How I Combat Stress

Kylie

Like every 15-year-old, I often feel under pressure about all sorts of thing. I tend to be dissatisfied with my weight when I compare myself with girls who are taller and slimmer than me, but my mum points out that I am no different from the majority of my friends, who are really just as plump as I am. Another problem is schoolwork, and the end of term is a time when I get especially anxious because of exams. I have developed a range of strategies for periods when I have a lot to do and get really worked up. One of them is making a list of all the things that I have to get done, on order of importance. That way, I can plan my time better.

Mario

I recently realized that my stress and anxiety is due to the absence of direction in my life. For me, schooldays were a time when I misbehaved and fooled about. I wasn’t the brightest pupil around and found most lessons very demanding. Sport was the only thing I was good at. This means that I now do not have the qualifications that I need to get a good job. So I have to set myself some goals and enroll at a college where I will be attending evening courses for adults next term. I hope this will give me the confidence that I lack, and better job prospects.

Lukas

Being 16, my biggest cause of anxiety and stress is my future. I sometimes feel I shall never satisfy my parents, whose own professional success means that they expect me to do well in life. The only person who really understands me is my brother, and when we are together, we joke and talk about anything that makes us forget about our responsibilities. I have also joined a sports club, where I work out twice a week, and that has made a difference. After I have been to the gym, I find I am physically tired, but I have the mental energy to face the problems that seemed impossible to me earlier on.

Nefeli

While I am aware that being overweight is a health risk, I don’t get worried about my excess kilos or my appearance. Instead of just worrying about being fat, I go to keep fit classes, which is marvelous for reducing stress. Being active is not only good for losing weight but is also good for the circulation. I am not a fanatical weight-watcher, although I try to keep to a balanced diet that includes plenty of fruit, vegetables, whole grain, bread and milk. I am not like those health freaks who tear around health food stores examining the labels on food products to see how many calories that contain. I just use my common sense. It amazes mo more people do not adopt a similar attitude.

Magdalena

I have a husband, for children, and a full-time job, which is a very good reason why I cannot call my time my own. There is always someone who wants something, or some job that needs doing. At the times when I can’t cope any more, I sit or lie down and just close my eyes and think of somewhere quiet and relaxing – a warm, sandy beach, a grassy meadow or even the local park. Afterwards, I have a wonderful sense of relief and the things that I thought were urgent are not so important any more. Just a few minutes of this makes all the difference.

Tell how you DO combat stress.

CHECK YOURSELF:

1. The government has just announced that it is cutting the money it gives to the Influenza Research Centre. Complete these texts about it with an appropriate form of the verb given. Use the present perfect continuous if possible; if not, use the present perfect or past simple. Indicate where more than one of these tenses is possible.

a). Dr Petra Adams, the Director of the Centre, talks to a reporter:

It’s remarkable to think that since 1950 influenza (1)______(claim) more than 50,000 lives in this country, and in 1957 alone around 6,000 people (2)_____(die). But over the last 20 years we at the Centre (3)______(make) considerable progress on understanding the illness. We (4) _____ (produce) over a hundred books and articles reporting the results of our research and in 1995 they (5)_______(award) the Nobel Prize for medicine to one of my colleagues. In our more recent work we (6)______(look) into the effects of influenza on heart disease and we (7)_______(also explore) a possible link between climate change and the recent increase in the number of cases of influenza. It is a tragedy that the government (8)_______(make) this decision now.

b). Kenneth Sparks, the Opposition spokesperson for science, talks to a television interviewer:

The previous government (1)______(invest) huge amounts of money into the Centre and I think it’s terrible that present government (2)________(announce) this cut when the number of cases of influenza (3)_____(increase). The Centre (4)_______(run) successfully for many years. But this decision is just typical of this government. It (5)_____(neglect) health research ever since it was elected, and (6)_______(cut) back on spending on science generally. Although the government says the cut is necessary because of the recent world economic problems, I (9)_____(speak) to the Minister about this yesterday and (10)_______(also write) to the Prime Minister demanding that the decision should be reversed.

2. Study this conversation extract. If the underlined verbs are wrong, correct them using either the past perfect (active or passive) or past perfect continuous.

A: How was your weekend?

B: Not great, actually. I’d really been looking forward to a relaxing couple of days. But early on Saturday morning Mum phoned to say that Dad had been taking ill.

A: Oh, no! What had happened?

B: She had just been hearing that he had been flown by helicopter to hospital in Edinburgh from a village called Contin where he had fished with my Uncle Mark.

A: And is he okay? What’s wrong with him?

B: Well, Uncle mark said that Dad had been complaining of a bad headache most of yesterday, but he hadn’t been wanting to go back to the hotel and spoil the day. But then in the evening, just as they had stopped fishing for the day, he had been collapsing…..

Here is the rest of the conversation. If the underlined verb is wrong, correct it using the past simple, present perfect, past perfect, present perfect continuous or past perfect continuous as appropriate.

A: Did he have any health problems recently?

B: Well, he’s been suffering from high blood pressure for some time, but we have thought a fishing holiday in Scotland would be relaxing for him. He worked too hard for months now, and we’ve been trying to persuade him to have a break for ages before he finally agreed.

A: So Have you gone up to Scotland when you have heard?

B: No, Mum has gone up to be with him, but the doctors have checked him over and had been saying that it’s not too serious. They gave him some medicine to bring down his blood pressure and had told him that he needs complete rest for a couple of months. So Mum’s driving him back in the car tomorrow.

A; Well, send him my best wishes when you speak to him.

B: Thanks, I will do.

3. Study the underlined parts of this email. Make corrections if necessary. Give alternatives where possible.

Hi Jane

Yes, Tony’s a lot better, thanks. Pretty much back to his old himself. We got vaccinated ourselves against hepatitis before we went to West Africa, so Tony was just unlucky to get it. He went into work after we got back although he was feeling bad, and some of his colleagues were worried about getting it themselves. I know that some of them had checked themselves by the doctors. By coincidence, his boss said that he’d caught himself hepatitis when he was in Africa a few years ago. When he’s completely recovered, Tony and myself are off to Paris for a few days, and we’re going to occupy us with looking at the galleries and having a rest.

Must go now. The children have just shouted that they want some juice and they can’t reach it themself.

Will be in touch, Maggie.

64