Coping with Stress
Stress is a condition that arises when the demands of living, exceed supplies of mental or physical energy. It is also a complex mental condition that arises when, important human needs, wants, and desires go unmet. The stress response is likewise triggered, when we don’t get relief from demanding daily events that don’t slow down or stop. “Wear and tear” depression may be an endpoint of chronic stress.
Today, many people are experiencing new and unusual forms of personal and professional stress, and report feeling increasingly unsafe. The human stress system is designed for short periods of intense response, followed by long periods of rest and recovery. Prolonged emotional stress, in contrast, can lead to anxiety, agitation, excess worry, depression, insomnia, and in more extreme circumstances, panic, post-traumatic stress disorder, and chronic fatigue. Four common strategies, which include both healthy and unhealthy behaviors, that are used to cope with stress include:
Coping with Worry
Worry is a response to a negative future event that may or may not occur. Worry is a byproduct of the intolerance of uncertainty, and detracts from learning how to cope with uncertainties in life. People who are intolerant of uncertainty often believe that worrying is a positive act, because it helps them to solve a problem, or prevent a problem from occurring. The risk, however, is that when worrying happens to coincide with solving a problem, they may falsely conclude that worrying fixed the problem. This, of course, will motivate them to worrying again, to solve future problems. People worry for both good, and bad reasons, because they believe:
Good Reasons:
Bad Reasons:
Perhaps, the most universal worry that human beings struggle with, is the prospect of being alone in life .
Coping With Frustration
In the face of barriers that prevent fulfillment of important needs, wants and desires, people respond in several ways:
Coping With Insomnia
Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is the primary non-medication treatment of insomnia. Insomnia is the third most common medical symptom complaint, after pain and headaches. Women suffer more from insomnia than men, and adults over 60 y.o. suffer from insomnia more than any other age group. People with chronic insomnia are more likely to develop depression, and have a shorter lifespan. Chronic insomnia also predisposes suffers to medical conditions such as hypertension, diabetes, increased cholesterol, and weight gain, and certain substance abuses. Acute and chronic insomnia also affects memory functions, learning, creativity, and productivity. All insomnias that are not due to a medical or psychiatric condition is called primary insomnia. Primary insomnias can be characterized as or caused by:
Understanding Burnout
Burnout is characterized by 5 features
Burnout grows as people work harder with fewer resources, pay, and greater job insecurity. Technology also increases the possibility for the lines between work and home to blur, with people feeling on-call all of the time with no break. Burnout is a particular risk to women ages 30 to 40 who have entered the work force, and are trying to balance home, and work life. Burnout is not just a consequence of working too hard. It can be triggered by at least 7 factors: