How to Deal with Stress

The introduction explains the «self-help» approach of the book: the reader learns to recognise the signs of stress, to understand how they create so much stress for themselves and then to learn stress-reducing techniques they can use on themselves. The authors Stephen Palmer and Cary Cooper give a clear warning: if you have undiagnosed physical or psychological symptoms consult your family doctor; if a technique makes you anxious do not use it; if you are under very high stress seek help from a specialist such as a doctor or psychologist. At the end of each chapter there is room for the reader to note useful techniques and the reader is asked first to write down their own goals.

Chapter 1 begins with the definition of stress: «stress occurs when pressure exceeds your perceived ability to cope». Stress is triggered not only by external pressure such as deadlines but by whether you believe the situation is important or frightening and whether you can cope with it. There is also a physiological difference between pressure and stress: people experiencing stress have higher levels of various hormones in their blood than those merely under strain. With the right amount of pressure you are at your «optimum» — effective, creative, decisive, alert, lively; too much pressure leads to anxiety and burnout, too little to boredom and depression. «One person's pressure is another's stress.»

The authors show the cost of stress: stress is cited as one of the main reasons for not going to work after the common cold and is estimated to cost British industry more than £17 billion a year; stress is linked to illnesses such as heart attack, high blood pressure, ulcers, diabetes, cancer and depression. The reader is asked to think back over the last week and place themselves on the diagram (Exercise 2): were you stressed, relaxed, bored or tired? The key to stress management is to be skilled at balancing your workload and your personal optimal zone.

The chapter ends with a real case called «Rehabilitation after an acute work-related stress attack»: a civil servant who grew up with a Protestant work ethic and worked ten years to high standards; in February 1996 promotion to a new and challenging job and a difficult personal relationship came together and a nervous breakdown followed; three months in and out of a mental-health hospital, then a gradual return to work (two days a week, then three, four, five) with new realistic expectations. The authors conclude from this: our beliefs feed stress, and as adults we can challenge and change them.

• Each chapter is built from a short explanation, questionnaire, exercise and summary box
• A real case (the civil servant) brings the theory closer to the reader
• Figure 1.1 shows the relation between pressure and performance in a diagram
• The authors ask the reader to write down their own goals and to take notes after each chapter