a result, medical help in treating work-related complaints was needed by female employees more often than by male workers.

Source Ivanovich, E., Subjective assessment of banking employees concerning working

conditions, Health and Safety at Work Journal No. 4, 2005, pp. 6-13 (in Bulgarian).

CONCEPTUAL REVIEW
INTRODUCTION TO HR
Human Resource Management is an art of managing people at work in such a manner that they give their best to the organization. In simple word human resource management refers to the quantitative aspects of employees working in an organization. Human Resource Management is also a management function concerned with hiring, motivating, and maintains people in an organization. It focuses on people in organization. Organizations are not mere bricks, mortar, machineries or inventories. They are people. It is the who staff and manage organizations. HRM involves the application of management functions and principles. The functions and principles are applied to acquisitioning, developing, maintain, and remunerating employees in organizations. Decisions relating to employees must be integrated. Decision on different aspect of employees must be consistent with other human resource decisions. Decision made must influence the effectiveness of organization. Effectiveness of an organization must result in betterment of services to customers in the form of high-quality product supplied at reasonable costs.

HRM function s is not confined to business establishment only. They are applicable to nonbusiness organizations, too such as education, health care, recreation etc.

The scope of HRM is indeed vast. All major activities in the working life of his or her entry into an organization until he or she leaves-come under the previews of HRM.specifically, the activities included are HR planning, job analysis and be sign, recruitment and selection, orientation and placement, training and development, performance appraisal and job evaluation, employee and executive remuneration, motivation and communication, welfare, safety and health, industrial relations and the like. HRM is a broad concept Personnel management and

human resource development is a part of HRM. Before we define Human Resource Management, it seems good to first define heterogeneous in the sense that they differ in personality, perception, emotions, values, attitudes, motives, and modes of thoughts.

Human resource management plays an important role in the development process of modern economy. In fact it is said that all the development comes from the human mind. Human Resource Management is a process of producing development, maintaining and controlling human resources for effective achievement of organization goals.

WHAT IS STRESS?

Stress is a dynamic condition in which an individual is confronted with an opportunity, demand or resource related to what the individual desires and for which the outcome is perceived to be both uncertain and important. This is a complicated definition. Stress is not necessarily bad in and of itself. Although stress is typically discussed in a negative context, it also has a positive value. Its an opportunity when it offers potential gain. Consider for example, the superior performance that an athlete or stage performer gives in clutch situations. Such individuals often use stress positively to rise to the occasion and perform at or near their maximum. Similarly, many professionals see the pressures of heavy workloads and deadlines as positive challenges that enhance the quality of their work and the satisfaction the get from their job. But it is different in the case of bank employees. The bank employees are the people who also have to achieve the certain target and so for the non achievement of target the employees remain stressed and tensed. The employees who have the simple table work also have to face the problem of stress. Due to recession the banking sector is also facing the problem of employee cut-offs and so the work load of the existing employees increases and the feel stressed. Stress refers to the strain from the conflict between our external environment and us, leading to emotional and physical pressure. In our fast paced world, it is impossible to live without stress, whether you are a student or a working adult. There is both positive and negative stress, depending on each individuals unique perception of the tension between the two forces. Not all stress is bad. For example, positive stress, also known as eustress, can help an individual to function at optimal effectiveness and efficiency.

