Unit 3: Managing Stress
What are stressors and distractors? Why are certain jobs more stressful than others? Why do some people handle stress better than others? How can you use stressors and distractors to your advantage? Let's discuss some common myths and truths as we figure out how much time we need to devote to certain tasks.
Completing this unit should take you approximately 3 hours.
Upon successful completion of the unit, you will be able to:
- define stressors;
- compare surface and core stressors;
- discuss Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD);
- list four signs of high-functioning PTSD;
- compare acute and chronic stress;
- list the four capacity sectors of Jim Loehr’s and Tony Schwartz’ High-Performance Pyramid;
- give examples of rituals we can incorporate into our physical, emotional, mental and spiritual capacities;
- give examples of ways corporations can avoid the outcomes of negative stress for their employees; and
- explain the benefit of different coping strategies for reducing stress.
3.1: What Is a Stressor?
Most of us feel stressed from time to time. Of course, the degree of stress we experience depends on our ability to cope with unwelcome or unexpected events or stressors. This tension affects our minds and bodies.
You have probably heard of the fight or flight response to stress. Walter Cannon (1871–1945), an American physiologist, was among the first to explore stress and how our bodies respond to stressful events. He described the "fight or flight response" to stress, which suggests our body quickly arouses the sympathetic nervous system and the endocrine system when confronted with a stressful event so that our pupils dilate, our breathing quickens, we begin to sweat, our heart rate increases, and our muscles tense or tremble. These physiological responses prepare us to fight or escape from stressful events.
This coping mechanism helps us protect ourselves from perceived or real threats (stressors). Examples include the fear of public speaking, phobias (such as spiders, snakes, bridges, and water), and fear of a lack of control in a given situation. Of course, some stress level is a healthy sign of realistic awareness. We may have to meet a physical or mental challenge that immediately demands our knowledge, ability, or experience. These same stressors that prompt us to run to safety motivate athletes to perform their best when facing competitors. Let's examine the causes of stress and ways to reduce unhealthy stress.
Watch this video on how the brain processes real and perceived threats. Jaime Tartar notes that the human brain and nervous system are wired to defend us from threats to our survival. However, more complicated life stressors and hassles force us to decide about our relationships, work, and ambitions.
We must consider our knowledge, skills, and experience to respond to individual stressors. Answers may lie in psychotherapy, social support, good sleep habits, and other strategies. However, he warns that our actions to reduce or avoid stress may have complications or negative side effects, such as time and energy spent or drug dependence. Tartar reminds us that we control our stress response. We can ignore the signs at our peril or act on them to improve our lives.
What is stress? Peter Gerlach makes a distinction between our false and true selves. Watch this video for an overview of recognizing the true (core) causes of our stress. When we identify the core causes of stress, we can better understand the mental and physiological stressors. Can you name all of the stressors in your life? It might be helpful to examine the three real causes of stress cited in the video.
This video discusses the signs of high-functioning post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD. It suggests ways to get help for this common ailment if you are experiencing negative emotions due to past traumas that keep you from leading a healthy and productive life.
Watch this video to learn about a framework for identifying, reacting to, and responding to stress. Ameer Rosic offers practical tips for reframing stressors so we can respond positively and positively. Take a moment to identify some stressors in your life and write down how you normally respond to them. Would you benefit from a different response?
3.2: Managing Stress to Boost Mental Health
Stress can negatively affect your mental health – but it doesn't have to! Now, we'll explore how to manage stress.
Watch this video, which offers three main strategies for managing stress in the workplace. The speaker focuses on building resilience and emotional agility. The online seminar is interactive so be sure to have a pen and paper ready to do the exercises.
Read this text, which describes individual and organizational approaches to managing stress. Individuals benefit from a workflow that offers challenge, meaningfulness, competence, and choice.
The reading describes ways corporations can reduce unhealthy stress by providing job design and management practices that include clear expectations, autonomy, fair work environments, and other opportunities for job enrichment.
Unresolved workplace conflicts can sap energy, decrease motivation, and create a toxic work environment. In this video, Jess Coles stresses the need to proactively tackle negative conflict by ascertaining the source of unproductive disputes and changing the people or processes that interfere with effective team collaboration.
Watch this video to learn how to manage stress by organizing and prioritizing tasks (as we return to the time management skills discussed in Unit 1). Some tasks may be easier or more enjoyable than others, but having a realistic "conversation" with ourselves may prompt us to admit they are not must-do items. Take time for yourself amid the compound stressors we face daily. Remember to reserve time in your schedule for family and friends!
Do you find yourself staying awake at night reviewing the things that may have gone better during the day or wracking your brain for solutions to current and potential problems? Watch this video which recommends creating a shutdown process to help you sleep peacefully and devise creative problem-solving ideas.
Watch this video to learn how to deal with multiple high-pressure situations. Tips include learning to control your breathing, change your posture, and plan responses to various leadership and social situations. These coping mechanisms are easy to follow and can help us reduce pressure and stress.
Watch this video which discusses how our minds and bodies benefit from exercise. Changes in muscle growth, heart rate, hormonal, and brain chemistry can help us increase our endurance and improve our mental outlook.