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“Emotion turning back on itself, and not leading on to thought or action, is the element of madness.” —John Sterling |
The Unrelenting Fire Alarm |
Emotion, as we defined it in the last chapter, is “action resulting from situations that enhance or threaten a goal.” When one’s goal is substantially obstructed, the specific emotion that results is stress. The greater or more threatening the obstruction, the higher the stress. Stress that is sustained—either low-level stress over a long period or high-level stress over a shorter time—leads to burnout, which is, at its most extreme, the inability to feel any emotion at all, a total loss of motivation.
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TOPIC 33.1 |
When one senses that one’s goal is being blocked, the “something” that serves as the obstacle is called a stressor. Put another way, stress occurs when the body’s normal homeostasis has been disturbed (Sapolsky, 1994). Stressors can be anything from fear-arousing enemies to anxiety-arousing fantasies, from flat tires that prevent you from getting to your child’s soccer game, to invitations to go on a much desired date or other social outing when you must complete an assignment with an imminent deadline. Stressors are not intrinsically good things or bad things—they simply get in the way of working toward your goal. The more important the goal and the more potent the stressor, the greater the felt stress. The stress itself is an emotion, or rather typically a blend of emotions. As you recall, earlier we defined emotions as feedback that we’re proceeding on target toward our goal (positive emotions), or that we’re being obstructed with respect to our goal (negative emotions). However, inasmuch as stressors can be joyful as well as saddening, the emotion of stress itself can include both positive and negative emotions in one blend. For example, the emotional stress you feel when your grandchild comes to visit when you’ve much work to do—joy mixed with resentment and dread. Events that normally are pleasing can be stressful—an invitation for sexual play from your partner when you must get a good night’s sleep for an important early morning meeting.
One’s perception of an event or situation as goal-deterring is crucial in determining its actual effect as a stressor. Woody Allen has said, “Eighty percent of success is showing up.” Accordingly, 80 percent of the effect of a stressor is one’s perception of it as goal-deterring. If I do not perceive an event as keeping me from pursuing and attaining my goals, I do not perceive it as stressful. Stress, then, is in the eye of the beholder. The critical test for a situation’s having achieved major stressor status is whether the individual feels out of control. Stress is the point at which an event or circumstance makes the individual say, “I have lost control of my destiny.” Or, as Chinua Achebe borrows from Yeats in the title of his novel, “Things fall apart.” More fully:
Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the center cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.
—William Butler Yeats, “The Second Coming”
Just as the falconer feels the falcon slipping out of reach, so the stressed individual feels life’s goals falling below the horizon, out of sight. There is no light at the end of the tunnel. There is no balm in Gilead. Things are out of control.
Stressors are not only negative and hostile, as when we are evicted from a home; they may also be positive and friendly, as when we move into a new home. In both cases, prolonged stress can be harmful, causing us to feel the need to get away from the stressor.
When stress occurs, our bodies mobilize for one of the three F’s: freeze, fight, or flee (the fight-or-flight response). This reaction includes
• Dilation of the pupils, for maximum visual perception even in darkness
• Constriction of the arteries, for maximum pressure to pump blood to the heart and other muscles (the heart goes from one to five gallons pumped per minute)
• Activation of the adrenal gland to pump cortisol, which maintains pupil dilation and artery constriction by stimulating the formation of epinephrine and norepinephrine, sensitizing adrenergic receptors, and inhibiting the breakdown of epinephrine and norepinephrine
• Enlargement of the vessels to the heart to facilitate the return flow of blood
• Metabolism of fat (from fatty cells) and glucose (from the liver) for energy
• Constriction of vessels to the skin, kidneys, and digestive tract, shutting down digestion and maximizing readiness for the fight-or-flight response
Control of this process lies in the hypothalamus, which acts as a control console. Stimulation of the front part of the hypothalamus calms the emotions (the parasympathetic nervous system response); stimulation of the back section activates the mobilization processes (the sympathetic nervous system response). This is known as the general adaptation syndrome (GAS). The term originated with Hans Selye (1952); a complete and more technical, but highly readable, description of it can be found in R. Williams (1989).
Normally, stress comes and goes. Fears and anxieties, for most of us, subside shortly after their onset. Ira Black (1991) reports that a sympathetic nervous system stimulation of 30–90 minutes can result in a 200–300 percent increase in enzyme and impulse activity for 12 hours to three days and, in some cases, for up to two weeks. But what happens when fears and anxieties don’t subside? What happens when stressors don’t go away and the feelings of fear and anxiety persist over time? In a word, the high levels of cortisol become toxic. During this sustained period of GAS, when the posterior hypothalamus is active, the performance of the immune system (see topic 7.2) is seriously impaired. Minor results of this stress-related impairment include colds, flu, backaches, tight chest, migraine headaches, tension headaches, allergy outbreaks, and skin ailments. More chronic and life-threatening results can include hypertension, ulcers, accident-proneness, addictions, asthma, infertility, colon or bowel disorders, diabetes, kidney disease, rheumatoid arthritis, and mental illness. Killers that can result include heart disease, stroke, cancer, and suicide. In addition, chronic stress can result in energy depletion, depression, insecurity, impotence or frigidity, apathy, emotional withdrawal, insomnia, chronic fatigue, helplessness or hopelessness, anxiety, confusion, lack of concentration, and poor memory.