Hence, it is evident that some form of positive stress can add more color and vibrancy to our lives. The presence of a deadline, for example, can push us to make the most of our time and produce greater efficiency. It is important to keep this in mind, as stress management refers to using stress to our advantage, and not on eradicating the presence of stress in our lives. On the other hand, negative stress can result in mental and physical strain. The individual will experience symptoms such as tensions, headaches, irritability and in extreme cases, heart palpitations. Hence, whilst some stress may be seen as a motivating force, it is important to manage stress levels so that it does not have an adverse impact on your health and relationships. Part of managing your stress levels include learning about how stress can affect you emotionally and physically, as well as how to identify if you are performing at your optimal stress level (OSL) or if you are experiencing negative stress. This knowledge will help you to identify when you need to take a break, or perhaps seek professional help. It is also your first step towards developing techniques to managing your stress levels. Modern day stresses can take the form of monetary needs, or emotional frictions. Competition at work and an increased workload can also cause greater levels of stress. How do you identify if you are suffering from excessive stress? Psychological symptoms commonly experienced include insomnia, headaches and an inability to focus. Physical symptoms take the form of heart palpitations, breathlessness, excessive sweating and stomachaches. What causes stress? There are many different causes of stress, and that which causes stress is also known as a stressor. Common lifestyle stressors include performance, threat, and bereavement stressors, to name a few. Performance stressors are triggered when an individual is placed in a situation where he feels a need to excel. This could be during performance appraisals,

lunch with the boss, or giving a speech. Threat stressors are usually when the current situation poses a dangerous threat, such as an economic downturn, or from an accident. Lastly, bereavement stressors occur when there is a sense of loss such as the death of a loved one, or a prized possession. Thus, there are various stressors, and even more varied methods and techniques of dealing with stress and turning it to our advantages. In order to do so, we must learn to tell when we have crossed the line from positive to negative stress. STRESS AND DECISIONMAKING, PERCEPTION, AND COGNITION Stress can affect an individuals decision making process and ability to make effective judgments. For example, Easterbrook proposes a cue utilization model and argues that when exposed to stressors, individuals experience perceptual narrowing meaning that they pay attention to fewer perceptual cues or stimuli that could contribute to their behaviour or decision. Peripheral stimuli are likely to be the first to be screened out or ignored. Decision making models proposed by Janis and Mann support this hypothesis and suggest that under stress, individuals may make decisions based on incomplete information. Friedman and Mann suggest that when under conditions of stress, individuals may fail to consider the full range of alternatives available, ignore long-term consequences, and make decisions based on oversimplifying assumptions. Furthermore, the individuals may suffer from performance rigidity as a result of their reduced search behaviour and reliance on fewer perceptual cues to make decisions. Research on decision making under stress supports these theoretical models. Observe the decision making processes of individuals under time pressure. We find that individuals under time pressure tend to focus their attention only on a few salient cues. Larsen finds that, like other

types of stressors, sleep deprivation can reduce an individuals ability to reason, to analyze complex situations, and to make effective decisions.

Sleep-deprived (stressed) individuals in his study were more likely to obey orders without thinking and to ignore cues that implied the presence of something unusual. Stress can also contribute to performance decrements by slowing cognition and individual information processing. Stress can be looked at as a form of task overload (e.g., asking an individual to perform more than one task under a time constraint) and it is seen that the addition of multiple required tasks reduces the quality of individual performance and increases the magnitude of the performance decrement as compared with the case in which the individual has only one task to perform.

STRESS MANAGEMENT Stress management is the need of the hour. However hard we try to go beyond a stress situation, life seems to find new ways of stressing us out and plaguing us with anxiety attacks. Moreover, be it our anxiety, mind-body exhaustion or our erring attitudes, we tend to overlook causes of stress and the conditions triggered by those. In such unsettling moments we often forget that stressors, if not escapable, are fairly manageable and treatable. Stress, either quick or constant, can induce risky body-mind disorders. Immediate disorders such as dizzy spells, anxiety attacks, tension, sleeplessness, nervousness and muscle cramps can all result in chronic health problems. They may also affect our immune, cardiovascular and nervous systems and lead individuals to habitual addictions, which are inter-linked with stress.

