Stress, Mind & Body | Adrenaline Storm | Stress Hardiness Behavior Connection | Object Lesson

Stress Hardiness: Beyond Jogging

There is overwhelming evidence that the relaxation response can be beneficial in taming stress and the inner arousal unleashed by the fight-or-flight response, and that exercise can dissipate the excesses of stress hormones. Yet, it's also a fact that people differ in the way they respond to the stressors of daily living, and it is particularly useful to learn what ways of coping can buffer the body from stress. Psychologist Suzanne Kobasa has identified a style of psychological coping she terms hardiness, which appears to modify the relationship between stress and illness. Dr. Kobasa studied business executives for eight years, and identified certain personality traits in those who stayed the healthiest while running their companies. One trait was challenge: people who take on life as a challenge respond with excitement and energy to change. They welcome new situations as an opportunity to learn, to grow, to develop on a personal level, rather than looking at everything new as a possible threat. Another was having a commitment to something they felt was meaningful, their work, community, Family. People who are high on commitment experience life as interesting. They have a curiosity about what is happening to them and a desire to give their best shot. The third trait, a critical one, was a sense of being in control: a strong sense of being able to make decisions that make the critical difference, that they can make things happen. Can these findings be translated into a prescription for stress hardiness? During a conference for physicians, psychiatrist Roy W. Menninger, chairman of the Menninger Foundation in Topeka, Kansas, listed ways that doctors could take better care of themselves. His suggestions form a great set of advice for those who would be like Dr. Kobasa's stress hardy executives:

- Have goals and objectives that have been established by you, not by others, your practice, or your social role.

- Set priorities for how you're going to spend your time, money, and energy, and "make sure self is on the list."

- Give yourself permission to enjoy life without guilt. Lay off yourself! Be kinder, gentler, more generous to the self!

- Make sure your life includes diversity. Seek "to achieve depth, breath, broader interests, not a monochromatic pattern of living."

- Make a commitment to continued growth, in knowledge or wisdom or competence or perspective or skills.

Other experts focus on the fact that stress is a reaction to a perceived threat. As psychologist Richard Lazarus has pointed out, stress lies in the eye of the beholder as much as in the external event itself. In much the same way that our prehistoric ancestors' fight-or-flight reaction was prompted by anticipation of the potential dangers around them, our appraisal of a potentially stressful experience can elicit the same response. "What you're telling yourself about what's happening may be what makes it seem to be a threat," explains Dr. Brigham, assistant dean at Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia. Individuals tend to develop habitual ways of reacting, certain mental habits that increase a person's vulnerability:

- Deficiency focusing, the "habit of focusing on the negative at the expense of the positive." This causes a person to see the thing going wrong more than the things going right.

- Necessitating, the habit of translating every request into a demand. When we always think we have to do something rather than that we have a choice in doing it, any failure to live up to demands produces stress.

- Low skill recognition, the tendency to underplay the role of your abilities in your successes. Everything positive is attributed to something external, like luck or another person.

Dr. Brigham observes that these habits are not ingrained personality traits and can be changed. He suggests that when necessitating, ask, "What can realistically happen if I don't do this?" or "Is there room for negotiation?" When deficiency-focusing, ask, "What's right?" in the situation. "How can the obstacles be overcome?" He explains, "The goal is not to negate or pass off mistakes but to gain perspectives on them by placing them in the proper context." For low skill recognition, ask, "What did I contribute?" and "What abilities did I show?" Here, the goal is not to ignore limitations but to recognize skills and abilities which bolster self-esteem and confidence.

Source: Stress and the Mind-Body Connection by Paul T. Harig, Ph.D. Colonel, US Army, A Guide for Senior Leaders

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