What Is Stress?
For most people, if not all people, stress just seems to be a part of life nowadays. And while most stressful situations cannot be avoided in their entirety, there are many proven methods of reducing stress in one’s life.
Whether it be work that is causing you stress, your relationship, or any other outside factors, learning how to reduce and manage our stress can help us to live happier, healthier, and more productive lives. Luckily, these stress management and reduction tips we’ll be mentioning work for all DiSC Profile Styles: Dominance, influence, Steadiness, and Conscientiousness.
“Stress is normal. Everyone feels stress related to work, family, decisions, your future, and more. Stress is both physical and mental. It is caused by major life events such as illness, the death of a loved one, a change in responsibilities or expectations at work, and job promotions, loss, or changes.”
The Balance – Susan M. Heathfield
Tip #1: Breathe.
While we all breathe, we do not focus on breathing. When you find yourself stressed out, it is important to take five minutes of your time throughout the day to sit or lie down, and just breathe.
Stress causes people to breathe much quicker than normal, which then causes the heart to pump faster and faster, elevating your heart rate, and in turn, igniting additional stress and feelings of anxiety. When you breathe slowly and calmly, additional oxygen works its way into your blood stream, which can immediately reduce the feelings brought on by stress.
Tip #2: Think about what is causing your stress, and rate it from 1 to 5.
When we are stressed, everything seems to come crashing down all at once. And while we might feel this way, in reality, it is the complete opposite. One of the greatest ways to reduce and manage stress is to write or type down a list of the things that are causing your stress. After you’ve done that, try rating them on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 represents little to no stress, while 5 represents complete chaos and disaster.
Once you’ve written these things down and rated them one by one, not only will you see that certain items causing you so much stress and concern are not too bad in reality, and a list of these items will provide you with some levels of guidance and organization regarding what needs to be taken care of immediately, and what can wait till a later time.
The DiSC Personality Test can be used to discover areas of stress and to identify strategies to deal with that stress.
To Be Continued…
About Steve Giles
Co-owner/Co-founder of Intesi! Resources. Educated as an architect I transitioned to technology during my career in architecture. Intesi! Resources was founded in 2004 and my focus is everything Web/eCommerce related from the design and development of our site to all the marketing activities involved. I also provide significant support for our clients on all our products and how they are used to deliver assessment-driven learning solutions that develop self-awareness and interpersonal skills.
