Manage your stress

essentials
What is stress?

The International Labour Office considers stress to be one of the most serious problems
of our times. It is a widespread problem, but each person reacts in his or her own way. In
order to avoid being overwhelmed by stress, you need to understand what it is, then identify
how you react to it and what provokes it.

1 Identify the precursors of stress in yourself

Stress, the ailment of our era

First studied by Hans Seyle in the 1930s, stress is considered  ggressiveness

a
to be the ailment of our era. a feeling of unreality.

There are various symptoms of stress: These symptoms are common ways in which the body reacts
to the demands made upon it. Different people have different
cold sweats reactions. Taken together, these symptoms constitute
trembling what is called the General Adaptation Syndrome, i.e.
stomach aches stress. Physiologically, stress corresponds to an excessive
skin rashes production of hormones, including adrenaline, by the adrenal
increase in, or loss of, appetite glands. Excess adrenaline can lead to illness.

Different kinds of stress

Good and bad stress Degrees of stress

Stress can be characterised qualitatively; there are good and Stress can be characterised quantitatively. The level of stress
bad types of stress. experienced depends not only on the situation in question,
but also on personal factors such as how a person interprets
Good stress comes from what is pleasurable, whatever we a situation or an individuals capacity to absorb stress. You
agree to do that is in harmony with ourselves, whatever can assess stress levels by seeing how you are affected.
is a source of joy, such as success and love. On such These are some of the reactions you may observe:
occasions it has positive effects; it is stimulating and a
source of happiness and balance.  tress makes you active. You act on your own initiative.
S
Bad stress has its origins in anything that is unpleasant, Stress engenders motivation and dynamism.
anything we do that is in contradiction with ourselves, Stress makes you reactive. You act under the pressure of
that is a source of sadness, such as disappointment and events. Its the I can overcome effect.
failure. On such occasions it has negative effects; it is a Stress produces a defensive reaction. You are restless and
source of imbalance and illness. no longer know which way to turn. You hang on in, no matter
what.
Stress incites panic.

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 What is stress?

essentials

Optimal stress levels When a persons workload is too heavy, overstress can
manifest as a lack of self-confidence, anger, or indecision
Depending on the degree of stress experienced, the effect and lead to careless mistakes and tense relationships.
will be either positive or negative.
The three phases of stress
 t its optimal dose, stress has a beneficial effect, making
A
you more motivated, more dynamic, and more efficient. Alarm reaction
Your judgment is more reliable. This is the initial phase when the first reactions to
You see things more clearly. aggression appear. In human beings, the alarm reaction
You are more flexible. is well known: the heart rate accelerates, breathing is
You have more energy. short and rapid, and there are changes in the distribution
You dont lose your head in a crisis. of blood throughout the organism. The body activates its
You can come up with fallback solutions. defence mechanisms and adapts to the aggression and
the person is better able to confront the situation.
Above or below the optimal level, stress becomes distress
and demands that your body adapt. Your organism is The resistance phase
no longer functioning according to its normal biological The body is well adapted to the aggression, but remains
rhythm and, in the long term, it can be thrown off track. in a state of alert, characterised by a permanent state of
tension.
Understress
When work is too easy for your level of competence, the The exhaustion phase
result is understress, which manifests as a loss of morale If the resistance phase persists, the body becomes
and motivation, or apathy. When your organism functions overwhelmed by stress and the organism is no longer able
below the optimal stress level, it is understimulated. to adapt.
Insufficient physical, psychological, and biological demands
are made on it. This kind of hibernation can become
harmful and manifests as boredom or fatigue.

Overstress
Above the optimum stress level, your organism may
be overstimulated. There is an excessive demand for
adaptation and the organism secretes too many adaptive
hormones (adrenaline and cortisone). Metabolic and
organic problems develop.

2 Evaluate your stress

Are you showing warning signs?

To fight against stress, it is better to act when you are still You can be said to be stressed if you have the following
in the initial phase, the alarm reaction. If you have alarm symptoms:
signals, identifying them will enable you to prevent the
resistance phase lasting too long and you can avoid the risk y ou are weary, with long-term fatigue
of exhaustion. To analyse whether you are stressed, observe you have persistent disorders such as bleeding gums,
the biological, psychological, somatic, functional, and organic migraines, or itching
changes in your body. you have reduced your leisure activities
you are primarily preoccupied by your work
you have lost the desire to talk to your friends and
colleagues

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 What is stress?

essentials

you sleep too much, eat too much, or drink too much y ou no longer want to socialise
you have your mind elsewhere and make mistakes in your you are criticised for being grouchy
work you have a negative body image
you no longer respect deadlines people say that you are playing games.
some say that you have developed a persecution complex
you feel physically, intellectually, and sexually fatigued
you sometimes feel that there is a gulf between your
thoughts and your actions
you have lost confidence in yourself

Is work the source of your stress?

To reduce work-related stress, you need to discern its origins.  hether your superiors take your opinion into account
w
You need to ask yourself specific questions: whether your work difficulties often take you beyond your
responsiblities
whether you have a hard time saying today what will be whether you are aware of the criteria on which your work
expected of you tomorrow is judged
whether you generally have more work than you can do in whether you know what your role in the company will be
the allotted time in coming years
whether you know for certain what your boss expects of whether you have difficulty delegating, never knowing if
you the work will be done correctly
whether you frequently have differences of opinion with whether the changes in your company are too rapid for
your superiors you to be able to adapt
whether you are often given a new project when you have whether you are expected to finish tasks even though
not finished the current one you are asked to work with people less competent than
whether you are unsure about the exact boundaries of yourself
your responsibilities whether you understand why the company is going in a
whether you have real authority to lead to completion the new direction when things seems to be working well as
projects for which you are theoretically responsible they are.
whether you have enough information to do your work well
whether you find the large majority of your tasks boring
whether you lack time because your work is so demanding
whether your qualifications will suffice in a few years time
whether you are tied to tight deadlines

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