Thank you so much for your interest in The Insight, by Sheba. I hope you enjoyed this week’s blogs about “Stress.”

Next week’s topic will be “The Physical Effects of Stress.”

Friday Review: Happy Reading!

1. An Opportune Time for Your Support Network.

• Psychologists recommend social support as one of the many ways to relieve stress. If you know what causes your stress, reach out for social support in your time of need. Talk about it with a confidant or a group of friends you trust. Keeping it all in is not healthy. A support network will help you better manage the effects of stress.

2. Personality Fit and Perception.

• When assessing the stress in your life, ask yourself: what elements do I look for in a given situation? When you find yourself in potentially stressful situations, search for opportunity and the strengths of the situation as opposed to possible threats or negative outcomes. It takes practice, but the end result will be a changed perspective and less stress.

3. Practice Makes Perfect.

• In that moment of stress, when you want to react, take a moment. Instead of reacting, identify what is causing you to want to react that way—be honest. Was it the scenario or the way the situation played out? Separate beliefs and emotions from the facts. Then consider the facts you know and seek clarity for the information you may not know. Make sure you have all the information you need to react appropriately so you are not backtracking or taking part in misunderstandings spiraling out of control.

4. What Are Your Next Steps?

• Once you pinpoint the area or areas of work that cause you stress, create your personal action plan, address the concerns and work to make changes to help reduce the tension. Make personal changes to improve your work conditions and take your mental well-being into your own hands.

The Insight: If anything, stress is a natural part of life. However, too much of anything is never good. Surround yourself with social support networks that aide in your stress management. We all need help and someone to lean on when situations become too demanding. Prepare yourself for those moments by training your mind to look for the ways in which you can learn from that situation. Choose to respond instead of react and work to better manage your emotions. It all takes work but isn’t your mental well-being worth it?

Have a wonderful weekend!

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

A Positive Perspective for Life, Love, and Relationships

The Scenario – Every day you come home frustrated, exhausted and stressed out. You can’t quite put your finger on what it is because you love what you do and the people you work with, but the question still begs, what is it?

What causes stress at work?

Kathleen Romito, MD, and Lisa S. Weinstock, MD, of Health Wise offer a list of the most common stress causers in the workplace:

1.     No Sense of Autonomy

• Having no say in the work you produce or in the type of work you do

2.     Excess Responsibility

• Continuing to be given or assume responsibility beyond what you are capable of handling

3.     Personal Sense of Pride

• Lack of pride in your occupation, your work performance or the work you produce

4.     Ambiguity in Roles

• Uncertainty regarding your specific title, role or responsibilities

5.     Inefficient Communication

• Feeling out of the loop or not having an outlet to express your personal concerns, needs or ideas
  

6.     Undesirable Conditions

• Working in an environment that is unsafe, unclean, uncomfortable or unpleasant

(Read More)

The Insight – Once you pinpoint the area or areas of work that cause you stress, create your personal action plan, address the concerns, and work to make the changes to help reduce the tension. Make personal changes to improve your work conditions and take your mental well-being into your own hands.

What is your next step toward reducing stress levels at work?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – When confrontation in our relationships comes just as fast as a curveball and hits us just as hard, our fight-or-flight systems prompt us to react. Is there a better way to manage that reaction?

How do we approach stress caused by our relationships?

Karen Reivich, Ph.D., and Andrew Shatte, Ph.D., co-authors of The Resilience Factor, advise practicing your ABCs to alleviate tension and reduce stress in your relationships. Furthermore, practice trains your brain to learn how to react and teaches you how to better manage emotions.

1.     Adversity

• Identify what it is that pushes your buttons, causes you stress and causes negative emotions.

2.     Beliefs

• Identify your beliefs about the situation. Compare them to the actual situation. In other words, is your perception of the situation accurate or is there room for misunderstanding?

3.     Consequences

• Consider the consequences, which are the emotions and behaviors that result from your beliefs about the situation.

The Insight – In that moment of stress, when you want to react, take a moment. Instead of reacting, identify what is causing you to want to react that way—be honest. Was it the scenario or the way the situation was presented? Separate beliefs and emotions from the facts. Then consider the facts you know and seek clarity for the information you may not know. Make sure you have all the information you need to react appropriately so you are not backtracking or taking part in misunderstandings spiraling out of control.

Do you practice your ABCs?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – You are a self-diagnosed chronic stressor waiting for the day someone finds a cure. Do you ever wonder if something other than your environment has a hand in the stress you experience?

Do we experience stress differently based on personality traits?

According to a study conducted by S. H. Hemenover, Ph.D. and Richard A. Dienstbier, Ph. D. of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, personality traits do, in fact, influence how we perceive stress. The way we perceive threats correlates to the situation as well as our individual personality types. Hemenover and Dienstbier described two specific personality types in the research:

1.     Extraversion

• Extraverts are more alert to positive elements within their environments and situations, making them more likely to experience positive affect and less likely to experience stress across various situations.

2.     Neuroticism

• Individuals with neurotic tendencies tend to experience situations and environments more negatively because they search for any potential threats and anticipate negative outcomes in most situations.

(Read More)

The Insight –When assessing the stress in your life, ask yourself: What elements do I look for in a given situation? When you find yourself in potentially stressful situations, search for opportunity and the strengths of the situation as opposed to possible threats or negative outcomes. It takes practice, but the end result will be a changed perspective and less stress.

How do you perceive stress?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life

The Scenario – We like organization and consistency; in fact, we rely on it. When family, friends, work and school become too much for us to handle, we stress, feel overwhelmed, and sometimes burnout.

When certain aspects of daily life lead to burnout, what is the best remedy?

According to Dr. Samuel O. Salami, the factors that most influence our likelihood for burnout are:

1.     Work-Related Stress

• Persons who work with deadlines, or are responsible for the supervision of multiple people, which requires one to be emotionally available, are more likely to experience job stress than others.

2.     Personality

• Individuals whose personalities tend more toward neuroticism are more likely to report experiencing greater amounts of stress than those with less neurotic tendencies.

3.     Support from Social Groups

• Persons with greater social support tend to be stronger and more resilient in instances of overwhelming stress.

(Read More)

The Insight – Psychologists recommend social support as one of many ways to relieve stress. If you know what causes your stress, reach out for social support in your time of need. Talk about it with a confidant or a group of friends you trust. Keeping it all in is not healthy. A support network will help you better manage the effects of stress.

Do you reach out to others during stressful times?

By Sheba

www.bySheba.com

Creating Positive Perspectives for Life