Thomas Kamarck, of the University of Pittsburgh, and his colleagues report that in a study of 901 Finnish men, those exhibiting the highest mental stress also showed blood vessel blockages similar to those associated with smoking and elevated cholesterol (Circulation, December 2, 1997, pp. 3842–3848). Further research is under way to determine the degree to which prolonged stress causes plaque buildup in the arteries, leading to higher risk for stroke and atherosclerosis. Sonya Lupien of Montreal’s McGill University has found that prolonged high levels of cortisol shrink the hippocampus, causing memory impairment (Nature Neuroscience, May 1998). What this suggests is the following process:
1. Prolonged stress produces sustained high levels of cortisol.
2. As a result, the hippocampus shrinks.
3. The production of new neurons is significantly reduced.
4. Memory, mood, and other mental functions are affected.
John D. MacArthur (“Stress and Your Brain”) summarizes the physical effects of stress in this manner:
• The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is hierarchically dominant over the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) and will not yield to the PNS until some resolution takes place (fight, run, meditate, etc.).
• At the first sign of a stressor, the adrenal gland releases adrenaline, only enough to get your attention (also associated with “flashback” memories).
• When the stressor persists (for a couple of minutes) and your evaluative system identifies it as the real thing, then the hypothalamus secretes corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF), which in turn triggers the pituitary gland to secrete corticotropin, which then triggers the adrenal gland to release glucocorticoids (especially cortisol). If this is not soon stopped, here’s what happens:
1. Energy (in the form of blood and glucose) is diverted from the brain (especially the hippocampus, one reason some persons have difficulty remembering traumatic events), the digestive system, and the immune system, in favor of supplying energy to the large muscle groups in anticipation of dealing with the stressor.
2. The high levels of cortisol generally interfere with a variety of neurotransmitters.
3. Cortisol triggers the release of excess calcium, which leads to the production of free radicals, which injure and destroy nerve cells. The hippocampus, seat of memory, is especially sensitive to cortisol levels, and autopsies of persons suffering excessive, continuing stress (as in untreated depression) show significant reduction in size of the hippocampus (up to 25 percent smaller).
4. A high cortisol level reduces the effectiveness of the blood-brain barrier, allowing toxins to attack the brain.
5. The hippocampus is the primary agent to trigger the PNS. So, as the hippocampus deteriorates over time, an individual becomes progressively less able to shut down SNS arousal.
6. If one eats a meal while feeling stress, enzymes that digest carbohydrates are at lower levels. In one study, kids who meditated before eating cereal had 22 percent more of the digestive enzyme alpha-amylase than kids who ate just after struggling with a math problem.
7. As cortisol levels rise, interleukin levels fall, increasing susceptibility to infection and disease and slowing healing.
8. Athletes experiencing stress are up to five times more likely to be injured than unstressed athletes.
9. Other sources of increased cortisol: caffeine, certain arthritis drugs that contain steroid hormones, and several nights in a row of insufficient sleep.
A visual overview of this process is available in figure 33.1. As you study this process, begin at the bottom left with the appearance of the stressor.
Figure 33.1. The Chemistry of Stress
In a review of the literature on stress, McEwen and Schmeck (1996) summarize by identifying five clear markers for stress-related physical damage: blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol, cortisol, and abdominal fat. If one or more of these five have not been affected, then we may conclude that for the individual in question, stress-related damage has not been sustained.
The popularity of the word “stress” has resulted in its loss of meaning. Now it is fashionable to be “oh, so stressed.” In 1988, Sterling and Eyer proposed a new term that more completely describes the process: allostasis. Others have followed suit (e.g., McEwen and Seeman, 1999; Ray, 2004). All too often, “stress” refers simply to having an imposing to-do list. The fullness of the term, however, refers to a period in a person’s life when bodily arousal functions react over time to events that interfere with the person’s goals. Allostasis literally means a change (allo) in behavior for the purpose of returning to equilibrium (stasis). We see the Bengal tiger, we get aroused (loss of equilibrium), we run like mad (change in behavior), and we rest under a distant shade tree out of harm’s way (return to equilibrium). The entire process, from arousal to rest, is called allostasis. Allostatic load refers to the amount of arousal one experiences over time. McEwen and Seeman describe four kinds of allostatic load:
1. Repeated stressors, close together over time (bereavement, loss of job, house move, separation, childbirth, illness, etc.)
