SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT BALANCE-WAYS OF REDUCING STRESS
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Transcript of SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT BALANCE-WAYS OF REDUCING STRESS
8/7/2019 SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT BALANCE-WAYS OF REDUCING STRESS
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SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT BALANCE:
WAYS OF REDUCING STRESS
The avalanche of daily responsibilities from home and workplace,
the debts and in general, the hectic rhythm in which things happen
leave a deep mark on our organism. It is about that amount of
symptoms and sensations united under the generic name of “stress”.
The stress is a state of tension, strain and discomfort. It appears when
we are not capable of overrunning a difficulty and our entire efforts
disorganize our life. Psychologists consider that not only the negative
stress (“distress”) exists, but also a positive stress (“eustress”).
However, when the pressure becomes so huge that the entire body is
turned upside down it is high time one should take some immediate
measures, the help not belonging only to the person, but also to the
organization he/she works for and the society he/she is a part of.
Firstly, if we do not find suitable ways to handle or eliminate this
“modern disease” as it was called by experts, our body and soul will be
affected, changing our entire behaviour. As Pieter J.D. Drenth and his
team observed, we might feel pain, tension and a series of different
reactions, such as physiological changes, work dissatisfaction, anxiety,
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sexual problems, authoritarian conduct, strokes, alcohol and drug
addiction, smoking, absenteeism, neuroticism, violence and accidents.1
That is why it is important not to underestimate its negative effects
and come up with the best ways to counteract.
With the extension of the concept of “stress” and the
technological, demographical and political changes a society goes over
there are some conditions to maintaining an environment of daily
stress, ways of controlling it having multiplied. In one of his books, K.E.
Hart suggests that there are four approaches to stress management:
physiological, behavioural, psychological and environmental.2 The
physiological approach is considered to be the most popular for
properly handling stress. Various techniques can be used to reduce
excessive physiological efforts. Some examples could be: dancing,
therapy through movement, sport, deep muscle relaxation (this is an
easy but powerful way to counteract the “flight or fight” response-our
body’s primitive inborn response that prepares it to fight or flee from a
threat to our survival; all that one can do is to sit comfortably, close
his/her eyes and concentrate on the movement of the breath as it
enters and leaves the body; this type of relaxation may increase the
ability to concentrate and reduce blood pressure, pulse rate and
1 Pieter Johan Diederik Drenth, Henk Thierry, C. J. De Wolff, A Handbook Of Work
And Organizational Psychology: Work Psychology vol.2 (London, UK: Psychology
Press, 2000), 148.2 Kenneth E. Hart, Introducing Stress and Stress Management to Managers vol.5
(Bingley, UK: Journal of Managerial Psychology, 1990), pp 6-23.
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muscular tension), beginning a yoga or meditation class, avoiding food
high in sugar, salt, white flour, saturated fats or chemical additives.
Time management is an example of behavioural approach. This
approach is useful in managing the stress caused by other people, for
example those who demand one’s time and try to offload work on
him/her. By training to be more assertive people can learn to say “no”
to tasks that might precipitate stressful situations. It is recommended
to tackle one thing at a time, allocate time in relation to priorities in
order not to become tired and overcharged, learn to communicate,
share problems, avoid isolation and built networks; also try to establish
objectives for the life at work but also for the private life. In addition,
people who consider the negative aspect of a situation experience
more stress related problems than those who try to focus on the
positives and see the bright side of the situation. Therefore, rely on
oneself, reduce perfectionism, be more optimistic, provide positive
feedback, acknowledge problems, consult the values and do not
suppress feelings, share them with everybody! Moreover, Hart
mentions the environmental approach which tries to create
environments that do not generate excessive stress (as an illustration,
in an office try re-positioning the desks, change lighting or colour
schemes, here being helpful the “Feng Shui” art).
It is essential not to deny the existence of stress as some have
the tendency of doing for fear of recognizing a weakness or of having
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to reconsider a part of themselves and their activities. To cope with
stress people can favour all the conducts liable of maintaining or
improving one’s health condition. According to an article from a
Romanian magazine one can follow four anti-stress schedules.3 The
first one is called “NEW START” and is conceived as an assembly of
recommendations whose initials give the title: N-NUTRITION; E-
EXERCISE; W-WATER; S-SUN; T-TEMPERANCE; A-AIR; R-REST; T-TRUST.
