Introduction

Welcome to the Stress Survival Guide!

The aim of this book is to empower you to:

Recognize what stress really is and how it plays a powerful role in the onset of chronic illness;

Reduce chronic stress by learning how to gain resiliency through integrating self-care into your daily life, and;

Prevent chronic stress by discovering actionable Self-Care techniques that are based upon the 8 Dimensions of Wellness.

The seed that started this book was actually a result of discussions that I had with students in my nursing communications classes. We would talk about self-care, and as we went around the room sharing what self-care meant to us and what we did for our overall well-being, I was shocked and saddened to realize that many of our nursing students could not identify ANY self-care practices that they were engaged in.

We know that post-secondary education and the nursing program in particular puts students under an incredible amount of stress in their academic, work, and personal lives. That stress doesn’t end upon graduation – going into the nursing profession is stressful all on its own. After over 30 years of nursing, I have witnessed the toll that chronic stress puts on the body; not only first-hand, but in my colleagues and prior students as well. I feel that as educators and as nurses, we must impart to these new nurses that it’s just not enough to be concerned about physical health and not hurting your back. It’s imperative for one’s long-term well-being to take measures to recognize, reduce and prevent chronic stress, as its ramifications are insidious and life-long.

While some portions of this book are specific to students in the health-care field, the general message about the impact of stress on our health and the importance of self-care can be appreciated by anyone. The Stress Survival Guide attempts to delve into numerous factors that influence our health and well-being, and illustrate how just small changes in behavior and thought patterns can support our resilience.  By improving our resiliency, decreasing our stress, and practicing self-care, we can minimize or negate harmful consequences over our lifetime.

There is a lot of information to navigate through here, and there is so much more beyond this. Perhaps some aspects will inspire you to seek out more knowledge. This is not meant to be a typical textbook with learning objectives and quizzes, so you won’t find any of those. It is meant to be a self-reflective journey, and as such, think of it as a “choose your own adventure” book. Each section can be read out of order if you prefer, so you may read parts that intrigue you. Even the chapters within each section could be read independently; however, they do tend to build upon content in a somewhat sequential manner. There are various links, videos, resources, and self-reflective questions to ponder throughout the book. Engage with those that spark your interest – perhaps those that don’t right now will intrigue you later on.

My wish is for something in this content to give you an ‘a-ha’ moment…something that inspires you…something that you can carry forward in your life that hopefully plays a small part in making your journey more pleasant and easier to navigate. Start from this moment on by choosing self-compassion, self-love, and self-care.

Jody