2. Single stressor, repeated over time, with inadequate adaptation or learning, with essentially the same long-term effect as above (getting teased, nagged, or blamed repeatedly and failing to come up with a satisfactory way of defusing the situation)
3. Prolonged sympathetic arousal with no abatement or parasympathetic arousal (extended grieving, holding onto anger, living in fear)
4. Insufficient sympathetic arousal with subsequent compensatory activation of other systems (moderate resentment, fear, or anger not leading to adaptation, with subsequent weakening of the immune system)
According to this formulation of the stress response, the goal of the healthy individual is to adapt behavior to minimize allostatic load.
How do we prevent stressors from occurring or stop them once they begin? The simplest answer lies in the word control. If we resign ourselves to the inevitability of long-term stress, it will continue to ravage our bodies. However, if we decide that we have some degree of control and can limit or prevent stressors, the effects of stress can be minimized or even eliminated.
Applications
If any of the disorders listed above affect you or those close to you, confirm with your physician the possibility that they are stress-related. Then identify and list the stressors that cause a continued feeling of tightness in the chest, rapid heartbeat, acid stomach, and so on. Consider specific ways you can control each stressor, using the techniques in the following applications. You might also seek the assistance of a psychotherapist trained in stress-reduction strategies.
Relax. Meditation, hypnosis, deep breathing, napping, saunas, and just resting quietly—all these and other methods are equally effective. Research says that meditation techniques are no more effective than other relaxation techniques (see Druckman and Bjork, 1991). Popular magazines and other media commonly advertise or otherwise feature commercial “relaxation techniques” that consist of some mechanical, sensory, or meditative technique. As a rule, unless you really want to spend money to learn to relax, just read Herbert Benson’s classic, The Relaxation Response (1990). The “Joy Touch,” which can be learned only in workshops—at a charge, of course—is an example of a commercial approach with no data to suggest that it is any more effective than Benson’s relaxation response. I’m reminded of a favorite saying of mine: “Meditation is not what you think.”
The state of mind during hypnosis is no different from that of the normal, awake, alert mind. Hypnosis is a guided form of conscious selective attention and dissociation characterized by suggestibility. Even the best subjects do nothing under hypnosis that they wouldn’t do otherwise. See an excellent summary of research on hypnosis in the Harvard Health Letter, April 1991, pp. 1–4. Daniel Goleman has written an account of the Dalai Lama’s thoughts on meditation and its ability to reduce stress in his 2003 book, Destruction Emotions—recommended for students of various meditative disciplines.
Escape. Do anything that “takes your mind off” the stressors, such as reading, watching television, listening to music, pursuing hobbies and crafts, or cooking. When our minds are filled with such activities, limbic arousal shuts down and cortical arousal takes over. As we take part in a totally absorbing pursuit, any activity in the posterior hypothalamus moves to its forward area and to subsequent parasympathetic arousal.
Exercise. Although any exercise helps relieve stress, aerobic exercise is best. The simplest definition of aerobic exercise is any physical activity that keeps the heart pumping at elevated levels continuously for 12–30 minutes (see chapter 18). Jogging, swimming, and brisk walking are aerobic; tennis, golf, and basketball are not (unless played nonstop). See Covert Bailey’s excellent book, The New Fit or Fat (1991).
Don’t rely on sex. Sexual orgasm releases the sympathetic nervous system’s grip and leads to a parasympathetic response. But because sex drive and stress levels are inversely related, a person under extreme stress probably would not find sexual activity the release that others might. Instead, those who are experiencing extreme stress should probably try some other strategy, such as those in applications 2–4 and 6–15, before trying sex. When high stress levels have been reduced, sexual activity can arise more spontaneously.
Eat and drink moderately. Moderate amounts of food or nonalcoholic beverages help dissipate stomach acids and return stress levels to normal.
Visualize. Richard Restak (1991) relates an Eastern three-step technique for relieving “monkey mind,” otherwise known as jumpiness or jitteriness. First, stare at an object, such as a plant. Then close your eyes and visualize that same object. Finally, open your eyes to confirm your visualization. This form of meditative observation, by focusing your attention, will calm you. (For more information on visualizing, see topic 34.5, application 5.)
Laugh. Cousins (1989) reports that 10 minutes of belly laughs can provide two hours of pain-free sleep. (See the extended treatment of humor and laughter in chapter 11.) Edward O’Brien of Marywood University in Scranton, Pennsylvania, found that college students who had to give impromptu speeches had heart rates of 100 beats per minute while they were speaking, but those who watched an episode of Seinfeld beforehand performed with heart rates of only 80–85 beats per minute.
“I had rather have a fool to make me merry than experience to make me sad.”
