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| Image by Stuart Miles - Freedigitalphotos.net |
As it's National Stress Awareness Day on 6th November, I thought I would do a quick article to help raise awareness on combating stress!
Stress is necessary in exceptional circumstances where we need it to 'Fight or Flight' especially in times of survival. When we were faced with greater challenges ie being chased by a bear, we would need to completely focus on our survival and either fight or run!
Unfortunately, we still use this stress response when we don't need to fight or flight! And worse still, it is to the detriment of our health! Basically our bodies release hormones to aid our stressful situations. One of these hormones is called cortisol. Normally after fighting or flighting, our cortisol levels return to normal. But when we keep getting stressed unnecessarily, we keep releasing cortisol and this can affect our health unless we exercise or relax to help levels return to normal!
So before we get stressed, we should look at our 'awfuliser' scale! An Awfuliser Scale is basically a scale from 0-100 of actually how awful an event is. 100 would be life threatening and 0 would be not awful at all! If it's 100, you would need to get stressed to survive! So whenever you get into a stressful situation, give it a rating to help you determine how awful it really is!
As you read through this article, you will realise (if you don't already) that it's not the events which cause our stress, it's actually our own interpretation of the event and how we choose to react to them! This is why some people get stressed over minor issues whereas others don't even get stressed about major issues.
One example of a minor issue is getting stuck in traffic on the motorway on the way to an event ie job interview. You can actually choose how you respond. One way could be to scream and shout at all the cars in front of you, blame others for making you late in the first place etc. Or you could make use of the time, put on your favourite music and chill out or practice questions for your job interview. Some of you may be wondering how you possibly can't get stressed as you might not get the job if you're late etc, so let's break it down!!
First of all (after checking your awfuliser scale), what would getting stressed out actually achieve? Not a lot really. It would release cortisol and adrenalin to help us 'fight or flight'. Well you can't go anywhere! So you can't fight or flight! This is where stress is affecting our health as these hormones build up! Normally running away or fighting would help the levels return to normal. So if you get stressed out on a regular basis, you really should be reducing your levels through exercise! Also turning up for a job interview stressed out probably wouldn't do you any favours either. When you're in stressed out mode, you're in 'survival mode' which also shuts down your IQ. When you're running away from a bear, you don't need a high IQ! Your sense of humour also disappears when under stress so this probably wouldn't help your interview either! Lots of things shut down so you can focus on survival! Have you ever been stressed out and not been able to find your keys even when they're right under your nose?!
So how about looking at some of your choices?
Can I change it?
Can I change me?
Can I accept it?
How can I work around it?
One of my favourite quotes is the serenity prayer ...
"Grant me the serenity to accept the things I can not change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference" (Reinhold Niebuhr)
Sometimes, we need to look at things from a different perspective!
So you can't change the situation, what can you do instead? Think about your other options. Practising for the interview could be good and putting on some good music. You will turn up at the interview prepared and calm rather than stressed and flustered - a much better impression!
Apart from exercising to help with stress, relaxation is another great way. Have you ever come out of a nerve wrecking event i.e. an exam and let out a huge sigh of relief? Well, that's actually you telling your body that the stress is all over, you can let it all go. So taking some deep breaths in and out is actually a great way to relieve stress. One of my favourite relaxation techniques is to simply put on some relaxing music, close my eyes and as I breathe in, say "I am relaxing" and as I breathe out, say "I am letting go of all my tension". You can do this for whatever length of time you choose and after practising this in a relaxing environment, you can incorporate it into your your life whenever you feel stress arising - you can simply breathe in and out and say "Relax and let go".
Finally, I have a little equation which you may find useful. O=E+R (Outcome equals Event Plus Reaction). Think about the Outcome you want so you can control your Reaction to the Event. So going back to the stuck in traffic scenario - The Outcome is creating a good impression at the interview. The Event is the traffic jam and the Reaction is how you choose to react to the situation. Which reaction would you prefer to choose?
I hope this article has helped you and hope you are able to manage your stress well. If you need a helping hand with stress, please feel free to get in touch!
