work stress – Dispatches From The Front

Everyone has stress. It’s one of the most natural human reactions. When faced with a conflict, a controversy, or any kind of ambiguity, usually the response that is triggered is what we call ‘fight or flight’. The period we spend deciding what we’re actually going to do, meaning if we are going to put up a fight or just run, is what creates stress, and the more time it’s taking for us to make that choice, the more stressed we feel.

Specifically for work stress, things are not really that different. Many jobs are by default adding more pressure than others. For example, an ER doctor must make quick calls and each decision they make might literally be about life or death. Therefore, stress in the workplace is not necessarily something bad.

Toxic people defy logic. Some are blissfully unaware of the negative impact that they have on those around them, and others seem to derive satisfaction from creating chaos and pushing other people’s buttons. Either way, they create unnecessary complexity, strife, and worst of all stress.

Studies have long shown that stress can have a lasting, negative impact on the brain. Exposure to even a few days of stress compromises the effectiveness of neurons in the hippocampus—an important brain area responsible for reasoning and memory. Weeks of stress cause reversible damage to neuronal dendrites (the small “arms” that brain cells use to communicate with each other), and months of stress can permanently destroy neurons. Stress is a formidable threat to your success—when stress gets out of control, your brain and your performance suffer.

Tag: work stress

How to Deal With Work Stress in a Healthy Way | Lifehack

12 Ways Successful People Handle Toxic People | Entrepreneur