—William Shakespeare, As You Like It
Seek relief. Make the necessary arrangements for getting away from stressors. Have lists of babysitters, substitute caregivers, and temporary help. Use your creativity and the creativity of others to develop ways to relieve stress, such as neighborhood dinner co-ops and babysitting co-ops. Research says that simply knowing that relief is available is relaxing in and of itself. Air traffic controllers are more relaxed if they know they can call on relief when they need it. Usually, when flextime is initiated in organizations, few people use it; just knowing that it is an option is comfort enough. In one experiment, subjects taking a test were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: both groups had noise outside their room, but only the members of one group were told they could shut the door if the noise became bothersome. The group given permission didn’t close the door, yet its members scored higher than the members of the group without permission.
Reframe the stressor. Find a new way to explain your stressor so that it becomes less stressful. See Seligman (1991) and Bandler and Grinder (1982).
Consider medication. For severe, long-term stress, you might consult a physician for pharmaceutical relief when other measures prove to be ineffective. Medication could be aimed at
• Blocking alpha and beta receptors for adrenergic neurotransmitters to prevent sympathetic arousal
• Shutting down cortisol production in the adrenal gland (for example, by using alprazolam and ketoconazole)
• Inhibiting the release of epinephrine and norepinephrine (the neurotransmitter GABA inhibits production of epinephrine and norepinephrine; Valium is one of the catalysts for GABA)
• Increasing cholinergic neurotransmitters (for example, acetylcholine) and sensitizing muscarinic receptors, resulting in the release of cyclic guanosine monophosphate, which stimulates a parasympathetic response (the heart slows, pupils contract, and digestion is stimulated)
Drugs can help prevent or shut down a sympathetic response and bring on a parasympathetic response. One result of failure to shut down sympathetic arousal is Type A behavior (see topic 33.3).
Get a pet. Handling pets is a great stress reliever, which explains the popular practice of taking pets to rest-home patients. (Contributed by Rick Bradley)
Develop a corporate policy. Listed below are several corporate policies or practices that give employees a sense of having some control over the quality of their work life:
• Pay for performance
• Flextime
• Cafeteria benefits
• Two-way performance appraisals
• Negotiated rather than imposed goals
• Employee involvement programs
• Explicit management responses to employee suggestions
• Career development with visible, active support
• No boss for consistent performers
• Self-directed work teams
• An effective ethics code that contains a whistle-blowing policy
• Dual career paths
• A focus on team results
Bust stress. In the vein of more is better, here is a list of 18 “stress busters” by three researchers who suggest that extreme measures are not mandatory for stress reduction: look for smaller victories. Cardiologist Thomas Kottke of the Mayo Institute, cardiologist Robert S. Eliot of Scottsdale’s Institute of Stress Medicine, and neuroscientist Robert Sapolsky of Stanford University suggest these modest measures:
• Every day, take 30 minutes to one hour to do something you really like to do, whether it’s taking a bubble bath or playing with a child.
• Strengthen your ties with your family.
• Don’t accept trouble in your marriage—do something about it.
• Recognize that people with some sort of religious belief experience less stress; consider giving religion a bigger role in your life.
• Stress is often a matter of one’s point of view. Consider alternative interpretations of your situation; see difficult situations as challenging rather than enraging.
• Exercise as much as you can. Don’t fail to exercise just because you can’t get in 30 minutes; even small amounts have a positive effect on stress.
• Cut back at least a little on fats, sugars, smoking, and alcohol. Small changes will have some results, and you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing that you’re headed in the right direction.
• Don’t spend time looking for the nearest parking space. Drive up to a distant space and enjoy the walk.
• Give or receive a massage.
• Make sleeping well a priority. (See chapter 9.)
• If your job is a major irritant and you can’t leave it, try getting more control over the parts of the job that cause the most fear, anger, depression, or uncertainty. There is no job that can’t be improved to some degree.
• Change what you can, and don’t waste time trying to change what you can’t.
• Delegate, train the delegatees, and trust them, whether at work or at home.
• Don’t try to be perfect at everything. Identify two or three top priorities and do them very well; accept imperfect performance with the lower priorities.
• Avoid the FUD factor—fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
• Do whatever you can at home, work, or play to avoid the feeling that you’re not in control of yourself.
• Be assertive: don’t say yes when you mean no, no when you mean yes.
• Be clear on your goals; don’t spend time, energy, and resources on activities that don’t matter to you.
Now, don’t go out and try to implement all these stress busters! Think of them as a cafeteria line, and take what seems appropriate for you.
Rock! No, not the music! Nancy Watson, of the Rochester (New York) School of Nursing, found that nursing home patients who used rocking chairs from ½ to 2½ hours per day over six weeks reported less emotional distress, fewer requests for pain medication, and improved balance.
Problem-solve. If solutions to the stressful situation are not apparent, solicit someone to assist you in going through a formal problem-solving process. More suggestions on creativity and problem solving appear in chapters 27–29. Most counselors and organizational consultants are trained in problem-solving processes. If you have no such budget, find free services (such as those provided by departments of social services and religious bodies) or teach yourself a problem-solving technique (or learn one with a friend or relative).
