Chapter 5: Managing Stress
What is stress? Eustress vs. distress; Siegel's view on culture and stress
Stress is an event or series of events that leads to strain, which often results in physical and psychological health problems. Stress can involve external factors that threaten our well-being, internal factors, and physical responses to both external and internal demands. Eustress, or good stress, challenges us to find creative solutions to the problems of everyday living. When we meet these challenges, we are rewarded with a sense of accomplishment, meaning, and balance. Distress refers to the negative effects of stress that can deplete, fragment, and harm us, leading to a sense of helplessness and exhaustion. Distress leads to negative physical and psychological states. Stress is an inevitable part of life. We cannot totally eliminate stress, nor would we want to, because it provides a certain vitality to our lives. Our body or state of mind may be telling is that something in our life needs to change. Signs of stress often serve as an invitation to examine what we are doing and to create better ways of dealing with life's demands. Recognizing ineffective or harmful reactions to stress is a first step in dealing with it. Developing stress management skills and making them a basic part of our lifestyle is essential if we hope to maintain a sense of wellness. How we perceive and react to stress is subjective and internal, therefore, our central task is learning how to recognize and respond constructively to the sources of stress (coping) rather than trying to eliminate them.
Defensive behavior
Although defensive behavior does at times have adaptive value and can result in reducing the impact of stress, such behavior increases stress in the long run. If we are more concerned with defending ourselves than with coping with reality, we are not likely to take the steps necessary to resolve a problem. The trouble with relying on defensive behavior is that the more we use defensive mechanisms the more we increase our anxiety. When this happens, our defenses become entrenched. This leads to a vicious cycle that is difficult to break and ultimately makes coping with stress more difficult.
Burnout; best way to cope/prevention; Ben-Shahar's views on work-related stress; multi-level recovery model
Burnout is a state of physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual exhaustion characterized by chronic fatigue, weakness, low energy, and feelings of helplessness and hopelessness. Burnout is a syndrome that can lead to a sense of low personal accomplishment, emotional exhaustion, and depersonalization. Repeated pressures often associated with intense involvement with people or with unrealistic goals over a long period of time can result in burnout. People who are burned out have depleted themselves on all levels of human functioning. Burnout is a concern for students who often do not recognize their hurried lifestyle, nor are they aware of the warning signs that they have pushed themselves to the breaking point. Ben-Shahar believed the real problem lies in a lack of sufficient recovery time following work sessions. He believes we need a multilevel recovery, which includes recovery on the microlevel (punctuating a long day with regular breaks in which we exercise, meditate, listen to music), the midlevel (getting adequate sleep at night), and the macrolevel (taking a vacation of 1 to 4 weeks every year). By setting realistic goals and giving ourselves much needed recovery time, we function more productively and reduce our feelings of helplessness, thereby avoiding the frustration and anger that can result in exhaustion and cynicism. We learn to relax, even for short breaks. Instead of taking personally all the problems we encounter, we can work on ourselves to assume a more objective perspective. The real challenge is to learn ways to structure our lives so we can prevent burnout.
Environmental sources of stress
Examples are: living in crowded conditions, noise, traffic, congestion, pollution, by-product of the constant bombardment of news and information around the clock, illness, exposure to environmental pollutants, improper diet, lack of exercise, poor sleeping habits, and abusing our bodies, discrimination, racism, the national economic crisis, home foreclosures, bankruptcies. One result of our over-reliance on technology is a psychological phenomenon called phantom vibration syndrome, a false sensation of vibration associated with incoming cell phone messages that is particularly distressing to individuals who experience text message dependence. Financial problems and the pressure to work to support yourself (and your family) make being a student a demanding task. These stressors may be compounded by the financial burden of your college tuition. The pressures associated with academic success- deadlines and competition- are external stressors that you need to address. Attempting to fit too many things into one day can add extra stress to the many new pressures you are facing. Stress is likely to exacerbated even further for college-bound students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds who may be first-generation college students. Our minds and bodies are also profoundly affected by more direct physiological sources of stress. African Americans, immigrants, and refugees can become stressed due to trauma, culture shock, etc. Those who encounter xenophobia and become targets of discrimination and hate upon arriving in the US are likely to be further traumatized. Disillusioned and in debt, people are under enormous stress and are worried about the future. We are confronted daily with the reality that we can no longer assume that we are safe, which we once took for granted. This uncertainty is a source of stress that has profoundly affected the psyche of Americans and has had a global impact.
