I always think of stretch and stress in a similar way. Does it make sense?

Looking at the etymology, the study of the origins of words, I came across the following: stretching seems to have a lot of meanings that might as well apply to stress. What to think of:’ to extend, to reach, to strain, to expand, to prolong’, all actions that we could take that might leave us stressed…….The word stress, as we know it to refer to a psychological state, is only known since 1942, and had the meaning of pressure, put emphasis on, or compressed. It is easy to use the word stress, but do we actually know what we are talking about? Do we all give a similar meaning to stress?

 5 types of stress

Dr Karl Albrecht, a management consultant and a pioneer in the development of stress-reduction training for businesspeople defined four common types of stress in his 1979 book, “Stress and the Manager’.    

                                                                                                               

 

 1. Time Stress     Time stress is related to concern of lack of time, the things to do list, fear of failure/not achieving and restlessness caused by the feeling of being constantly in a rush.

2. Anticipatory Stress     Anticipatory stress describes stress that is related to an expectation of an event or situation in the future. There is usually fear and anxiety involved. Examples are: ‘If I don’t get that order, than…….’ Or ‘OMG, if I get ill, what would happen ….?’

3. Situational Stress     Situational stress is referring to situation that is unexpected, like an emergency, or something like making a mistake in front of an audience, forgetting to print out the proposal….

4. Encounter Stress     Encounter stress revolves around people and the concern about interaction; usually feeling low in confidence around social skills or judging the social situation. This happens when you enter an unfamiliar situation: the first encounter with the board, a negotiation with the unions, etc.

 Dr Albrecht gave us an overview that works, but I would like to add another one.

 5. Intra personal Stress     This type of stress reflects the internal dialogue; the way you talk to yourself, perceive yourself and are with yourself. If this is dominated by low confidence, low self-esteem, and low sense of self the person will be in a continuous state of anxiety and unhappiness. This is a state of being that is very unhealthy.  

Being subjected to any of these types of stress is not necessarily bad. It can be stimulating and focussing to feel some pressure. However, when the pressure takes over, and we are not in control, we are threatening our physical health, our mental health and our general well-being 

In order to tackle stress effectively and efficient, it helps to recognise your main source of stress as it will determine the type of action you can take to change your stress levels.  

If you want support, get in touch with Dr De-Stress to find out  more about the range of options and packages to help you or your colleagues to sort it out. Call 07967717131 or email: mariette@stressfreecoaching.co.uk

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