Nurture. Many individuals find that making time to nurture another living creature has the effect of soothing one’s own stress. Some examples:
a. Listening over a latte to a friend’s concerns.
b. Washing and brushing the family pet.
c. Combing/brushing out your daughter’s hair.
d. Giving full attention to your child’s interest of the moment (homework, model building, room arrangement, grooming, and so forth).
e. Babysitting, with gusto.
f. Volunteering in a service role.
Shelley Taylor, UCLA researcher, has pioneered work on the female stress response that she calls “Tend and Befriend,” as an alternative to the male response of “Fight or Flight.” See more in her 2002 book The Tending Instinct. Too much nurture as a stress reliever can be harmful to the nurturer, just as too much exercise, food, booze, and so forth, intended to relieve stress, can end up becoming toxic.
APA tip sheets: The American Psychological Association has developed a series of tip sheets for developing resilience in various groups of highly stressed citizens. Review their work at www.apa.org/helpcenter.
Prepare for mealtime: Eating while feeling stressed results in inefficient digesting of carbohydrates and attendant fat storage. This is a good reason that parents should encourage kids, and each other, to “calm down” before eating. Simply saying a prayer or some such is not enough. Some form of physically shifting gears and shutting down the stress response is called for, whether it is meditation, story time, a walk around the block, or (as I like to do) playing favorite musical numbers (and singing along).
“A light heart lives long.”
—William Shakespeare, Love’s Labour’s Lost
Listen to chanting: Dr Najeeb Alrefae sent an e-mail to me from Kuwait that related his efforts to help people reach the relaxing alpha brain wave state by listening to reciters chanting the Quran. It, like Gregorian and other forms of chanting, is mind-clearing and relaxing. Try listening to recitations from the Quran at www.islamweb.net.
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TOPIC 33.2 |
Although there is evidence of many kinds of arousal, including both limbic and cortical arousal, research over the years has proceeded as though there were only one general type. One of the more popular examples of this research has come to be known as the Yerkes-Dodson law (figure 33.2). It has two aspects:
Figure 33.2. The Yerkes-Dodson Law
Note: (A) Normal optimal level of arousal. (B) Simple, routine tasks require a somewhat higher level of arousal than complex, novel ones.
1. There is an optimal level of arousal. Too low a state of arousal, as when you are sleepy, appears to result in errors of omission; too high a state of arousal, as when you are jittery from too much caffeine, results in errors of commission. In other words, when you are under-aroused, you may leave things out, skip things, and be forgetful; when you are over-aroused, you may hit the wrong key while typing, act impulsively, and lose proper restraint.
2. The optimal point of arousal for complex tasks is different from that for simple tasks. Higher arousal (for example, that extra cup of coffee) is more conducive to performing simpler tasks, lower arousal more conducive to performing more complex tasks (see topic 12.3).
Redford Williams (1989) has identified a hierarchical relationship between three different forms of arousal. The kind of arousal described here as the Yerkes-Dodson law might be described as normal cortical arousal. Williams describes two other forms of arousal that can suppress cortical arousal, regardless of whether an individual is under- or overaroused cortically. The first is what he calls “focused attention and aggression,” such as the arousal exhibited in athletic competition or military observation duty. Focused attention and aggression is accompanied by higher-than-normal levels of testosterone and is characterized by partially suppressed cortical arousal; therefore, creativity and problem-solving ability are reduced. The other kind of arousal is what we have called the general adaptation syndrome (see topic 33.1) or the fight-or-flight response. During GAS, high cortisol levels are accompanied by virtually total suppression of cortical arousal. The three states, plus the sleep state, are shown in table 33.1, based on concepts developed by Redford Williams (1989).
Applications
If you happen to let yourself get overstimulated—for example, by drinking too much of a caffeinated beverage—switch to a task that is simpler and more repetitive than the task at hand (for example, switch from writing to cleaning up). You will make fewer errors, and the increased energy level required will help to dissipate the high arousal. Otherwise, go exercise!
If you must perform a particularly complex task, such as writing an involved report or reviewing a complex set of numbers, switch to a noncaffeinated beverage, limiting yourself to approximately one heavily caffeinated drink every six hours. (For me, one cup of strong, home-dripped coffee equals two to three cups of standard commercial brew, with respect to its caffeine effect.) See topic 12.3 for additional information on caffeine.
If you are concerned that focused attention and aggression is or will be interfering with your mental self-management, try aerobic exercise to calm you down before the big presentation, meeting, or date. The exercise will lower your testosterone level and its accompanying aggression.
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TOPIC 33.3 |
Redford Williams (1989) defines Type A behavior as a cyclical form of hostile behavior that originates with cynicism, progresses into anger, culminates in an outburst of aggression, and recycles whenever the original cause of the cynicism recurs. Williams defines the onset of Type A behavior as the fulfillment of negative expectations. He contrasts the cynicism of Type A with the trust of Type B behavior: cynicism expects the worst and has a toxic effect on the body; trust expects better and has a nontoxic effect. What makes Type A and Type B responses different is that although both types can be cynical and hostile at times, the Type A person has a physiological defect that prevents restoration of the parasympathetic response following sympathetic arousal.
