How to manage stress
You become stressed when you experience more pressure, frus-
tration, or a higher level of emotional demand than you can
handle. An acceptable degree of pressure can be a good thing. It
can stimulate and motivate you. Some people thrive on it. They
respond to challenges that others would find hard to bear.
Pressures include achieving performance expectations;
meeting deadlines; coping with an excessive workload; dealing
with difficult bosses, colleagues, clients, customers or subordi-
nates, includ ing bullying; problems of achieving a satisfactory
work–life balance (reconciling the demands of work with family
responsibilities or outside interests); and role ambiguity (lack of
understanding of what is expected).
Pressure is fine as long as it does not build up to too high a
level. Up to a point it will motivate and improve performance
but it then turns into stress and results in a decline in perform-
ance as illustrated in Figure 30.1.
The important thing to remember is that the ability to with-
stand pressure varies: one person’s stimulating amount of pres-
sure is another person’s stress. But this suggests that although
some people may temperamentally be more prone to suffer from
stress, there is some scope to manage or limit stress, bearing in
mind that it is often self-imposed.
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