Effects of Stress
2
(Perceptions)
Back to the
story........
Of
course, from a stress point of view, it's
easy to see that the salesmans ensuing
accident was just the tip of iceburg. The
build up would probably have started
earlier. For example, if our salesman was
given higher targets or tougher deadlines
from his boss. This would create more
pressure and make getting the contract
and hence getting to the appointment even
MORE important. Another factor could be
the rumours of redundancy, which if true,
means getting the contracts might
safeguard his job.
Where's
it coming from ?
The
important thing to realise is that a
stress reaction occurs not in isolation,
but results at the END of, and part of, a
complicated set of perceptions and assumptions.
The
reason is because we experience and react
to our Perception of the world around us,
NOT the world itself !
This is a process called pattern matching and is what happens when
we look at a cloud in the sky or a
pattern on a curtain in low light. The
brain searches internally to make sense
of it. It then let's us see how it has
made sense of it. This could be as a face
(we are programmed to recognise faces
before birth) or an object, such as a car
or train etc. This is also the basis
behind the famous ink blot tests, where
people decide what they are seeing from
ink blots on a piece of card.
YOU MAY NOT BELIEVE ME SO TRY
THESE !
Reacting
to our perception of something, rather
than the thing itself, is the reason why
one person may have a phobia about an
object and another person not. It can't
be the object of the phobia itself
otherwise they would both react the same
way. It MUST be the perception they each have of the
object that's different. This can be
based upon past experiences
(associations) or expectations.
The
Accumulative effect
As mentioned on the home page. The
problem is that stress tends to creep up
on us slowly. At each point we feel we
can cope, provided we 'do this' or
'achieve that'. Unfortunately the flip
side is we are also saying to ourselves I
can't cope unless 'this happens' or I
'achieve that'.
In an attempt to CONTROL the situation
(like tailgating in the story) and avoid
the stressor's we make it emotionally more
important.
Unfortunately, the more we try to avoid
something the harder it is to avoid !
In isolation each stressor could be dealt
with and eliminated. However, as we
become more stressed we make things more
important and tend to lump all the
problems together.
This leaves us with a sense of being
overwhelmed and unable to cope.
For example, our salesman might worry
about his insurance claim. Worry that he
gets stressed just thinking about the
accident and whenever he's in that part
of Town. (This is called PTSD [Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder] and is an
extreme form of pattern matching.)
The bills are pouring through the post,
his Father is ill, his brother has asked
him to be 'best man', which means giving
a speech, and he can't sleep. The
pressure builds and all these separate
issues combine in to a feeling of 'It's
all just too much.....I can't cope!'
This worrying leads him to avoidance.
Avoiding that part of town. Avoiding his
brothers phone calls and Avoiding seeing
his father. His thought processes begin
looking for possible problems to Avoid.
He's worried about not sleeping and how
he can keep up his sales targets. To him,
this means he will loose his job, his
house and his wife will leave him !
Although none of this has
actually happened, his body interprets
his perceptions as real and reacts
to them with stress.
Thomas
Holmes and Richard Rahe, have developed a
list of major life stressors, beginning
with the most stressful event:
Death of a spouse
Divorce Marital /separation
Imprisonment
Death of a close relative
Personal injury or illness
Marriage
Fired from a job
Marital reconciliation
Retirement
Illness of a relative
Pregnancy
Sexual problems
Birth or adoption
Business readjustment
Change in financial status
Death of a close friend
Change to different work
Increased arguments with spouse
Mortgage or loan for major purchase
Foreclosure on mortgage or loan
Change in job responsibilities
Child leaving home
Problems with in-laws
Outstanding personal achievement
Spouse begins or stops work
Begin or end school
Change in living conditions
Changing personal habits
Problems with your boss
Change in work hours/conditions
Change in residence / school/ recreation/
church/ social activities/ mortgage
Change in sleeping habits
Change in family gatherings
Change in eating habits
Holiday
Christmas
Minor law violations
(Remember
stress is not caused by the events, but
by our perception of the events)
For more information on
the Physical & Emotional signs and
symptoms of stress (If you're brave
enough!) click HERE
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