In his research at Duke University Medical School and elsewhere, Williams has learned that Type A personalities’ brain wave patterns take longer to return to normal after sympathetic arousal because their parasympathetic response is sluggish. This is also known as parasympathetic antagonism. It is directly related to their lower production within the neurons of cyclic guanosine monophosphate, which directly triggers parasympathetic responses. Williams accounts for about 50 percent of Type A cases by postulating a low-endorphin gene that results in prolonged sympathetic arousal. For the other 50 percent, Williams points to childhoods with low trust and low touch. Far less Type A behavior exists in Japan; Williams accounts for this by pointing to the reputation of the Japanese for unconditional love in child rearing. American kids take an average of 17.5 seconds to resume crawling toward a toy after an “angry mother” comment. Japanese children average 49 seconds; they are less accustomed to angry comments and as a result the comments have a stronger impact.
Williams suggests that Type A personalities can use three kinds of strategies to gain control over their uncontrolled sympathetic response: religion, behavior modification, and medicine.
Applications
Religion. In Jerusalem’s Hadassah Hospital, heart disease is four times higher among secular Jews. In Evans County, Georgia, churchgoers show lower blood pressure than nonchurchgoers. Williams suggests that religion typically encourages individuals to be less concerned with love of self, more with love of others. Such behavior, followed consistently, would short-circuit the whole Type A response by breeding trust rather than cynicism. An exception was seen in a study of 2,850 North Carolinians led by Keith Meador of the psychiatry department at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He found that Pentecostal Christians (Church of God and Assembly of God) exhibit an incidence of depression three times higher than that of other religious groups. The Fishers (1993, pp. 74–75) write about religious sects and the evidence that, in general, they provide a therapeutic effect for followers previously bothered by drugs, poor self-concept, psychological disturbance, vocational indifference, and medical complaints, with an overall effect of improved well-being, increased social and personal responsibility, and healthier habits. However, they observe that the nature of the research designs does not distinguish between the impact of the supportive nature of the sect as a group and the effect of the religious ideology and imagery.
Behavior modification. In addition to books and workshops on communications skills such as assertiveness, conflict management, and negotiation, Williams suggests a 12-step approach:
1. Monitor your cynical thoughts.
2. Confess your hostility and seek support to change.
3. Stop cynical thoughts.
4. Reason with yourself.
5. Put yourself in the other person’s shoes.
6. Laugh at yourself.
7. Practice the relaxation response.
8. Try trusting others.
9. Force yourself to listen more.
10. Substitute assertiveness for aggression.
11. Pretend that today is your last.
12. Practice forgiveness.
Medicine. See topic 33.1, application 11.
Williams and his wife, Virginia, wrote Anger Kills (1994) as a “how-to” approach to the issues surrounding Type A behavior. It includes a self-assessment tool and seven chapters of specific applications.
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TOPIC 33.4 |
What is burnout? Put simply, it is the result of unrelieved stress. Burnout occurs after one or more stressors continue their obstruction with unrelenting intensity and effectiveness; the individual feels out of control over an extended time and eventually gives up hope of eliminating or even reducing the effect of the stressor. Burnout can be reached through one of two routes: more intense, shorter-term stress or less intense, longer-term stress. Robert Golembiewski of the University of Georgia has developed a phase model for burnout (Golembiewski, 1988). The eight phases are defined by levels of depersonalization, sense of personal achievement, and emotional exhaustion (see table 33.2). Phase 1 exhibits little or no depersonalization, a reasonable sense of success and job worth, and little or no emotional fatigue, whereas phase 8 exhibits high depersonalization (people are seen as objects without innate value), absence of a personal sense of accomplishment or worth, and emotional exhaustion (a sense of being unable to cope anymore).
In a survey of more than 10,000 people, 43 percent scored in phases 1 to 3 (no burnout), 13 percent scored in phases 4 and 5 (borderline burnout), and 44 percent scored in phases 6 to 8 (from moderate to extreme burnout). Physical measures of cholesterol, uric acid, blood pressure, number of sick days used, weight, smoking, drinking, and so on appear to increase uniformly along this model. For example, phase 1 shows lower levels of cholesterol, with levels getting progressively higher through phase 8.
Earlier, we defined burnout as the result of prolonged stress. Golembiewski gets more specific by defining it as having a sense that we and others have no worth, with no energy to do anything about it. Notice the similarity of his definition of burnout to Seligman’s (1991) definition of pessimism (personal, pervasive, and permanent helplessness). Seligman’s research focuses on depression, Golembiewski’s on burnout, but the working mechanisms appear similar. Burnout seems to be the organizational form of depression.