Flight-or-fight response; stress and illness; psychosomatic illnesses
Fight-or-flight response is when our bodies go on constant alert status, ready for aggressive action to combat the many "enemies" we face. If we subject ourselves or are subjected to too many stresses, the biochemical changes that occur during this response may lead to chronic stress and anxiety. The stressed brain causes rampant hormone release, which causes bodily wear and tear. Psychosomatic illnesses are genuine physical maladies such as ulcers, hypertension, and asthma that are caused in part and exacerbated by emotional factors and the prolonged effects of stress. The evidence centers on nagging inflammation and genetic twists that steer cells off a healthy course, resulting in immune changes that allow ailments to take hold or worsen. Stress also contributes to a range of major physical illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, endocrine and metabolic disease, skin rashes, ulcers, migraine and tension headaches, emotional disorders, musculoskeletal disease, infectious illnesses, breast cysts, and premenstrual syndrome. In the Abbots' view our bodies are paying a high price for the materialistic and stressful manner in which we live. According to Abbott, belief in the doctor and in the process and procedures, a doctor employs has a great deal to do with curing patients. It seems clear that emotional restriction can lead to sickness. Although it may be helpful to assume that we have a part to play in our illness, we need to reject taking blame for our illness.
Psychological sources of stress; frustration; types of conflict; change, pressure
Frustration results from something blocking attainment of your needs and goals. External sources of frustration (all of which have psychological components( include failures, losses, job discrimination, accidents, delays, traffic jams, hurtful interpersonal relationships, loneliness, and isolation. Some internal factors can hinder you in attaining your goals as well. These include a lack of basic skills, physical handicaps, a lack of belief in yourself, and any self-imposed barriers you may create that block the pursuit of your goals. Internal conflict occurs when two or more incompatible motivations or behavioral impulses compete for expression. Approach-approach conflicts occur when a choice must be made between two or more attractive or desirable alternatives. Such conflicts are inevitable because we have a limited amount of time to do all the things we would like to do and be all the places we would like to be. Avoidance-avoidance conflicts arise when a choice must be made between two or more unattractive or undesirable outcomes. These conflicts are the most unpleasant and the most stressful. Approach-avoidance conflicts are produced when a choice must be made involving two or more linked outcomes, each of which has attractive and unattractive elements. Change can exacerbate stress, especially life changes that involve readjustment in out living circumstances. Pressure, which involves expectations and demands for behaving in certain ways, is part of the "hurry sickness" of modern living. Also, we continually place internally created pressures on ourselves. Striving to live up to the expectations of others, coupled with self-imposed perfectionist demands, is a certain route to stress.
Internal vs. external locus of control; Martin Seligman: Army Master Resilience Trainer (MRT) Course and the Comprehensive Soldier Fitness program
Internal locus of control means that the person believes that they can influence events and their reactions to events. People with an external locus of control believe what happens to them is determined by factors external to themselves such as luck, fate, and chance. Martin Seligman spearheaded the development of US Army Master Resilience Trainer (MRT) course to teach resilience skills to noncommissioned officers. Drawing from tenets of positive psychology and the Penn resilience program curriculum (which was initially designed as a school-based training program for children and adolescents), Seligman and his colleagues created MRT as the foundation for teaching resilience skills to sergeants, who would then teach these skills to soldiers. Many people are able to triumph over extreme life circumstances.
Drugs and Alcohol—downside to using them to deal with stress
Many people take an aspirin for a headache or a tranquilizer when they are anxious, take stimulants to stay awake at the end of a term, and use a variety of drugs to reduce other physical symptoms and emotional stresses. Many of us rely too much on drugs to alleviate symptoms of stress rather than looking at the root cause that produces this stress. It is widely known that alcohol and illegal substances such as cocaine and heroin can wreak havoc in the lives of those who use these substances, but prescription drug abuse has reached epidemic levels in the US as well and can lead to devastating outcomes. Prescription drug abuse has become more prevalent throughout our society, and the increased non-medical use of prescription anxiety medications is dangerous and can be fatal, because drugs and alcohol can distort reality, these substances prevent us from finding direct and effective means of coping with stress. When drugs or alcohol
Resilience and hardiness; characteristics of a hardy personality; Kobasa's study of executives
Resilience is the capacity of individuals to bounce back from major stress events with minimal negative effects, and we often refer to this ability as grit (the tendency to work hard and to have a sustained interest in long-term passions and goals, hardiness, resourcefulness, or mental toughness. Resilience is not so much a personality trait as a process that occurs when individuals react successfully to stressful situations. Resilient people are not immune to stress and temporary self-doubt, but they adapt quickly in a crisis situation. Resilience can be seen as a set of learned behaviors that are largely dependent on your beliefs about your ability to cope. "Hardiness" distinguishes people who succeed in coping with change without becoming ill; characterized by an appetite for challenge, a sense of commitment, a clearly defined sense of self and purpose, and a clear sense of being in control of one's life. Traits of a hardy personality are: a liking for challenge, a strong sense of commitment, and an internal locus of control.
