"O'stress" Success: Effective Stress Management for Senior

O'stress, a six-week stress management program, was found to have positive impacts on participants' mental health by a Canadian research team studying stress resilience in seniors. Three weeks following the training, participants diurnal cortisol levels, a measure of chronic stress, were much lower than those of non-participants, and they employed more problem-solving techniques and had less anxiety.

DeStress for Success: A Proven Program for Teens

The O'stress program is modeled around DeStress for Success, a cutting-edge initiative developed by the Centre for Studies on Human Stress to assist teenagers in managing the pressures of high school transition.

Teens who participated in DeStress for Success who were feeling a lot of negative emotions at the start of the school year exhibited a reduction in cortisol levels and depressive symptoms.

DeStress for Success has since been modified in collaboration with Plusquellec's team for several demographics, such as adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and those at high risk for behavioral issues.

In her doctoral research under the supervision of Université de Montréal professors ierrich Plusquellec and Sébastien Grenier, Marie-Josée Richer adapted DeStress for Success to the specific needs of seniors.

“Aging, like adolescence but for different reasons, is a particularly sensitive period when individuals are more vulnerable to chronic stress and its consequences,” Plusquellec noted (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Increasing stress resilience in older adults through a 6-week prevention program: effects on coping strategies, anxiety symptoms, and cortisol levels

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Role of Social Networks and Emotional Awareness in O’stress

O’stress incorporates elements relevant to aging, social relationships and, in particular, emotional contagion, the tendency to get caught up in the emotions of others. According to a recent study by the same researchers, emotional contagion is a significant factor in psychological distress among seniors. An educational component on emotional contagion was therefore included in the O’stress program to help participants recognize and manage this dynamic daily.

O’stress uses a variety of approaches including small-group workshops to help seniors identify symptoms of stress and release that energy through activities such as bopping to The Beatles’ “Twist and Shout.”

Participants also analyze their social network to identify sources of support, pressure and emotional contagion, and then problem-solve to find solutions.

The success of O’stress highlights the enormous potential of short, accessible interventions to counteract the harmful effects of chronic stress in the elderly.

“By demystifying stress and its effects, and then teaching effective techniques for coping with that stress, we equip participants to strengthen their resilience and overall well-being,” said Richer.

The research team now hopes to expand the O’stress program and evaluate its effectiveness in other contexts and populations. Their work could also inspire similar interventions in the areas of mental health and aging.

Reference:

1. Increasing stress resilience in older adults through a 6-week prevention program: effects on coping strategies, anxiety symptoms, and cortisol levels- (https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1499609/full)

Source-Eurekalert