| The necessity to concentrate is always accompanied by an irresistible wish to get distracted. Hutchison law
We will begin with a statement: that the most interesting subject for a person is the very person himself. And it is through learning things about himself that he has more chances to perceive the outside world and other people. A person obtains self-knowledge through self-reflection and analysis, which, as a result, gives him an ability to control himself, to control his mind and to understand the things happening in the world.
Now it is fashionable to talk about stress. The word is good, although its meaning is not always clear.
“I am stressed out”, we are told and we understand that something is wrong with this person. Scientists think that any strain or strong shock is a stress. Yet there are different types of stress. By stress they usually mean distress, i.e. a physical, mental, emotional and chemical reaction to what scares or irritates a person, what threatens him and makes him act on the principle “HIT OR RUN”. In other words, it is a specific imbalance in your organism, a spasmodic burst of your energy, which gives you an opportunity to cope with a dangerous situation. This notion was introduced by a famous psychophysiologist Hans Selie in the 1930s. He and his followers described the way our brain and hormone glands work. Among the hormone glands there is the hypothalamus, which is responsible for our emotions; hypophysis, responsible for endocrine glands and adrenal glands, which produce adrenalin and cortisol, i.e. stress hormones.
They also described physiological characteristics of stress: an increase of the heart beat, frequent and superficial breath, high blood pressure and sugar level, dilated eye pupils, and heightened sensitivity.
It is well-known that during distress we experience either aggressive emotions (HIT) or alarming emotions (RUN). Among the first are irritation, disappointment, indignation, anger, spite and fury. Among the second are tensity, anxiety, feeling of being under threat, confusion, alarm, fear, panic and horror.
There are 4 groups of stress symptoms: physiological (what happens to our body), mental (what we imagine), emotional (what we feel) and behavioural (the way we act).There are many different methods of measuring stress, which produce a whole list of causes. Among these we can name family status, job change, financial situation, births and deaths, moving house, nursing care, a medical diagnosis and so on…But it must be borne in mind that in different countries and cultures the attitude to these things may vary.
Those business people who cannot cope with stress die young. Àlexis Carrel, the Nobel prize winner in medicine
Professional stress is usually caused by such things as responsibility, overwork, indistinctness of rights and duties, uncomfortable work conditions, financial and general satisfaction, instability, and frequent business trips. There are 6 types of managers in which you can recognize your subordinates or even yourself. They can help you understand what influences this or that situation, and can help you find an appropriate solution. For example, for an ambitious type the reason for stress could be overwork, as he will try to cope with all his tasks and when he fails (and does not get the highest mark), it may lead to frustration, and, as a result, to a serious health disorder.
For a quiet type, on the contrary, changes are contraindicative. Monotonous work is best for him.
A conscientious type will feel utterly uncomfortable when behavioural stereotypes are violated. He will never become a good seller as he believes that people should always tell the truth and act according to the rules. Another type, “unvindicative”, will have problems with interpersonal interaction. He can not stand up for himself, he will do what he is told and then he will get frustrated because of that. The following two types are: a swinger – routine and boredom are the worst for him. And if you charge this person with paper work you can be sure that he will mess it up! And an anxious person, who is disposed to inner tension and self-reflection, and must be praised frequently… |