Cracking Under the Pressure? Or Loving It?

By Barbara Bartlein

Chronic stress has been associated with a host of physical problems including cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, and depression. Yet, there are some people who seem to thrive in overdrive to meet deadlines while juggling a brutal schedule. To their co-workers and families, they may appear to be workaholics. But according to new research, they simply may be more resilient or hardy when it comes to handling stress.

“People who are high in hardiness enjoy ongoing changes and difficulties,” said Dr. Salvatore R. Maddi, a psychology professor at the University of California. “They tend to think of stress as a normal part of life, rather than as something that’s unfair.”

Recent research at the neuroendocrinology laboratory at Rockefeller University has demonstrated that people who cope successfully with stress check into work with normal levels of stress hormones. These hormones may climb during the day but they drop sharply at night. Their fellow employees who complain of being too stressed have higher levels of hormones most of that time, rarely dipping, even at home. This ambushes them in a constant state of stress and anxiety.

As with much of our physical functioning, genetics plays a role in how your body produces and handles the stress hormones. Some people simply have a more automatic response where cortisol is released rapidly and builds up in the body.

Your personal upbringing can also be a factor. Sometimes, people crave a fast-paced career because their childhoods were not very stimulating and they longed for something else. Some folks subject themselves to stressors of their own making, driven by unconscious desires to show that they can conquer the challenges.


Stress resilient folks are skilled at knowing when they are reaching their breaking point, and when they need to take a walk or turn off the electronics. They often have had early experiences in difficult situations that taught them how to handle stress more effectively. Some things you can do to become more stress resilient:

• Know your early symptoms of overload: Headaches, backaches, and muscle stiffness are clues that stress is producing the stress chemicals in the body. Insomnia, especially nocturnal variation (waking up after falling asleep) is a classic symptom. Forgetfulness and irritability both signal that the brain is on overload and needs a break.
  
  
• Take action early. If you experience some early symptoms, that is the moment to take action, not when you are completely exhausted. Take an evening off and spend time with the family. Go for a long walk or bike ride. Curl up by the fire and watch a funny movie. This gives your body and mind a chance to renew and regroup.
  
  
• Power your performance: Skip the donuts, old coffee cake, and other low nutrition foods that linger next to the coffee pot in the kitchen. They only deplete your energy and leave you prone to “sugar lows” after your body has tried to digest the empty calories. Eat fruit, yogurt, smoothies, and other power building foods instead. And don’t forget breakfast. This is the meal that starts the engines for the entire day.
  
  
• Siphon your stress: Physical activity reduces stress hormones in your system. Schedule it on your calendar the same way you schedule everything else. Do something everyday. This can be as simple as a twenty-minute walk or taking the stairs several times. At least three times per week, do some fairly strenuous exercise like swimming, riding a bike, or going to the gym.
  
  
• Adjust the attitude: It is not realistic to remove all stress from your life. Stress resilient folks not only expect stress, they prepare for it. If you know you have some difficult challenges in the next week or two, take extra steps to monitor your self-care to be more resilient.
  

For fast-acting relief, slow your life down.

Sign up for Barbara's FREE email newsletter at www.barbbartlein.com. Barbara Bartlein is the PeoplePro™. She helps businesses sell more goods and services by developing people. She can be reached at 888-747-9953, by email at: barb@barbbartlein.com or visit her Web site at www.ThePeoplePro.com. Published in Networking Today, December 2004.