A. Thorp, the author of this schedule highlights the power of the two
“T”, trust and temperance, in order to keep the balance in critical
situations. Sobriety limits the possibility of a chaotic evolution of the
behaviour and faith in God stabilizes us emotionally, contributes to the
maintenance of endorphins’ secretion which has a role of stimulating
immunity.
Practicing activities which make us satisfied induces a mood
emotionally favourable and opposed to one typical of a stressful
situation. Therefore, one can try another schedule proposed by the
author of the article, named “Roy Masters” which suggests that the
acquisition of health and the disproof of stress can be made only by
self-control and confidence in our strengths. To achieve this goal there
are some conditions: take notice of the stress mood and find its
reasons; put aside the workaholism; refrain from using alcohol, drugs,
tobacco, sedatives; make relaxation and emotion control exercises or
3 Ovidiu Popa-Velea, “Cum sa reducem stresul ?,” Psihologia Azi No2 (2004), 50-51.
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use the one called “Tallis”, centred on avoiding negative thoughts,
being more optimistic. The person needs to eliminate the tendency of
self-accusation and underestimation and to value personal success.
Some of the aspects the most noxious of the stress are negative
emotions. It is necessary to balance these emotional moods injurious
to our entire system through positive thoughts, thing that can be done
by the last schedule, “Birkenbihl”, that suggests the efficient
administration of the “stress energy” by ways such as: the so-called
emotional “catharsis”, a sort of tension discharge; exercising at least
15 minutes a day; practicing activities which generate “eustress”:
gardening, listening to good music, having a body massage, taking a
long hot bath, laughing more often, meeting friends and spending
quality time with the family, acquiring periodically little gifts, achieving
important aims, buying a pet (especially a cat or a dog) and so on.
Mother Nature can be very useful in our struggle against stress
by using fragrant plants. For example, mint and hop have a calming
effect on our body, these plants being used since olden times, when
our great-grandmothers filled the pillows with scented herbs to offer a
quiet and deep sleep. The rose is not called for no reason “the queen
of flowers”, its perfume stimulating the function of the cardiovascular
system and protecting the organism against pathogenic bacteria.
Conifers and their virtues are known for a long time. The smell of
needle leaves, resin and fir cones calm the nervous system and
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stabilize the function of lungs. Citric fruits are helpful too. The smell of
lemon lowers the sensibility to stress and a hot tea with a lot of lemon
increases the mood for work.
Our nutrition has modified considerably over the century with
more secure products from the point of view of bacteria and better
from the point of view of quality. The famous psychiatrist and head
manager of “Stimulus”-consulting office for behavioural problems-
Patrick Légeron said in one of his works that there are three major
tendencies of modern nourishment suggested by nutritionists: lack of
fibres (which facilitate digestive transit), a great percentage of lipids
(which encourages cardiovascular diseases and obesity) and a great
consumption of salt (which favours arterial hypertension).4 Eating well
in order to increase the endurance to stress resides in introducing in
our food fibres, fish, complex carbohydrates (pasta, bread, cereals,
rice, lentils, beans, peas), vegetal oils, a lot of fruits and vegetables
and limiting sugars and fat meat.
Thus, stress is not an invincible necessity. We are not sentenced
for good to endure its negative effects. The solutions are collective and
individual. Firstly collective, because the society is directly affected,
though it denies its existence or avoids the problems, accusing the
individual and sending him/her “to see the psychologist”. But each of
us has in his/her interior the ability to fight against stress by learning
4 Patrick Légeron, Cum sa te aperi de stres, trans. Genoveva Teleki (Bucuresti:
Editura Trei, 2003), 311-312.
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to control our physical and psychological reactions and taking
advantage of the numerous possibilities today’s development of
research offers.
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Works Cited
Drenth, Pieter Johan Diederik, Henk Thierry, and C. J. De Wolff. A
Handbook Of Work And Organizational Psychology: Work
Psychology vol.2. London, UK: Psychology Press, 2000.
Hart, Kenneth E. Introducing Stress and Stress Management to
Managers vol.5 Bingley, UK: Journal of Managerial Psychology,
1990.
Légeron, Patrick. Cum sa te aperi de stres, trans. Genoveva Teleki.
Bucuresti: Editura Trei, 2003.
Popa-Velea, Ovidiu. “Cum sa reducem stresul ?.” Psihologia Azi No2,
2004.
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