Stress

BBC Learning 1 EnglishLondon LifeStressJackie: Hello, I'm Jackie Dalton. What makes you feelstressed? Do you panic whenyou have to rush to be somewhere? Do you get irritated 2 whenthe phone rings all the time? A noisy neighbour on a Sundayreally stresses me out if I'm trying to relax. A lot ofpeople get anxious when they're stuck in traffic.
　　We're going to look at stress and the language of stress.
　　We've heard quite a few phrases related 3 to it already.
　　To panic, which means to feel a bit scared and worried andto be not able to think clearly.
　　To feel irritated - to feel a bit angry or annoyed.
　　To feel stressed out - a more colloquial 4 way of saying tofeel stressed. Anxious – worried, nervous – you couldalso use the word 'tense'.
　　Well all kinds of things can make people feel stressed outand anxious. When we asked people on the street what wasmaking them feel tense, there was one answer that came upquite a lot. What was it?
　　VOICESJackie: That wasn't too difficult, was it? Exams weremaking quite a lot of people feelstressed in the interviews we heard there. So what do theydo to 'beat the stress', which means to fight the stressand get rid of it? Let's listen to their ways ofcoping.
　　VOICESJackie: If something is making you worry, you might justwant to get it over with.
　　VOICESStudy as hard as I can and get it over with.
　　Jackie: To do it so you don't have to worry about it anymore. Listen to this phrase in use.
　　VOICEI'm really scared about the presentation, but I'll ask if Ican go first, that way I'll get it over with.
　　Jackie: Let's hear from another stressed student.
　　VOICESWell a day like today is a nice day. Just walk around thecity and get away from it all for a bit.
　　Jackie: Another thing to do is get away from it all. To'get away from it all is an expression we use quite a lotif we've had enough and need a break.
　　VOICELet's go to Paris this weekend, I just want to get awayfrom it all.
　　Jackie: What other tips did our interviewees give?
　　VOICESIgnore it, just sort of set your own goals and achieve yourown targets you can achieve.
　　Jackie: Ignore it, pretend it’s not there. He also had agood bit of advice, which was'set your own goals and achieve the targets you canachieve'. In other words, be realistic about what you canand can't do and don't worry about anyone else.
　　Set your own goals. This is perhaps a less healthy solutionthat was suggested.
　　VOICESWhat do you do to overcome the stress? Drink.
　　Jackie: We've heard some of the language of feelingstressed – to panic, feel irritated, anxious, stressedout, nervous. What about the language of making yourselfhappy again? Which two phrases are used here to talk aboutmaking yourself feel better?
　　VOICESThere's quite a few films that I always like to watch tocheer myself up. I've got quite a few comedies on DVD, soI'll put one of those on.
　　I would normally 5 go to see a film or cook myself awonderful meal to comfort myself.
　　Jackie: Did you get it? One expression was 'to cheer myselfup'. Listen to other examples of this phrase in use:
　　VOICESCheer up! It's not all that bad!
　　I've had a horrible day and I need cheering up!
　　Jackie: The other phrase was 'to comfort myself'.
　　VOICESCook myself a wonderful meal to comfort myself.
　　VOICE:
　　James looks very sad, you should go and comfort him.
　　Jackie: There's another expression that's developed using'comfort'. Here's a clue as to what it is about:
　　VOICEI like to eat chocolateJackie: It's 'comfort food' - food that we eat when we'restressed or feel unhappy to cheer ourselves up. It'susually something not very healthy, such as chocolate orcake. Finally, my favourite tip for how to cope 6 if you'refeeling anxious or irritated is this one:
　　VOICESGive my little boy a cuddle.
　　Jackie: Give someone 'a cuddle'. Take them in your arms andhold them.