HOME PREVIOUS SECTION NEXT SECTION

 

STRESS

Responding to stress

You can see from the graph below that people achieve their best level of performance when they experience a moderate amount of pressure or stress. This sense of pressure may be felt as anxiety in the form of dry mouth, mild nausea, rapid heart rate, restlessness and butterflies in the tummy. Next time this happens to you ask yourself if this might be appropriate anxiety; helping you to achieve your peak performance. We know that too much stress can make us feel over-anxious and will lead to a decline in performance. However, too little pressure can result in demotivation and boredom, which may also lead to a decrease in performance. This is sometimes also known as the Yerkes-Dodson law.

 

The stress response curve (Adapted from Nixon P, 1976)

The exact shape of the inverted U will vary from person to person.

Ideally, we want to spend most of the time in the area where our stress level is low, and our energy level is high.

If both are low or both are high, we may not be able to give our best performance.

If our stress level is high and our energy level is low, we are in danger of entering the exhaustion funnel.

  • Where do you think you are on the curve at this moment?
  • If you are not satisfied with where you are, where would you prefer to be?
  • What might you be able to change to achieve this?
  • Whose help or support could you call on?

 

 

Coping with stress

It is inevitable that we will all face work-related and personal events that test our personal resilience.

Maslow (1943) wrote about a pyramid of human needs, where each layer needs to be in place from the base upwards to help achieve the next level. At the base are our basic physiological needs for water, food and sleep. The next level, safety, refers to security of mind, body, property and employment. Above this is the need for love and belonging to family and friends and for intimate relationships. Beyond this is the level of esteem, including self-confidence and respect. At the top is the area of self-actualisation and personal creativity.

Maslow’s hierarchy of needs

This pyramid can be helpful in understanding the importance of meeting some basic human needs within the workplace in order to build resilience.  It is also vital that we are able to recognise our own limitations and to realise when we need to ask for help. Making time and space to reflect on our experiences either alone or with someone we trust can allow us to respond more effectively.

After a traumatic event it is probably helpful to separate a de-briefing on feelings and emotions from one on root cause analysis and consideration of changes to be made.

 

 

Coping strategies

Hunter and Chandler (1999) studied the behaviour of adolescents in an inner-city school in the USA. They identified that resilience in children and adolescents may lead to psychosocial maladaptation and psychopathology in adulthood. Despite the traumatic and violent world in which participants lived, the adolescents ranked themselves as ‘resilient.’ These adolescents believed that being resilient was to be (a) disconnected from others because they could not trust them, (b) isolated because they had inadequate or no support systems, and (c) insulated because the emotional pain was too much to bear. This study raises the question of whether such resilience is healthy and what interventions might be most appropriate for resilient and vulnerable adolescents.

However, in adult healthcare professionals effective coping strategies can foster healthy resilience. A study among midwives (Hunter and Warren 2013) showed that the concept of resilience resonated with participants and could be pro-actively fostered.

Covey (2004) suggests that instead of reacting to or worrying about conditions over which they have little or no control, it can be more helpful for people to be proactive. Proactive people focus their time and energy on things they can control. The problems, challenges, and opportunities we face fall into two areas: Circle of Concern and Circle of Influence.

Covey puts forward the view that proactive people focus their efforts on their Circle of Influence. This circle includes things we can do something about. Within the Circle of Influence is a smaller Circle of Control, as there are only a limited number of things that we can actually control. Resilient people are likely to be those who are more proactive. Reactive people focus their efforts in the Circle of Concern. However, in this circle are things over which we have little or no control.

It can be helpful to understand how we expend our energies as this can give us the power of choice in deciding whether to accept the status quo, or whether to try to make some personal changes.

 

Questions to consider

  • What is contributing to workplace adversity that is not in your control?
  • Can you/should you accept it?
  • If yes, how might you accept it?
  • What could you do?

 

Reading

You may like to read about the SSRI (Strengths, Strategies, Resources and Insights) model for growing resilience (Johnstone 2013). This offers the analogy with smooth sailing and rocky waters and was developed specifically with doctors in mind. Here is the link to the article: http://bhma.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/CAW-SPRING-2013_Practical-resilience.pdf

 

TIPS AND STRATEGIES TO HELP DEAL WITH STRESS AND ENHANCE RESILIENCE

Personal and workplace support structures to enhance resilience:

 

Which of these factors are available to you?

What else might you add?