Overcoming Stress...

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Way back in the day while on staff at one of the Air Force NCO Academies, one facet of the Leadership & Management curriculum I taught involved a block of instruction on the subject of 'Stress' and how a NCO could recognize its downside and deal with it, thereby making themselves a more effective leader, able to help their troops most likely going through similar issues.

An important point was defining the difference between 'good' stress and 'bad' stress, as we all, as human beings, are under stress every moment we're awake.  Good stress doesn't bother us, because we are doing 'something.'  The very act of standing up puts our bodies under stress.

Without getting into an academic weed farm on the who's, how's and why's of stress, suffice it to say that 'good' stress is called, 'Eustress' and bad stress is called, 'Distress.'

Distress occurs when something needs to be taken care of or acted upon, and the person needing to do it takes no action.  It then lingers and becomes 'worry,' which leads to increased stress, which leads to increased worry, and so on, until the person's blood pressure is so high that they vapor lock.  Then, no more stress....of either kind.

We taught a simple method of handling distress:  Focus on what is causing you distress, and then take steps to resolve it.  The steps can be baby, normal, or giant steps, so long as you're doing something about it and continue to take those steps until the situation or stressor is resolved and ceases causing distress.  This resolution can be simply coming to a conclusion that the thing or problem causing you stress is outside of your control and not your responsibility to solve.  If you believe it may become your problem, 'war gaming' steps to resolve it when it does will also help you avoid distress.

The really neat thing, at least to me, is once I determine what will solve my problem, resolve to take the steps I must, and then start taking action against the stressor, I no longer suffer the acute symptoms of worry many know as anxiety.  I'm doing something productive.

For those suffering anxiety, distress, or worry, think about the very simplistic explanation above and how you might incorporate it in your own life, especially now.

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