bc Living with Stress December 1998 Copyright? 1998 Bain & Company, Inc. Author: Contributor: Steven Anderson Dianna Magnani 2 LivingwithStress Agenda What is Stress? Negative Stress Overload Symptoms Managing Stress Defining Your Life Purpose Conducting a Personal Inventory Minimizing Vulnerability to Negative Stress Identifying Stress Trigger Events Stress Management Techniques Key Takeaways 3 LivingwithStress Definition of Stress Stress is a normal and natural phenomenon in our lives. It is the natural conflict, opposition, or resistance that occurs in our body as we continually adjust to our changing environment and life. 4 LivingwithStress The Role of Perceptions Perceptions Internal Demands responsibilities obligations self criticism External Demands work family social environment financial Attitudes, values, and beliefs Stress response Past experiences Stress results from our perceptions of an event. An event, in and of itself, is not stressful. It is our perception of the event that activates our body’s stress response. 5 LivingwithStress The body’s normal physiological reaction to stress is as follows: Stress Response Event Perceptions Body releases stress hormones causing the “Fight or Flight” response Body discharges energy by fighting, fleeing or expressing emotion Body induces relaxation, reversing previous reactions 6 LivingwithStress Personal Integrity and Life Purpose Positive stress is healthy and results from events that are in alignment with our personal integrity and/or our true purpose in life. Negative stress is destructive and results from events that are not in alignment. Personal integrity: Life purpose: Having personal integrity means living true to a set of values, beliefs, and principles that give direction, balance, and focus to your life. Every individual has a purpose in life that is completely unique. Our most important job in life is to discover and then fulfill our personal purpose. Some people know what their purpose is early in life; others discover it over time - their purpose is revealed to them very much like the clues in a treasure hunt, one clue at a time. 7 LivingwithStress Positive vs. Negative Stress Positive and negative stress impact us very differently. Positive Stress Negative Stress Provides the tension necessary to make us stronger Gears us up to meet the demands of a situation Compels us to action Wears us down Can lead to feelings of mistrust, anger, rejection, or depression Can lead to minor or serious illness Deadlines, competition, confrontations, and even our frustrations and sorrows, can add depth or excitement to our lives Doing things that we dread to do can sap our energy and cloud our judgment