Question

My whole life I have definitely been a type A person. I have always been goal-oriented and very driven to succeed. I don’t think that is necessarily a bad thing, but it can definitely lead to stress. In college I had a very demanding engineering major. I also worked part time. Between homework and work I was extremely busy, so I would be very upset if anything got in the way of what I needed to do. Traffic jams would make me so stressed that I could actually feel my blood pressure rising. If a friend called me up to chat, I would try to get rid of him quickly. I would feel very annoyed and impatient if he seemed to want to stay on the line. Even when I finally managed to do something that was supposed to be “relaxing,” like going for a bike ride, I would find myself becoming really competitive and trying to pass all the other bikers. In the end I would work out so hard that I was exhausted and not relaxed. It was only when I took a health class and did a stress survey that I realized how stressful my lifestyle was. I also learned that much of the stress was caused by my own attitude. So I made some changes in my thought process. My new philosophy was to focus more on trying to enjoy the moment, rather than always pushing ahead toward some distant goal. Now I try to make a little time for myself each day, and I try to appreciate little things like talking with friends, going for a walk, or just sitting under a tree. I am still working on a hard major and I am very busy, but I have managed to be a little more low-key about it all. My attitude now has helped me to be happier and less stressed.

Critical Thinking Questions

1. If someone you knew was stressed all the time like Ben indicated at the beginning of his story, what are some stress reduction techniques that you could recommend?

2. Are you a “Type A” or “Type B” person? What are the greatest sources of stress in your life right now?

3. What stress-management techniques help you to feel less stressed?

Answer 1

1. Stress is something that is unavoidable and poor management of stress results in frustration, anger, nervousness and often leads to health issues. If someone is stressed all the time like Ben, I would initially suggest meditation as part of his morning activities at least for a short period. It can be anything like a prayer, yoga, exercise or just maintain a stable and calm mind without thinking about any stressful things. The next thing I would suggest is planning. For a goal-oriented person, it is necessary to frame a plan or schedule that gives enough time to rest or sleep and also has a backup plan that accepts and controls unexpected events. Planning is not only helpful to allocate time for each and every aspect but also helps to measure whether the goal is in an appropriate path. The hardest part is not the planning but the implementation until it gets routine and the individual gets used to it.

2. I was a Type B person until I completed my education but now being aged 30 years I am a type-A though I don’t look like it for the outside world. I am also doing my Masters in Industrial Safety engineering that adds up additional responsibilities along with the career and marriage life. My greater source of stress is time and money management. I took some calculated risk and left my well settled and well-paid job to pursue my Masters and to look after my family (as I have been working in another country). Some of the things didn’t go well as I planned because of which 24 hours in a day is not enough for me but still, I am pushing hard to go as per my plan and relieve out of stress.

3. I feel stressed a lot of time and some of my habits that keep me out of stress are:

• I would call my close friend or my parents and talk to them. It not only relieves my stress but also helps to avoid it through their advice and ideas.
• If the stress about my personal things that cannot be shared with anyone I would allocate time for prayer or I will just sleep. Sleeping is not only the best alternative to avoid stress when compared to alcohol but also gives fresh ideas when we woke up and it has helped me a lot of time.
• Music is another stress relief for me. Being a guitarist, I will either play my guitar or just listen to music with headphones. Music, Movies, Games, Videos, Social media, etc., all comes under this same category. At work, I used to play games (especially Clash of clans) even during busy situations which I used to refer to my colleagues the stress buster.