Like "stress reactions", "relaxation responses" and stress management techniques are some of the body's important built-in response systems. As a relaxation response the body tries to get back balance in its homeostasis. Some hormones released during the 'fight or flight' situation prompt the body to replace the lost carbohydrates and fats, and restore the energy level. The knotted nerves, tightened muscles and an exhausted mind crave for looseness. Unfortunately, today, we don't get relaxing and soothing situations without asking. To be relaxed we have to strive to create such situations. DIFFERENT TYPES OF STRESSORS As mentioned previously, stressors can come in a variety of forms, including extreme heat or lighting, lack of sleep, risk of injury or death, or time pressure. The description of stressors and their impact on behaviour is an open-ended task, and current research considers an increasing number of events and conditions to be stressors. Although stressors can be physical (biological or chemical demands on the body) or cognitive (threat of death, personal assault)

in form, they are always external and produce similar physiological responses within the body. These physiological effects, defined as a stress response, can include increased blood pressure, dilated pupils and increased heart rate.

RECOGNIZING A STRESSOR It is important to recognize whether you are under stress or out of it. Many times, even if we are under the influence of a stressful condition and our body reacts to it internally as well as externally, we fail to realize that we are reacting under stress. This also happens when the causes

of stress are there long enough for us to get habituated to them. The body constantly tries to tell us through symptoms such as rapid palpitation, dizzy spells, tight muscles or various body aches that something is wrong. It is important to remain attentive to such symptoms and to learn to cope with the situations.

We cope better with stressful situation, when we encounter them voluntarily. In cases of relocation, promotion or layoff, adventurous sports or having a baby, we tend to respond positively under stress. But, when we are compelled into such situations against our will or knowledge, more often than not, we wilt at the face of unknown and imagined threats. For instance, stress may mount when one is coerced into undertaking some work against one's will.

WORKPLACE STRESS Workplace stress is the harmful physical and emotional response that occurs when there is a poor match between job demands and the capabilities, resources, or needs of the worker. Stressrelated disorders encompass a broad array of conditions, including psychological disorders (e.g., depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder) and other types of emotional strain (e.g., dissatisfaction, fatigue, tension, etc.), maladaptive behaviors (e.g., aggression, substance abuse), and cognitive impairment (e.g., concentration and memory problems). In turn, these conditions may lead to poor work performance or even injury. Job stress is also associated with various biological reactions that may lead ultimately to compromised health, such as cardiovascular disease. Stress is a prevalent and costly problem in today's workplace. About one-third of workers report high levels of stress. One-quarter of employees view their jobs as the number one stressor in their lives. Three-quarters of employees believe the worker has more on-the-job stress than a generation ago. Evidence also suggests that stress is the major cause of turnover in organizations. Health and Healthcare Utilization Problems at work are more strongly associated with health complaints than are any other life stressor-more so than even financial problems or family problems. Many studies suggest that psychologically demanding jobs that allow employees little control over the work process increase the risk of cardiovascular disease. On the basis of research by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and many other organizations, it is widely believed that job stress increases the risk for development of back and upper-extremity musculoskeletal disorders.

High levels of stress are associated with substantial increases in health service utilization. Workers who report experiencing stress at work also show excessive health care utilization. In a 1998 study of 46,000 workers, health care costs were nearly 50% greater for workers reporting high levels of stress in comparison to low risk workers. The increment rose to nearly 150%, an increase of more than $1,700 per person annually, for workers reporting high levels of both stress and depression. Additionally, periods of disability due to job stress tend to be much longer than disability periods for other occupational injuries and illnesses.

CAUSES OF WORKPLACE STRESS Job stress results from the interaction of the worker and the conditions of work. Views differ on the importance of worker characteristics versus working conditions as the primary cause of job stress. The differing viewpoints suggest different ways to prevent stress at work. According to one school of thought, differences in individual characteristics such as personality and coping skills are most important in predicting whether certain job conditions will result in stress-in other words, what is stressful for one person may not be a problem for someone else. This viewpoint leads to prevention strategies that focus on workers and ways to help them cope with demanding job conditions. Although the importance of individual differences cannot be ignored, scientific evidence suggests that certain working conditions are stressful to most people. Such evidence argues for a greater emphasis on working conditions as the key source of job stress, and for job redesign as a primary prevention strategy. Personal interview surveys of working conditions, including conditions recognized as risk factors for job stress, were conducted in Member States of the European Union in 1990, 1995, and 2000. Results showed a trend across these periods

