Conversation Questions 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?
o Do you feel tired during the day?
o Can you sleep well at night?
o Does your stomach hurt?
* How do you feel emotionally?
o Do you feel nervous or worried about stressful situations?
o Do you get angry easily?
Helping Others
* Have you ever helped someone who was feeling stressful?
o What did you do?
o Did you give them advice?
o Did you listen to them?
o Did you do most of the talking?
o 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?
o Is it necessary to have shared the same experience?
o Is it important to be an expert?
o Is it important to be patient?
Healthy Stress
* Do you think stress is ever good, useful, or necessary?
o Why or why not?
* Do you play games or sports that are sometimes stressful?
* When can stress be a good thing?
o 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?
o Did the stressful feeling last a long time or a short time?
o 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?
o At work? At school?
o At home?
o With best friends?
o With ________?
o 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?
o Can you give five suggestions that would be inexpensive?
o Can you give five suggestions for children?
o 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?
o Does it help to go shopping or take a long walk?
o Do you like to be alone or be with other people?
o 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?
* Is being single less stressful than married life? What are the advantages and 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?