Stress

Stress

"You can't change the cards life has dealt you, but you can determine the way you'll play them." - Ty Boyd

Too much information, lack of predictability or control, too many choices, lack of sleep, social isolation, job status, crisis, catastrophes, fear, etc. cause stress. The less control we perceive we have over our lives, the easier we fall victim to stress. The more stress we experience, the more we tend to make decisions that are short term.

Stress responses are not limited to immediate physical danger. Social and psychological threats, such as possible job loss or isolation, can also produce bodily responses.

Example: The fear of losing both her job and social position caused Mary to suffer constant headaches.

Stress can affect concentration, memory, sleep, and physical health. Bevelin discusses links between prolonged stress and cardiovascular, metabolic, digestive, and mood problems. Cortisol is part of the stress response, and sustained stress can affect immune function and recovery. These effects involve more than a simple chain from a stressful thought to a particular disease.

What happens when people are exposed to physical and mental exhaustion, confusion, physical pain, emotional tension or fear? Stress increases our suggestibility. Ivan Pavlov showed that animal behavior could be established or erased by exposing the animal to stress. For example, he could make a dog react aggressively to a caretaker with whom the dog was once very loyal. The same can happen to people. Under prolonged exhaustion, fear, or coercion, people may find it harder to evaluate claims and resist pressure. Responses vary, and stress does not make everyone’s beliefs easy to change. This can happen to prisoners of war. It has also been used to make religious and political conversions, and by police forces to elicit confessions.

"I have lost control over the situation."

The more we believe we are in control, the less vulnerable we are to the negative effects of stress. Studies show that people who perceive themselves to be in control over a stressful situation experience less stress on their hearts and circulatory system.

The status of our job matters. Bevelin describes a Whitehall II study involving 17,000 civil servants and links low perceived control and lower occupational status with increased cardiovascular risk. Our cortisol levels rise in response to the degree other people order us about. As we climb the social hierarchy health status improves. In Genome, science writer Dr. Matt Ridley comments on the Whitehall study: "Somebody in a low-grade job, such as a janitor, was nearly four times as likely to have a heart attack as a permanent secretary at the top of the heap."

In another study researchers tried to find out the differences between business executives who became sick from exposure to high stress and those who didn't. They found that executives who stayed healthy had a sense of commitment to work and families, felt in control, and had a positive attitude toward challenges. They saw challenges as part of life and an opportunity for growth rather than as a threat.

Warren Buffett says, "I have no stress whatsoever - zero. I get to do what I love to do every day. I'm surrounded by people that are terrific." He continues, "All the businesses I run don't take 5% of my time. We don't have regular staff meetings and the like. If you've got good businesses and the right managers, you don't need that sort of thing- and if you don't, they don't help."

Keep in mind

• Stress is neither good nor bad in itself. It depends on the situation and our interpretation. Our attitudes can influence how we respond to stress. The Austrian physician Dr. Hans Selye says in Stress without Distress that it is not stress that harms us but distress. We need challenges. He continues, "Without stress, there would no life... Complete freedom from stress is death."
• The 1st Century philosopher Epictetus said: "Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what you can and can't control that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible."
• If a problem can be solved, there is no need to worry. The thing to do is to correct it. If a situation can't be solved, we shouldn't worry about that either. We can't do anything about it. Mark Twain says: "I've suffered a great many catastrophes in my life. Most of them never happened." Sometimes keeping ourselves busy with something else may cause us to stop worrying.