suggestive of increasing work intensity. In 1990, the percentage of workers reporting that they worked at high speeds at least one-fourth of their working time was 48%, increasing to 54% in 1995 and to 56% in 2000. Similarly, 50% of workers reported they work against tight deadlines at least one-fourth of their working time in 1990, increasing to 56% in 1995 and 60 % in 2000. However, no change was noted in the period 19952000 (data not collected in 1990) in the percentage of workers reporting sufficient time to complete tasks. A substantial percentage of Americans work very long hours. By one estimate, more than 26% of men and more than 11% of women worked 50 hours per week or more in 2000. These figures represent a considerable increase over the previous three decades, especially for women. According to the Department of Labor, there has been an upward trend in hours worked among employed women, an increase in extended work weeks (>40 hours) by men, and a considerable increase in combined working hours among working couples, particularly couples with young children. SIGNS OF WORKPLACE STRESS Mood and sleep disturbances, upset stomach and headache, and disturbed relationships with family; friends and girlfriends or boyfriends are examples of stress-related problems. The effects of job stress on chronic diseases are more difficult to see because chronic diseases take a long time to develop and can be influenced by many factors other than stress. Nonetheless, evidence is rapidly accumulating to suggest that stress plays an important role in several types of chronic health problems-especially cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and psychological disorders.

PREVENTION A combination of organizational change and stress management is often the most useful approach for preventing stress at work. How to Change the Organization to Prevent Job Stress

Ensure that the workload is in line with workers' capabilities and resources. Design jobs to provide meaning, stimulation, and opportunities for workers to use their skills.

Clearly define workers' roles and responsibilities. Give workers opportunities to participate in decisions and actions affecting their jobs. Improve communications-reduce uncertainty about career development and future employment prospects.

Provide opportunities for social interaction among workers. Establish work schedules that are compatible with demands and responsibilities outside the job.

Discrimination inside the workplace. (e.g. nationality and language )

St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company conducted several studies on the effects of stress prevention programs in hospital settings. Program activities included (1) employee and management education on job stress, (2) changes in hospital policies and procedures to reduce organizational sources of stress, and (3) establishment of employee assistance programs. In one

study, the frequency of medication errors declined by 50% after prevention activities was implemented in a 700-bed hospital. In a second study, there was a 70% reduction in malpractice claims in 22 hospitals that implemented stress prevention activities. In contrast, there was no reduction in claims in a matched group of 22 hospitals that did not implement stress prevention activities. COPING WITH STRESS AT WORK PLACE With the rapid advancement of technology, the stresses faced at work have also increased. Many people dread going to work, hence the term Monday Blues. What is the reason for this? There is partly the fear from being retrenched in bad times, leading to greater job insecurity on the part of those who remain. Undoubtedly, occupational stress is one of the most commonly cited stressors faced by people all over the world. Stress refers to the pressure and reactions to our environment which results in psychological and physical reactions. Whilst some stress is good for motivation and increasing efficiency, too much stress can result in negative impacts such as reduced effectiveness and efficiency. More and more people are feeling isolated and disrespected at work, and this has led to greater occupational stress. Many companies have taken to consulting experts and professionals on ways to increase connectedness and motivation of their employees. Some companies organize parties and make their employees feel valued at work. These are measures to motivate employees and help them to feel secure at their jobs, translating into greater productivity. However, not all companies have such measures in place, and some have not gotten it quite right. Hence, it is up to you to make sure that you can cope with stress at your

