While change can be positive, at some point in our lives, we have experienced or will experience a traumatic event or a critical incident. A critical incident can be described as any incident that causes people to experience unusually strong emotional reactions, which have the potential to affect their ability to function at their workplace, within their families, and/or in other areas of their lives. The event may be time-limited, ongoing or even chronic.
Once the incident is over, it is possible to experience strong emotional or physical reactions. It is common, in fact quite normal, to experience emotional aftershocks after passing through a horrible life event. The consequences of emotional stress may appear a few hours or a few days later. And, in some cases, weeks or months may pass before stress reactions appear
Effects of stress can be unhealthy or even debilitating. Prolonged stress without some type of control will cause changes in how you eat, sleep and interact with your family and co-workers. The severity of health related problems due to stress would depend on what type of stress it is and the amount of time you are exposed to it.
Stress caused by losing your job will normally be short lived as soon as you find a new job and are comfortable with it. Stress caused by an accident where injuries are sustained and even possibly cause the loss of a loved one are more serious and can last for long periods of time. Medical treatment and extended periods of recovery are often required for the more serious types of stress.
Stress not only affects the individual, but can also affect their employer. According to Anthony Renshaw in his article Don’t stress!, the peak period for heart attacks is Monday morning (when people are returning to work), the cost of stress leave in Australia is more than $60 million annually, and “60-80 percent of industrial accidents are due to stressed workers.” (2001, paras. 6-8). More than seventy percent of workplace absenteeism is due to stress-related factors (Renshaw, 2001). For this reason, businesses have significant financial interest in helping employees minimize stress.
Minor indicators of stress can be characterized by symptoms such as emotional detachment, temporary loss of memory or de-realization. Major symptoms of prolonged stress can cause more debilitating disorders such as Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Both major disorders are similar except Acute Stress Disorder is differentiated as a time limited disorder while Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is more permanent.
Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychological condition triggered by a major traumatic event, such as rape, war, and a terrorist act, death of a loved one, a natural disaster, or a catastrophic accident. It is marked by upsetting memories or thoughts of the ordeal, "blunting of emotions, increased arousal, and sometimes severe personality change” (Lon M.D., Jacqueline L. & Granger, Jill, 2001).
Although the effects of stress can seem overwhelming, there are techniques
that can be utilized and incorporated into your life to help reduce the pressures and
the challenges you experience daily. It is important to familiarize yourself with effective stress-managing skills because they can play a vital role in your personal and professional success.
Identifying stressors is the first step towards effective stress management (Volpe, 2000). Are you experiencing significant amounts of stress at home or at the workplace? Are these stresses financial or job expectation pressures? Once the origin of the stress is identified, the technique and stress-reduction plan can be chosen. If the stress is job-related, Employee Assistance Programs, which are offered at many businesses and corporations, may prove helpful. These programs are effective forms of support that assist employees through difficult situations. The programs cannot only be relied upon for assistance with employment stresses, but can also provide aid with personal situations. Although the support is confidential, many workers are reluctant to take advantage of Employee Assistance Programs because they fear it could create a negative effect at work. Discussing troubles with peers is another avenue that serves as an effective form of managing stress. Friends and family can provide a sense of comfort and help to stress sufferers helping them realize that they are not alone.
Meditation is yet another effective tool that helps clear and re-energize the mind. It is convenient and inexpensive because it can be performed at home or at the office. Sleep is a typical element of everyone’s routine, but it is the quality of sleep that is important. Sleep can decrease the levels of stress by rejuvenating psychological and physiological systems.
Anthony Renshaw’s work suggests that improving a person’s self-reliance may be one of the keys to diminishing the impact of stress (2001). He states that “self-reliance offers protection from stress and self-reliance depends on established core values like self-control, self-discipline, patience and steadiness.” (2001, para. 1). This self-reliance can be taught to individuals and nurtured within organizations thus improving the mental health of each and, as a pleasant by product, reducing stress.
In her paper, #1 way to eliminate daily stress, Sandy Baker asks how you deal with stress. “Yell? Cry? Give up in despair? According to psychologists, those are the worst reactions
you can have. They foster a negative attitude and add un[due] stress on your body” (2000, para. 3). She, instead, suggests that you let out a big laugh. While this may seem simplistic, it has a real basis in physiological healing. Psychologists support the belief that we are able to change our emotions by laughing even if we are faking the laughter. “Contrary to popular belief, we are happy because we laugh, not the other way around”, states Baker (2000, para. 8). In this instance, your body is performing an unnatural act, given the circumstances, and fooling your mind into thinking it is happy. This agrees with Renshaw’s finding that if the mind, as the root of stress, is happy, confident, and self-reliant, then stress has little on which to take hold (2001).
In summary, stress is prevalent. It inhabits our lives daily in both good and bad ways. Stress may push us to excel in ways we thought unachievable, or it may debilitate us from action in ways we thought unimaginable. For all the damage stress can cause, it is remarkable that it is only “a condition of the mind” (Renshaw, 2001, para.1) responding to life’s events. This mental trigger does have very real effects on our physiology: increased heart rate, increased hormonal responses, and inhibition of our immune system. To reduce or eliminate stress it is important that we actively deal with it by focusing on the individual’s mind.
In order to minimize or eliminate the negative effects that stress can have on us, on our family, on our friends, and on our place of work, we must acknowledge the stress as a mental phenomenon. It is then important to actively deal with the stress by taking advantage of others as sounding boards, of rejuvenation techniques, and of learned self-reliance exercises (Renshaw, 2001). If this fails, let out a good belly laugh, as Sandy Baker recommends (2000). These actions will help reestablish your individual control over the stressor and move you in the proper direction.
References
Baker, S. (2000). #1 way to eliminate daily stress. AFP Exchange. 20, 66,
2pgs. Retrieved September 7, 2003 from ProQuest on the World Wide Web at
http://
Lon M.D., J. and Granger, J. (2001). Post-traumatic stress disorder. The Gale
Encyclopedia of Medicine, Second Edition. Retrieved September 8, 2003 from Health
and Wellness Resource Center Database
Managing Stress (n.d.) Retrieved September 9, 2003 from
Renshaw, A. (2001) Don’t stress! Charter. 72, 94, Retrieved September 7, 2003
from the World Wide Web at
Volpe, J. F. (2000). A guide to effective stress management. Law & Order, 48(10), 183-188.
Retrieved September 8, 2003, from ProQuest database.