Are You A Victim Of Second-Hand Stress?

Have you ever noticed that when someone enters a room, a room in which moments before this person arrived you were perfectly happy and normal, the atmosphere changes somehow suddenly and it feels as if that person brought with them a dark cloud?

There seems to be no rationale or at least no scientific reasoning to prove that a person’s stress, which is an internal state of emotion, can physically and psychologically affect another person. But studies have shown that there really is a thing called second-hand stress, and you could be a victim of it right now.

Why does this happen?

When someone is stressed, his or her actions will broadcast these inward feelings through gestures or even plain speech. The effect it has on you can cause you to become stressed also. Think about it for a second… If your partner comes home from work after having a particularly busy day during which his or her boss called him to tell them of their poor performance, they will not be their usual jolly self. Their attitude towards you or your conversation might be curt, and they may come across as annoyed. This will affect how you feel and can bring on your own stress.

What can be done to prevent this?

Unfortunately, you cannot control how someone else feels all the time and you cannot control his or her actions. The best advice comes from psychologists at Melbourne’s Psylegal.

They suggest you can protect yourself from the second-hand stress of others.Here’s how:

• Pay attention to common triggers

Becoming more mindful of the triggers that set you off into a flat spin will help you recognise the logic behind your illogical stress outbursts. If Monday morning status meetings elevate your stress levels, acknowledge that the meetings trigger stress. By being prepared, you may protect yourself from the actual stress of the meeting. Sometimes, it’s just the notion of feeling stressed that issues in stressful feelings. Try adjusting your perception of the meetings and it may help you reduce your stress levels.

• Adjust your commonplace responses

Often you may be prone to respond in particular situations by offering the usual phrases or reacting in the usual, known ways. By paying attention to your responses, you will have a better understanding of how stress can creep into your wellbeing. If your boss’s critique calls for stress, then acknowledge that this is the case, and force yourself to react differently. Force yourself to view the critique in a different light. By seeing critique as a way to become better at your job, you may indeed help yourself to move away from becoming stressed and unhappy.

• Exercise

Exercise acts as a stress reliever, according to doctors at the Mayo Clinic. The release of endorphins helps counter-balance the stress and anxiety in your brain by releasing chemicals associated with joy and wellbeing. It’s a natural and effective method in managing stress.

• Incorporate relaxation

Added to exercise may be the use of relaxation techniques such as meditation or more plainly, a good, long soak in the bath … possibly with candles. Whatever will induce relaxation will help alleviate the levels of stress you have.

• Seek professional help

In severe cases of stress and anxiety, seeking professional help from psychologists, such as those at Psylegal, can really give you the treatment you need to cope in this fast-paced world.

If you need to speak to a professional to help regain your life and live a stress-free existence, then contact Psylegal today.

Related Tags: Stress Management Counselling Melbourne