workplace, and use it to help you work better. Here are 3 simple steps to help you with coping with stress in the workplace. Step 1: Raising Awareness Help yourself to identify when you are facing rising levels of stress, tipping the scales from positive to negative. This is important, as being able to identify signs of being stressed can help you to take steps to ensure that your overall quality of life does not drop. If left unacknowledged, the problem will only snowball, leading to disastrous consequences to your health and overall wellbeing. You can identify if you are feeling stressed by checking if you have any physical or psychological reactions, such as excessive sweating or heart palpitations, or the onset of headaches, irritability or the need to escape. If you experience any of these reactions, identify if you are feeling any overwhelming negative emotions, and if you are constantly worried. Step 2: Identify the Cause You need to be able to analyze the situation and identify what is causing the rise in stress. These stressors can be external and internal. External stressors refer to things beyond your control, such as the environment or your colleagues at work. Internal stressors refer to your own thinking and attitude. Often, we only start reacting to stress when a combination of stressors working together exceeds our ability to cope.

Keep a diary or a list of events that have caused you to feel strong negative emotions, or that are likely stressors. This will help you to identify the causes of your stress. Whilst it is not always possible to eradicate them, we can change the way that we cope with it. Step 3: Coping with Stress In order to deal with the situation that is causing you stress, you need to calm your mind and body so as to stave off the reactions and cope with it in a positive way. This can be through different methods, such as taking time off. If a situation is triggering your stress and you are unable to calm down, remove yourself from it. Go outside and take a walk to calm down. Alternatively, you can try implementing relaxation techniques such as deep breathing. If it is an internal stressor, stop your thought process until you are able to deal with it logically. The key to making these 3 steps work for you is to practice them. These are not instantaneous solutions, and you need to condition your mind and practice them so that you can implement it when you are feeling stressed. REDUCING STRESS 1. Job analysis: We have all experienced that appalling sense of having far too much work to do and too little time to do it in. We can choose to ignore this, and work unreasonably long hours to stay on top of our workload. The risks here are that we become exhausted, that we have so much to do that we do a poor quality job and that we neglect other areas of our life. Each of these can lead to intense stress.

The alternative is to work more intelligently, by focusing on the things that are important for job success and reducing the time we spend on low priority tasks. Job Analysis is the first step in doing this. The first of the action-oriented skills that we look at is Job Analysis. Job Analysis is a key technique for managing job overload an important source of stress. To do an excellent job, you need to fully understand what is expected of you. While this may seem obvious, in the hurly-burly of a new, fast-moving, high-pressure role, it is oftentimes something that is easy to overlook. By understanding the priorities in your job, and what constitutes success within it, you can focus on these activities and minimize work on other tasks as much as possible. This helps you get the greatest return from the work you do, and keep your workload under control. Job Analysis is a useful technique for getting a firm grip on what really is important in your job so that you are able to perform excellently. It helps you to cut through clutter and distraction to get to the heart of what you need to do.

2. Rational & positive thinking:

You are thinking negatively when you fear the future, put yourself down, criticize yourself for errors, doubt your abilities, or expect failure. Negative thinking damages confidence, harms performance and paralyzes mental skills. Unfortunately, negative thoughts tend to flit into our consciousness, do their damage and flit back out again, with their significance having barely been noticed. Since we barely realize that they were there, we do not challenge them properly, which means that they can be completely incorrect and wrong. Thought Awareness is the process by which you observe your thoughts and become aware of what is going through your head. One approach to it is to observe your "stream of consciousness" as you think about the thing you're trying to achieve which is stressful. Do not suppress any thoughts. Instead, just let them run their course while you watch them, and write them down on our free worksheet as they occur. Then let them go. Another more general approach to Thought Awareness comes with logging stress in your Stress Diary. When you analyze your diary at the end of the period, you should be able to see the most common and the most damaging thoughts. Tackle these as a priority using the techniques below. Here are some typical negative thoughts you might experience when preparing to give a major presentation:

Fear about the quality of your performance or of problems that may interfere with it; Worry about how the audience (especially important people in it like your boss) or the press may react to you;

Dwelling on the negative consequences of a poor performance; or Self-criticism over a less-than-perfect rehearsal.

