Johnson County

Keys to Embracing Aging: Stress Management

Program Date: January 25, 2018

Keys to Embracing Aging: Know Your Health Numbers

Everybody experiences both good and bad stress. Good stress can be healthy and useful. It helps people get to an appointment on time or meet a deadline. When stress becomes overwhelming, it becomes distress or bad stress. Bad stress can lead to chronic stress, which can result in feeling nervous, on edge and tense. It also puts a person at greater risk for numerous health problems, including heart disease, sleep problems, digestive problems, depression, obesity, memory impairment and various skin conditions, such as eczema. Stress management is a positive method for coping with stress and can lead to a more balanced and healthy life. 

Johnson County presented Keys to Embracing Aging: Stress Management. 8 completed post lesson evaluations.  As a result of the program, 8 participants reported improved understanding regarding the impact of stress management on overall health and well-being.  8 reported intentions to implement at least one strategy to manage their stress.  

While, 6 reported that they manage their stress well, 6 participants reported that they could improve the ways in which they react to stressful situations.  As a result, 7 participants intend to better manage overall stress.   

A valuable program, participants learned how to identify stressors in their lives and how to take charge of their stress. All participants will be sent a 30-day follow-up evaluation.  

30-Day Follow-up Keys to Embracing Aging: Stress Management Success Story

Keys to Embracing Aging is a Cooperative Extension educational health intervention aimed at improving overall health by focusing on ways in which individuals and families can be empowered to take control of their own lifestyle decisions and behaviors in terms of health and well-being.  To demonstrate behavior change regarding stress management, the program included a 30-day follow-up evaluation.  Of the 8 who were sent follow-up evaluations, 6 were returned. 4 reported that they implemented at least one strategy to manage stress.  Specifically, participants reported that they: took more time to relax and avoided stressful situations.