Word of the day: Tension (Psychology)
Tension (Psychology)
N: A feeling of strain and pressure.
Also known as STRESS, the psychological definition of TENSION includes strain and pressure that may have something to do with external situations, but just as often stem from internal perceptions of the situation.
Some stress (called "eustress") is desirable, as small amounts of it stimulate performance.
(I tend to get a rush when I'm on stage. It's like a drug. Yes, Gayleen, Sounds Summer Musicals are my addiction. That's why I wasn't there this year...I'm in recovery)
However, stress becomes "distress" when the person involved does not believe they have the resources to cope with whatever stressful situation they are facing.
Or, in other words, when it overwhelms them.
Stress management, therefore, involves expanding a person's arsenal of resources for dealing with stressors.
Stress, especially chronic stress, coupled with a lack of coping resources, can lead to a variety of health impacts, including increased susceptibility to a range of physical diseases, or initiating or exacerbating mental conditions. A caution with this note: it is possible that the perception that stress damages health will cause stress to damage health.
(In other words, if we believe our stress will kill us, it will.)
A large study at the University of Wisconsin discovered that those who had high levels of stress AND believed that stress was impacting their lives negatively had a much greater risk of death than those who had high levels of stress, but did not believe that stress was impacting their lives negatively.
Therefore, it is essential to believe we can effectively cope with our stressors.
I can do this by expanding the arsenal of resources I can use to cope, whether with big and life-changing events like a natural disaster, or the small stresses that mark everyday tasks such as long lines in the store.
What can we do to manage distress?
Preventive measures:
This refers to resources that can prevent the onset of distress. These include regular exercise, connections with supportive individuals and groups, and time management and assertive communication skills. These and other internal and external practices nip many sources of chronic stress in the bud by helping us manage what we allow into our everyday heads, and what we allow into our heads.
Coping mechanisms:
We begin engaging in these processes when we recognize something as stressful. The best coping mechanisms allow us to lean into and engage a stressful experience in a positive way. Some coping mechanisms include:
Affiliation: Refers to turning to everyday social interactions for support, without referring specifically to the stressful situation itself.
Humor: Allows for engaging in a stressful situation by stepping into an outside perspective, finding the funny incongruities in life's situations, and engaging the situation with a different set of mental processes.
Sublimation: The act of channeling the emotions generated by stressful situations into another, more desirable and/or productive activity. (Like writing an article about stress...)
Positive reappraisal: Redirecting cognitive energy to a focus on good things about oneself or one's situation. This can lead to self-reflection, self-awareness and an awareness of the power and importance of one's efforts. An example: war veterans survive better when they construe a positive meaning from their combat experiences as compared to those veterans who don't. (Sounds an awful lot like gratitude if you ask me.)
The more ya know!
N: A feeling of strain and pressure.
Also known as STRESS, the psychological definition of TENSION includes strain and pressure that may have something to do with external situations, but just as often stem from internal perceptions of the situation.
Some stress (called "eustress") is desirable, as small amounts of it stimulate performance.
(I tend to get a rush when I'm on stage. It's like a drug. Yes, Gayleen, Sounds Summer Musicals are my addiction. That's why I wasn't there this year...I'm in recovery)
However, stress becomes "distress" when the person involved does not believe they have the resources to cope with whatever stressful situation they are facing.
Or, in other words, when it overwhelms them.
Stress management, therefore, involves expanding a person's arsenal of resources for dealing with stressors.
Stress, especially chronic stress, coupled with a lack of coping resources, can lead to a variety of health impacts, including increased susceptibility to a range of physical diseases, or initiating or exacerbating mental conditions. A caution with this note: it is possible that the perception that stress damages health will cause stress to damage health.
(In other words, if we believe our stress will kill us, it will.)
A large study at the University of Wisconsin discovered that those who had high levels of stress AND believed that stress was impacting their lives negatively had a much greater risk of death than those who had high levels of stress, but did not believe that stress was impacting their lives negatively.
Therefore, it is essential to believe we can effectively cope with our stressors.
I can do this by expanding the arsenal of resources I can use to cope, whether with big and life-changing events like a natural disaster, or the small stresses that mark everyday tasks such as long lines in the store.
What can we do to manage distress?
Preventive measures:
This refers to resources that can prevent the onset of distress. These include regular exercise, connections with supportive individuals and groups, and time management and assertive communication skills. These and other internal and external practices nip many sources of chronic stress in the bud by helping us manage what we allow into our everyday heads, and what we allow into our heads.
Coping mechanisms:
We begin engaging in these processes when we recognize something as stressful. The best coping mechanisms allow us to lean into and engage a stressful experience in a positive way. Some coping mechanisms include:
Affiliation: Refers to turning to everyday social interactions for support, without referring specifically to the stressful situation itself.
Humor: Allows for engaging in a stressful situation by stepping into an outside perspective, finding the funny incongruities in life's situations, and engaging the situation with a different set of mental processes.
Sublimation: The act of channeling the emotions generated by stressful situations into another, more desirable and/or productive activity. (Like writing an article about stress...)
Positive reappraisal: Redirecting cognitive energy to a focus on good things about oneself or one's situation. This can lead to self-reflection, self-awareness and an awareness of the power and importance of one's efforts. An example: war veterans survive better when they construe a positive meaning from their combat experiences as compared to those veterans who don't. (Sounds an awful lot like gratitude if you ask me.)
The more ya know!
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