Thought awareness is the first step in the process of managing negative thoughts, as you cannot manage thoughts that you are unaware of. Rational Thinking The next step in dealing with negative thinking is to challenge the negative thoughts that you identified using the Thought Awareness technique. Look at every thought you wrote down and challenge it rationally. Ask yourself whether the thought is reasonable. What evidence is there for and against the thought? Would your colleagues and mentors agree or disagree with it? Looking at the examples, the following challenges could be made to the negative thoughts we identified earlier:

Feelings of inadequacy: Have you trained yourself as well as you reasonably should have? Do you have the experience and resources you need to make the presentation? Have you planned, prepared and rehearsed enough? If you have done all of these, you've done as much as you can to give a good performance.

Worries about performance during rehearsal: If some of your practice was less than perfect, then remind yourself that the purpose of the practice is to identify areas for improvement, so that these can be sorted out before the performance.

Problems with issues outside your control: Have you identified the risks of these things happening, and have you taken steps to reduce the likelihood of them happening or their

impact if they do? What will you do if they occur? And what do you need others to do for you?

Worry about other people's reactions: If you have prepared well, and you do the best you can, then you should be satisfied. If you perform as well as you reasonably can, then fair people are likely to respond well. If people are not fair, the best thing to do is ignore their comments and rise above them.

When you challenge negative thoughts rationally, you should be able to see quickly whether the thoughts are wrong or whether they have some substance to them. Where there is some substance, take appropriate action. However, make sure that your negative thoughts are genuinely important to achieving your goals, and don't just reflect a lack of experience, which everyone has to go through at some stage.

Positive Thinking & Opportunity Seeking By now, you should already be feeling more positive. The final step is to prepare rational, positive thoughts and affirmations to counter any remaining negativity. It can also be useful to look at the situation and see if there are any useful opportunities that are offered by it. By basing your affirmations on the clear, rational assessments of facts that you made using Rational Thinking, you can use them to undo the damage that negative thinking may have done to your self-confidence. Continuing the examples above, positive affirmations might be:

Problems during practice: "I have learned from my rehearsals. This has put me in a position where I can deliver a great performance. I am going to perform well and enjoy the event."

Worries about performance: "I have prepared well and rehearsed thoroughly. I am well positioned to give an excellent performance."

Problems issues outside your control: "I have thought through everything that might reasonably happen and have planned how I can handle all likely contingencies. I am very well placed to react flexibly to events."

Worry about other people's reaction: "Fair people will react well to a good performance. I will rise above any unfair criticism in a mature and professional way."

Make sure that identifying these opportunities and focusing on them is part of your positive thinking.

3. LAUGHTER During stress, the adrenal gland releases corticosteroids, which are converted to cortical in the blood stream. These have an immunosuppressive effect. Dr. Lee Berk and fellow researcher Dr. Stanley Tan at Loma Linda University School of Medicine have produced carefully controlled studies showing that the experience of laughter lowers serum cortical levels, increases the amount and activity of T lymphocytesthe natural killer cells. Laughter also increases the number of T cells that have suppresser receptors. What Laughter Can Do Against Stress And Its Effects? Laughter lowers blood pressure and reduces hypertension. It provides good cardiac conditioning especially for those who are unable to perform physical exercise. Reduces stress hormones (studies shows, laughter induces reduction of at least four of neuroendocrine hormonesepinephrine, cortical, dopac, and growth hormone, associated with stress response). Laughter cleanses the lungs and body tissues of accumulated stale air as it empties more air than it takes in. It is beneficial for patients suffering from emphysema and other respiratory ailments. It increases muscle flexion, relaxation and fluent blood circulation in body. Boosts immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting proteins called Gamma-interferon and disease-destroying antibodies called B-cells. Laughter triggers the release of endorphinsbody's natural painkillers. Produces a general sense of well-being.