Golembiewski has two findings that are particularly important in dealing with the results of burnout. First, burnout does not occur randomly throughout organizations; instead, it seems to occur in clusters of workers with a common supervisor. His conclusion is that the quality of the supervisor is responsible for the lion’s share of burnout in organizations. Second, people appear to use two different styles to deal with their stress: active and passive. When they reach the stage of burnout, passives have to take extended vacations or personal leave in order to restore their emotional resources and sense of worth, whereas actives might benefit more from workshops, self-help materials, and wellness programs.
Applications
If you are a human resources administrator, you should use employee surveys, Golembiewski’s survey, or good common sense (sick-leave patterns, for example) to determine where the actual or potential pockets of burnout are in your organization. Then determine whether you need to train or replace the supervisors in those pockets. Some organizations are experimenting with eliminating the role of supervisor by developing self-directed work teams. For Golembiewski’s survey, write to Dr. Robert Golembiewski, Department of Political Science, Baldwin Hall, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602, phone 404-542-2970, or e-mail rtgolem@arches.uga.edu.
Provide seminars, self-help materials, wellness programs, and employee counseling resources to help highly stressed employees learn ways to cope more effectively.
For people with more passive styles of dealing with burnout, the strategies in application 2 won’t work. With passives, be prepared to offer extended leave, followed by transfer to a new work unit upon return.
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TOPIC 33.5 |
Hans Selye observed that some of us approach life like a rabbit, running from place to place, nibbling when we can, shooting off in all directions; others more like a turtle, proceeding methodically from point to point with careful attention to detail, taking things one at a time. Neither extreme is necessarily unhealthy. What is unhealthy, or stressful, is trying to be different from one’s nature. For example, the rabbit spouse says to her turtle companion, “You never want to go anywhere or do anything.” The turtle, feeling guilty, decides to become rabbity for the night and go bar-hopping with his jumpy spouse. That, according to Selye, is what causes stress—being untrue to one’s nature.
It is stressful to try to be someone different from who we are, to try to be solitary when our nature is to be gregarious. Being true to our nature is, in some ways, the ultimate goal (as in “to thine own self be true . . .”). Attempting to be something different is an obstacle to that goal. Along with Selye’s work, a growing body of literature indicates that congruence between people’s nature and the nature of their activities (whether at work, at play, or in their home life) is a crucial prerequisite for contentment with their pursuit of the goal. In order for them to be fully motivated, their personality traits, talents, special abilities, values, and beliefs should be compatible with their life tasks. Don’t expect a recluse to be motivated to sell, a creative thinker to be a good proofreader day in and day out, or a sow’s ear to be happy in the role of a silk purse. In chapter 34, we will demonstrate how this notion of being true to oneself—and, in fact, how to define one’s true self—fits in with the larger theory of motivation. Topic 34.7 (human resource optimization) specifically explains the five different ways your personality might fit your personal context, and what to do about it.
Applications
To what degree do you expect others to be like you—to use your vocabulary, to walk at your speed, to talk as fast or slowly as you do? Do you feel that people are inferior to you if they talk more slowly than you do (a classic source of misunderstanding between a New Englander and a Southerner)? Be aware of these judgments, and don’t mistake such surface behaviors for indicators of ability. (Rick Bradley recalls a former manager whose perception of a co-worker was that he was “slow” because he had an unhurried gait.)
When you feel pressured to change your personality to meet with a spouse’s, friend’s, or boss’s approval, it’s time to sit down with that person and talk it through. If you are unsuccessful, you may need to bring in a third party (counselor, consultant, friend) to help establish the necessity of maintaining your differences in personality and behavior. Don’t ignore the conflict; that will only lead to resentment and may rupture the relationship.
Know yourself; specifically, get a firm handle on where your strengths lie. In order to do this, it helps to have a template, or map, that covers all of the traits, abilities, and physical characteristics that constitute individual differences. Such a template is provided in appendix L.
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TOPIC 33.6 |
The popular and academic press is peppered with reports of high stress, depression, and unhappiness throughout civilization, this in spite of all-time high levels of material comfort. In a special issue of American Psychologist (January 2000) on the subject of positive psychology, David Buss (2000a) insightfully observed that a major explanation for the malaise of modern times finds its origins in a disjointed sense of evolutionary adaptability. The current genetic package we call Homo sapiens represents the level of natural selection attained during the time of hunter-gathers (Pleistocene epoch). We have advanced culturally since that time without a commensurate genetic refinement. We are, in essence, new wine in old skins. As a consequence, much of our “natural” behavior (such as “fight or flight,” mating for maximum reproduction, and so forth) has no (or minimal) necessity in our contemporary environment. In a shrewd move, Buss recommends that we try to structure our lives for maximum happiness by recreating, as it were, characteristics of our hunter-gather ancestors. Here are a few of his suggestions:
Applications
Being close to family typically makes us feel better, so in cases where our nuclear family has spread, Buss recommends using modern technology to reconnect with our kin: e-mail, frequent-flier points, strongly discounted travel prices such as “e-savers,” telephone, videotape and audiotape exchanges, family websites with up-to-date digital photographs, family chat rooms, family news groups, video conferencing, and family reunions (including “mini-reunions”—I get together every year or so with two nephews I am close to).
