Are you feeling stressed lately? Who nowadays doesn’t experience stress from time to time?
An interview with Clinical Psychologist Dr. Jennifer Barbera PhD
Stress can be thought of as a person’s mental, emotional and physical reaction to external events (nimh.nih.gov). Stress can also arise from a person’s inner reactions (usually perceptions and thoughts) to external situations or events.
When external events or internal reactions become negative or overwhelming, people can be affected in several ways. For example, some may notice being more irritable or impatient. However, some of these ways may be detrimental or harmful to one’s physical and emotional health. In particular, some people experience panic symptoms, and others may experience extreme sleep disruption and emotional breakdown.
What are the leading external causes of stress in a person’s life?
Although there is an extensive range of things that can cause stress, the most commonly reported types of stress that I tend to see in my practice are:
people experiencing task-load strain from trying to balance work and family,
stressful or negative work environments,
relationship stress due to conflict or having to live or work with difficult people,
Significant loss or change such as the death of a loved one or loss of job.
What are the leading internal causes of stress in a person’s life?
How a person responds internally to external events can significantly impact one’s internal experience of stress. Some of the main ways this can happen are:
People engage in unhelpful thinking styles (e.g., over-exaggeration) that heighten the intensity of how they feel.
People tend to focus more heavily on adverse events and overlook more positive circumstances.
People may be self-critical. They may also blame themselves unfairly for events or situations.
People shut down or withdraw and then feel more helpless rather than empowered to handle a stressful event.
What are other important factors that affect how much stress a person experiences?
One of the most critical factors that affect a person’s experience of stress is the relative degree of perceived social support.
People who perceive having greater social support are usually better buffered from the effects of stress. In contrast, those who feel lonely or socially unsupported tend to experience a higher perception of stress.
Other factors such as socioeconomic status or access to resources are also important. People who have access to resources such as a gym, vacation time, sick days, healthcare or counselling may be less affected by stress than those who cannot access such resources.
Personal history is another important factor. People with a trauma history may be more prone to more negative effects from stress. This is because stress can worsen mental health symptoms such as depression, anxiety and intrusion symptoms such as flashbacks or nightmares.
At the same time, people are complex. Sometimes previous trauma leads to resiliency building. Resiliency is where a person becomes better and better at managing stress because of working through trauma.
How do you determine whether you have too much stress?
Some people are so used to experiencing stress that it becomes harder to notice how tense they feel.
To help determine your stress level, try to make it a habit to check in daily. You can rate your level of tension on a 0-10 scale. (0= completely relaxed & no stress, while 10= extreme tension & overwhelm).
If you want to evaluate your stress level more formally, consider taking a free inventory such as the Home-Rahe Life Stress Inventory. This can also be used to help monitor changes in stress levels over time.
Why does stress seem to be a particular problem in Western culture or North America?
It’s essential to recognize how our culture and lifestyle contribute to stress. In particular, Western culture places a high focus on productivity and wealth accumulation, which can lead to more excessive work hours and time pressure. Our busy schedules also contribute to stress because of balancing multiple roles. The clearest example is work and child-rearing.
In recent years the pandemic increased stress in people’s lives even further. In particular, the pandemic led to increased social isolation, economic strain, fear of illness, loss of loved ones, and a reduction in available activities such as sports, leisure, and travel.
1) First, try to remember that stress is a common experience, and you are not alone. It is crucial to remember not to blame or criticize yourself for what you are experiencing. It is also very important not to set unrealistic standards. Unattainable standards add to task load and feelings of overwhelm, frustration and disappointment.
2) Take stock of what you have on your plate (daily, weekly, monthly) and review each task to determine what must be done and what you ideally want to be done. Prioritize the “must be done” tasks.
Consider what tasks could be streamlined (e.g., making meals for the week ahead of time). Do not forget to delegate (e.g., getting your partner or children to help with specific tasks).
Make a schedule to break down tasks to help you feel less overwhelmed.
3) Avoid multitasking where possible. Believe it or not, multitasking can contribute to mental clutter and time pressure. Instead of trying to achieve multiple tasks simultaneously, try focusing on one task at a time and notice how this feels compared to multitasking.
4) Take the above suggestion one step further and while you focus on one step at a time, also focus on doing the task mindfully, as if you have never done the task before.
A mindfulness approach to task completion can help you ease the focus away from your thoughts (which will tend to be more negative when you feel stressed) and instead will help you refocus on your senses (what you can see, hear, feel, smell, taste).
Focusing on our senses instead of our thoughts tends to have a relaxing effect, reducing stress.
5) While completing tasks, notice if you are going into “task-master mode,” and if you are, send appreciation to this part of yourself for trying to help you get things done. Then, ask the “task-master” part of yourself to ease back or give you “space.” Then, attend fully to the task you are doing to stay mindful while you complete the task.
6) While completing tasks, pay attention to your breathing. Many of us will go into “stress breathing” when we rush through tasks, activating our flight system. This activates stress hormones, making us feel more keyed up or stressed.
Instead of rushing through things, notice your breath and mindfully slow your breathing.
Another way to lower the stress response while completing tasks is to put on music or sing while you complete the task.
7) Try being more aware of your automatic thoughts while completing tasks. Let go of unhelpful thinking such as overgeneralizing or catastrophizing.
8) Use gratitude by focusing on what you feel grateful for when stressed or upset. Remind yourself that in almost any situation, “it could always be worse.”
9) Use acceptance strategies, where instead of fighting what is happening or how you are feeling, remind yourself, “I just need to accept that…..”.
10) Consider seeking therapy or counselling to help you implement some of the above and/or other strategies. Therapy can also help you to work on behaviours or parts of your personality that may contribute to stress. For example, being perfectionistic or excessively task or work-focused can significantly affect stress.
Reach out if you would like to discuss ways to better manage your stress.
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