Stress ?
We live in stressful times. We are holding down two or more jobs.
We are putting up with heavy job loads and unreasonable demands.
We are swallowing outrage and frustration with unfair situations
and irrational superiors because we cannot afford to be laid off
or fired. Or we have already been laid off and we are struggling
to find another job. Or we have given up and are coping with
unemployment.
Outside strains like these are called stressors. Stressors
are the barely-tolerable pressures that bring us unhappiness and,
eventually, disease.
Some people hardly seem to be affected by stressors. They maintain
a sense of perspective and a sense of humor. They remain calm in
the midst of adversity and catastrophe. Other people are
overwhelmed by a lesser number and intensity of stressors and
slide downhill, losing relationships, jobs, and eventually their
mental and physical health. What makes the difference?
Inner Strength
While it may seem that our problems are entirely the result of the
enormous stressors in our lives, our mental balance and the degree
of functioning of our nervous system actually determine how we
feel and respond, and that is far more important. Which is better:
to be exposed to few stressors but be overwhelmed by them, or to
be exposed to many stressors and respond with grace and humor?
Mental balance, normal functioning of the nervous system, grace,
and good humor are all aspects of natural inner strength.
The important question is why so many of us don't have the degree
of inner strength that would protect us from stressors and would
allow us to express our inner creativity and intelligence fully,
resulting in a happy, productive, successful, and fulfilled
life.
If inner strength is natural and normal for some people, what
limits it for others? What causes inner weakness?
Stress: The Stored Effects of Overloads
Stressors can cause overloads. Examples include the
physical and mental trauma of living through a car crash, enduring
the pressure of many or difficult jobs, or even receiving a sudden
pleasant shock, such as of unexpectedly winning a lottery,
inheriting a fortune, or catching sight of a beautiful sunset.
The fact that we can relive these experiences in dreams
and that they elevate our
fight-or-flight hormones shows that they
have a negative long-term effect on our health and happiness.
Stress is the response of the nervous system to stressors
that are too large to handle. It is the internalized result of
external overloads. It consists of stored abnormalities that serve
to protect us from repeated exposure to the same overloads by
limiting our functioning. An analogy may help make this clear.
Consider modern buildings. They are protected from electrical fire
by a system of separate circuits, each protected by ts own circuit
breaker that interrupts the current in the circuit whenever there
is an electrical overload, whether caused by using too many
appliances or by a short-circuit. In the absence of circuit
breakers, the intense heat caused by the high current could result
in serious fire. If one or two breakers are tripped, the building
still functions. One can run an extension cord from an outlet that
is still working to where one needs it. It's not convenient, but
it's much better than having just one breaker to protect the whole
building.
Like a modern building, we hypothesize that the human nervous
system has a distributed "graceful degradation" mechanism that
protects it from serious damage when it is overloaded. While we
haven't as yet identified it in terms of anatomy or biochemistry,
researchers can observe the very real negative physiological and
mental effects of stressors on people over time, using measurable
effects such as reaction time, anxiety, trust, anger, memory,
creativity, problem solving, skin resistance, EEG, blood pressure,
and blood chemistry, among others.
Perfectionism
Do you feel a constant pressure to achieve?
Do you criticize yourself when you're not perfect?
Do you feel you haven't done enough no matter how hard you try?
Do you give up pleasure in order to be the best in everything you do?
Control
Do you have to be perfectly in control at all times?
Do you worry about how you appear to others when you are nervous?
Do you feel that any lack of control is a sign of weakness or failure?
Are you uncomfortable delegating projects to others?
People Pleasing
Does your self-esteem depend on everyone else's opinion of you?
Do you sometimes avoid assignments because you're afraid of disappointing
your boss?
Are you better at caring for others than caring for yourself?
Do you keep most negative feelings inside to avoid displeasing others?
Competence
Do you feel you can never do as good a job as other people?
Do you feel your judgment is poor?
Do you feel you lack common sense?
Do you feel like an impostor when told your work is good?
Yes answers indicate potential road blocks to a stress-free work life. Challenge
these beliefs. Experiment. Try acting in a way that is opposite to your usual
behavior. Then, evaluate the results. For example, if you feel overburdened
because of a need to control, delegate a task and observe the consequences.
Become aware of how your stress-building beliefs affect your behavior.
Replace them with more realistic and less stressful thoughts.
Stress Builders and Stress Busters
Stress Builder: "I'll never get this project in on time."
Stress Buster:"If I stay focused and take it one step at a time, I'll make steady progress."
Stress Builder: "My supervisor didn't say good morning. He's probably displeased with my work, and I'll get a bad evaluation."
Stress Buster:"I'm jumping to conclusions. My supervisor may have been in a bad mood. So far all my evaluations have been positive, so unless I get some negative feedback, I'll assume my supervisor is pleased with my work."
Stress Builder: "I can't get my mistake on page 53 out of my mind. The paper is ruined. I have disappointed everyone."
Stress Buster:"No one is perfect. I did my best. I'm overreacting to one mistake when the overall report is fine."
Add Stress Busters to your work life. Your ability to handle difficult challenges in the workplace will improve and the benefits will transfer over into other areas of your life as well.