Suzanne Mercier - Sunday, April 11, 2010
Yesterday, I introduced the subject of stress and its significant costs to us as individuals, to our families and the organisations we work for. The ABC programme that stimulated the blog was Portrait of a Killer. This programme really struck a chord with me: it's well worth watching.
I talked about the consequences of stress which certainly surprised me. Even more unexpected for me though were the key findings from the two studies. Like many of us, I attribute stress to life moving too fast, change being a constant, feeling carried along by an insane tidal wave, having far too much to do, balancing roles that seem impossible to balance. I also believe that we feel stressed when we're in environments which bring up or exacerbate our feelings of "not good enough".
Here's what the studies found:
|
|
-
Social standing and rank can make us more or less susceptible to
stress.
The higher the rank and social standing, the lower the
stress levels - in baboons and humans. A huge component of stress is
loss of control and the further down the food chain we are, the less
control we have or perceive ourselves to have. People who live in
affluent areas and feel affluent are far less stressed than people who
live in less stable environments where the threat of physical violence
on a daily basis is very real. These people need to be hypervigilant,
always on their guard which is highly stressful. People who are in
positions of greater control are less stressed than those they control.
|
|
|
-
Control is linked with levels of stress.
The more in control we are, the less stress we are likely to experience. Greater levels of control are more likely to be found further up the hierarchy. Studying the baboons, Robert Sapolsky, a Professor of Neurobiology at Stanford University, noticed that the alpha males took what they wanted when they wanted. He also noticed that when they were frustrated, they took that frustration out on baboons who were further down the hierarchy, and that they in turn, did the same thing to those baboons they controlled - often the females.
|
It's a great argument for heading for the top isn't it! At least there, we have greater social standing and control over circumstances. We know as the alpha that we control what goes on around us, not the other way around.
Our lives are far broader - I hope - than just work, so to counteract any feeling of powerlessness in our work environment, we can look for other areas in our lives where we can be at the top of the pyramid and which nurture our self-esteem.
My current focus on the Imposter Syndrome and what generally gets in the way of us being who we are and doing what we're capable of means that I put on that pair of goggles when I look at the similar results the two studies produced.
When we're feeling like fakes and frauds, we are feeling uncomfortable with who we think we are. We put on a mask or facade if you like that presents a face to the world - a face we believe is more acceptable, more lovable, more worthy of respect and opportunities. The schism between who we think we are and who we present to the world causes anxiety and stress. Like the civil servants or baboons who are way down on the food chain, we become hypervigilant, watching out for situations that threaten us.
When we can embrace who we are - our authenticity - we create control in our lives through surrender. We surrender the notion of perfection. We surrender the need to control events. The only thing we can control is our response to those events. That puts us firmly in our power which is an envigorating feeling, not the powerless feeling that comes when we feel pushed around and can't do anything about it.
What do you think? I'd love to hear
All the very best
Suzanne
Comments
Post has no comments.