Maintaining The Balance…
Early in the film “Rebel Without a Cause”, James Dean falls to his knees and, pulling at his shirt, calls out “you’re tearing me apart”. His character – Jim Stark – has not even started full time employment and yet the pressures of modern day life are already getting to him. On the other hand Gordon Gekko, from the film “Wall Street”, appears as cool as a cucumber and fully in control of his life – despite his illegal, high risk, business activities. The fact is, stress can effect different people at different times and for different reasons.
For most of us the response to the demands of modern life, both at home and at work, are unlikely to be as extreme as these two fictional examples. Nevertheless, stress-related disorders are prevalent in today’s society; as with all other industrialised societies world-wide. According to official UK sources (Labour force survey) work related stress accounts for 37% of work related ill health and 11.7 million days lost in 2015/16. The main work factors cited by respondents as being the primary causes of work related stress or anxiety are workload pressures, tight deadlines, too much responsibility and a lack of managerial support.
In truth there are a limitless number of responses to the different external pressures which are constantly brought to bear on our lives. Add to these forces our own internal needs and aspirations, and it is easy to understand why people act in such a variety of ways. The external forces which impact upon our lives can be categorised into specific groups. They include Physical Factors; Social, Economic & Political Factors; Work & Career Factors; Interpersonal & Environmental Factors; and an individual’s Family & Friends. Depending upon the intensity of each force, and upon an individual’s own internal characteristics, the pressures these forces create can produce either a positive or a negative response.
When positive responses are created, they not only act as a powerful stimuli, but also as a strong motivational force. In their wake they bring the benefits of personal growth and development, plus the rewards of success and achievement. But, when the same set of forces are encountered by a different individual, a negative response can occur just as easily. When this happens the resulting pressure acts as a “Stressor” and thus triggers a “Negative Stress Response”. If people are to manage these factors, and therefore induce a positive response rather than a negative one, developing the ability to take control of our own reactions is essential. To do this we not only need to identify our own “Safe Working Load”, we also need to know what can be done if this “Safe Working Load” is exceeded on a regular basis – the primary cause of an adverse reaction to stress.
“Safe Working Loads” are usually determined by experience, gained from the earliest possible age, combined with the genetic characteristics with which people are born. Its “Weight” is not the maximum load with which a person can work, but the load that can be safely sustained on a regular basis, for undetermined periods, without incurring injury to themselves or inflicting damage on anything or anyone else. People’s “Safe Working Loads” are dynamic and the “Weight” of the load changes as new experiences are gained. It is for this reason that, once the “Safe Working Load” has been identified, it is possible to manage our reactions to external stimuli more effectively and avoid any ensuing negative spiral. An ounce of prevention is therefore worth a pound of cure.
With stress being so widespread throughout the industrialised world, you can be sure that somebody close to you, either at work or at home, is suffering from its adverse affects – even if you personally are not. Being aware of stress, understanding its causes and knowing how to prevent it is probably the most significant step towards developing the ability to manage the negative pressures of life – not only within your own life but within the lives of those around you. In the United States, training courses in stress management are already firmly established as an integral part of management training. Today, in Britain, the need to control the negative aspects of stress has also been recognised.
For many years I have not only advised on how to manage potentially stressful situations, in a highly effective and practical manner, but also demonstrated how to recognise the symptoms of stress before doing any long term damage. To date we have worked on a wide range of initiatives, designed specifically to address the adverse effects of stress within a commercial arena, in both the UK and North America. These undertakings have primarily been for major organisations whose commercial activities cover Manufacturing, Finance, Retail (Consumer Goods & F.M.C.G.) and the Service Sector – in both the public and private sectors.
Before you can properly manage stress, you first need to know how to truly relax. For this reason I have taken great care in identifying and selecting a range of venues that are, in every sense, complimentary to the course – one of them being “Hoar Cross Hall” (A Health Spa in a Stately Home). With a wide range of facilities on offer (including Spa Pool, Fully Equipped Gymnasium, Therapeutic Treatments and Professional Advice on Personal Fitness & Healthy Eating), Hoar Cross Hall creates an environment where visitors are made to feel at ease and completely relaxed.
Whilst a Stress Management course offers no absolute panacea to stress, it does fortify an individual with the ability to recognise the symptoms of stress and then to identify its cause. This is the most important stage in managing the impact of stress – as awareness of the individual stressors is ninety percent (90%) of the solution.
Once the cause of a problem has been isolated, there are four basic courses of action.
Fight – Take positive action by learning new skills or by adopting a more determined approach. This may require the overriding of some inherent fears – which, in part, may simply be due to a lack of exposure or familiarity.
Flight – Where an environment is very hostile, and assuming that an exit exists, it is often best to temporarily or even permanently withdraw from the situation – either mentally or physically.
Ignore – On a few occasions it may be more sensible to do nothing – rather than ploughing ahead and thereby worsening the situation. Waiting for something to happen before taking any decisive action is not necessarily a sign of weakness.
Change – Aim to alter your attitude, response and behaviour under certain circumstances. To do this there are two basic requirements. Firstly the stressful forces must be put into their proper perspective by asking such questions as – “What’s the worst that can happen?”, Am I really likely to lose everything?” or “Am I likely to die as a result?”. Secondly we need to avoid imagining the worst; possibly by making a written list of all the positive aspects of the situation in order to focus on potentially positive outcomes.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us If you are interested in finding out more.