Hunter-gatherers lived a life characterized by close, deep, enduring friendships. Our life of travel, frequent moves, long hours, commuting time, and multiple community obligations related to career advancement all work to obstruct the time necessary to develop close friendships. As a result, when we need a friend, many of us fail to find one available, and we tough it out, essentially alone. Too often, we let the church, the police, or government agencies do for us what friends would have done in bygone days. Buss recommends that we place a conscious premium on developing and maintaining close friends. We need to make ourselves indispensable to our closest friends and committed to them for the long term.
In earlier days, we had little choice but to mate with someone who was similar to us in personality, intelligence, and cultural background. We did not have to look far. “You Tarzan, me Jane,” and that was it. As a result, our genetic package has us attuned to find maximum long-term satisfaction from mates who are most similar to us. Our margin for error in mate selection has dramatically increased. In a hunter-gatherer’s lifetime, only a couple of dozen potential mates were available (statistically this would be called “restriction of range”!), but today, the proximity of thousands of potential mates keeps our heads spinning. We need to encourage ourselves and those close to us to exert caution during courtship, and to be patient until we sense that we are in the presence of a mate with whom we resonate on most or all cylinders (see “My Shapers” profile, appendix L).
Having family members close by has been shown to be the best prevention for abuse, incest, infidelity, battering, and such wanton acts. Our ancestors had kin at hand to keep them in line, but today it is as though we have no accountability, with our family and the conscience they represent scattered to the four winds. Where possible, Buss recommends that we organize our life so that we may live near family members we love and respect, and who are willing to be interdependent with and accountable to us.
Our ancestors had communities marked by cooperation, because cooperation was necessary for survival. Many of us live under the illusion that cooperation is for wimps; the result of this attitude is a feeling of isolation and ultimate malaise. Buss recommends that we pursue cooperation as a culture, emphasizing reciprocity and equity in all our relationships. Make a commitment to be known as a reciprocator. Make long-term commitments (to church, to friends, to family, to work) that necessitate cooperation in order to be successful and satisfying.
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TOPIC 33.7 |
Significant new sources of stress do not affect everyone in the same way. Some people take longer to be affected by stress, and some take longer to get over those effects. Psychiatrist Dr. Mark Ardis has identified four different trajectories. They are drawn in figure 33.3. The most rapid and intense response to new stress comes from developmentally disabled people (the dotted line)—they typically spend little time processing stressors, tending instead to ramp up immediately to a high level of stress, something like a vertical-takeoff-and-landing aircraft. They remain stressed for a longer time and at a higher level than the normal and the very bright, but when the coast is clear they return to original levels abruptly, like an express elevator, with little need for easing back into the unstressed state.
Figure 33.3. The Different Paths from Stress to Recovery
The very bright are the slowest to reach high levels of stress, as they have more mental resources to offset a stressor’s effects—they employ coping strategies, mental games, reframing techniques, problem-solving strategies, and the like until the stress finally takes its full toll. Then, like normals, they gradually return to pre-stress levels of arousal. The stress response of schizophrenics and other psychologically disturbed individuals, who are already experiencing higher levels of stress, does not accelerate as rapidly as that of the developmentally disabled, but the peak of their response is more severe than that of the other three groups, and their time for recovery is substantially longer, likely due to the scarcity of resources for coping.
Applications
Do not mistake the rapid and intense response of the developmentally disabled as a sign of an unusually potent stressor at work, as their response reflects a lack of coping resources. Conversely, do not interpret their rapid recovery as an indication of their not caring any more or being indifferent—they simply recover more quickly than you.
Do not mistake the slow path to stress of the very bright as an indication of their not caring or being heartless—these persons simply have more mental coping resources than the rest of us.
Whenever possible, provide extra support for the psychologically disturbed, as their coping resources are typically depleted and will benefit from extra hand-holding, patience, chocolate, hugging, or other appropriate gestures that may be provided.
SUGGESTED RESOURCES
Benson, H., with M. Z. Klipper (1990). The Relaxation Response. New York: Avon.
Caine, R. N., and G. Caine (1991). Making Connections: Teaching and the Human Brain. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Gazzaniga, M. S. (1985). The Social Brain. New York: Basic Books.
Golembiewski, R. T. (1988). Phases of Burnout. New York: Praeger.
Sapolsky, R. M. (1994). Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers: A Guide to Stress, Stress-Related Diseases, and Coping. New York: Freeman.
Selye, H. (1952). The Story of the Adaptation Syndrome. Montreal: Acta.
Williams, R. (1989). The Trusting Heart: Great News about Type A Behavior. New York: Times Books.
Williams, R., and V. Williams (1994). Anger Kills. New York: HarperPerennial.