- Activities
- Admissions
On Friday, March 15, students learned important tips for how to manage stress and worry during Catholic Central High School’s Dale Carnegie Drive Development workshop.
Drive Development Days are held on the Fridays after Drive, when students have earned time off by raising money for need-based tuition assistance.
Workshops are held in the morning from 9 AM to 11 AM. Topics vary from year to year. Although they’re optional, Drive Development workshops are worth attending as they teach students valuable lessons and skills needed to succeed in the real world that are not usually taught in the classroom.
Today’s workshop was hosted by Director of Educational Services and Youth Development, Kathy Tosoian, MA, LPC., and featured teachings from Dale Carnegie’s well-known professional development courses based on stress management, self-improvement, and how to sharpen and improve performance.
This was Kathy’s third year hosting a stress management Drive Development Day at Catholic Central. She stated, “I've been teaching teenagers for about 30 years and have found that this generation is under much more stress than prior generations. Kids are having a tough time dealing with their stress in a positive, effective way. This is why it was important for me to come here today.”
Key takeaways from today’s workshop included:
-
How to handle stress in the home and academic environment
-
Fundamental principles for overcoming worry
-
Basic techniques in analyzing worry
-
Breaking bad habits before they break you
-
Cultivating a mental attitude that brings you peace and happiness
-
Tips for commitment to put stress in perspective
-
The best way to conquer worry - pray!
What Did Students Learn About Stress?
During the workshop, Kathy handed out a "Stress? What a Mess!" working pack for students to complete. The packet helped students identify what causes stress in their lives.
Questions in the packet included:
-
Picture yourself extremely stressed. What does it feel like? What kinds of reactions are you experiencing in the following areas? Physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
-
How do you handle the stress you experience from the challenges in your life? What do you do, if anything, to alleviate the stress these create for you?
-
Do you deal with stress at school the same way you deal with stress at home?
As summarized in the workshop packet, "Obviously, the answer is different for every individual. As long as we breathe, stress will most likely create challenges in our lives. Not all stressors can be avoided, but some can be eliminated. Regardless, we must learn how to control stress before it controls us, creating havoc with our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being."
Kathy helped students identify the things in their lives that are in their control and those that are not. She discussed personal habits that contribute to stress, such as procrastination, harboring resentment, hatred, resistance to change, and jealousy.
She asked students, “Why is change difficult?” Several answered, “[Because] it must be incorporated into your life every day; it's uncomfortable; and there is a fear of the unknown.”
She helped students determine negative habits that may contribute to stress, such as isolation and being on their phones too long, asking students, “Do these things enhance your intelligence? Do they make you productive or do you feel like they contribute to more stress?”
She discussed how poor eating habits, including overeating sugar, not getting enough sleep, and being easily distracted, may also contribute to stress. She also discussed how to identify the warning signs of stress, such as staying up too late or sleeping too much in general, spending too much time on your own, a change in your grades, stomach aches, headaches, panic attacks, and withdrawal from friends and activities.
"God put us on this planet to interact and be with each other, not to sit in our rooms by ourselves. If this is a habit for you, slowly try to adjust your life so you're connecting with more people," Kathy stated.
To remedy these triggers, Kathy discussed practical ways to deal with stress, such as:
-
Don't withdraw or be alone
-
Remove the pressure
-
Do not over schedule
-
Journaling
-
Spending time outside
-
Get more rest
-
Deep breathing exercises
-
Yoga
She referenced several of Dale Carnegie’s books, stating "What I realized [after reading them] is that I had to give up my control and give it to God. I couldn't see my future, I didn't know what was ahead, but He did. Why should I try to control my life if I didn't know where it was going? I gradually learned to stop worrying and start living."
To conclude the workshop, Kathy had students break off into groups to discuss their plan of action for eliminating stress. Students were asked to write about and discuss the following questions: What is the one thing in your life you need to deal with right now – either at home or school?
“Write it down and go back, looking at the principles discussed in the work packet, and determine which one is most important to help you get rid of that stress. Set a goal and determine what your first step is,” she instructed.
About Dale Carnegie
Dale Carnegie was an American writer and lecturer who authored many self-help books in the 1910s through the 1940s, such as How To Develop Self-Confidence and Influence People By Public Speaking and How To Stop Worrying And Start Living. Today, his teachings have been developed into an organization that delivers professional development courses for students and professionals.
"Although the course was first introduced in 1912, finding accurate information on Carnegie's history is often difficult. He wrote his famous book called How to Win Friends and Influence People in 1936," Kathy stated.
The idea behind Dale Carnegie’s professional development course began in 1911 while Carnegie was living at a YMCA. There, he got the idea to start teaching public speaking. He convinced the YMCA manager to let him teach a class in return for 80% of the proceeds.
During his early teachings, he asked his students to talk about something that made them angry and discovered that this technique made the speakers more likely to address a public audience. The Dale Carnegie course was developed from there, and his success grew as he tapped into the average person’s desire to become more self-confident.
Upcoming Drive Development Days
Drive Development Days run until May 3. Here is a complete list of topics:
Register for upcoming DRIVE Development days here: DRIVE Development Days - Detroit Catholic Central High School.