SEARCHING FOR THE PERFECT BALANCE:

WAYS OF REDUCING STRESS

The avalanche of daily responsibilities from home and workplace,

the debts and in general, the hectic rhythm in which things happen

leave a deep mark on our organism. It is about that amount of

symptoms and sensations united under the generic name of “stress”.

The stress is a state of tension, strain and discomfort. It appears when

we are not capable of overrunning a difficulty and our entire efforts

disorganize our life. Psychologists consider that not only the negative

stress (“distress”) exists, but also a positive stress (“eustress”).

However, when the pressure becomes so huge that the entire body is

turned upside down it is high time one should take some immediate

measures, the help not belonging only to the person, but also to the

organization he/she works for and the society he/she is a part of.

Firstly, if we do not find suitable ways to handle or eliminate this

“modern disease” as it was called by experts, our body and soul will be

affected, changing our entire behaviour. As Pieter J.D. Drenth and his

team observed, we might feel pain, tension and a series of different

reactions, such as physiological changes, work dissatisfaction, anxiety,

1
sexual problems, authoritarian conduct, strokes, alcohol and drug

addiction, smoking, absenteeism, neuroticism, violence and accidents.1

That is why it is important not to underestimate its negative effects

and come up with the best ways to counteract.

With the extension of the concept of “stress” and the

technological, demographical and political changes a society goes over

there are some conditions to maintaining an environment of daily

stress, ways of controlling it having multiplied. In one of his books, K.E.

Hart suggests that there are four approaches to stress management:

physiological, behavioural, psychological and environmental.2 The

physiological approach is considered to be the most popular for

properly handling stress. Various techniques can be used to reduce

excessive physiological efforts. Some examples could be: dancing,

therapy through movement, sport, deep muscle relaxation (this is an

easy but powerful way to counteract the “flight or fight” response-our

body’s primitive inborn response that prepares it to fight or flee from a

threat to our survival; all that one can do is to sit comfortably, close

his/her eyes and concentrate on the movement of the breath as it

enters and leaves the body; this type of relaxation may increase the

ability to concentrate and reduce blood pressure, pulse rate and

1
Pieter Johan Diederik Drenth, Henk Thierry, C. J. De Wolff, A Handbook Of Work
And Organizational Psychology: Work Psychology vol.2 (London, UK: Psychology
Press, 2000), 148.
2
Kenneth E. Hart, Introducing Stress and Stress Management to Managers vol.5
(Bingley, UK: Journal of Managerial Psychology, 1990), pp 6-23.

2
muscular tension), beginning a yoga or meditation class, avoiding food

high in sugar, salt, white flour, saturated fats or chemical additives.

Time management is an example of behavioural approach. This

approach is useful in managing the stress caused by other people, for

example those who demand one’s time and try to offload work on

him/her. By training to be more assertive people can learn to say “no”

to tasks that might precipitate stressful situations. It is recommended

to tackle one thing at a time, allocate time in relation to priorities in

order not to become tired and overcharged, learn to communicate,

share problems, avoid isolation and built networks; also try to establish

objectives for the life at work but also for the private life. In addition,

people who consider the negative aspect of a situation experience

more stress related problems than those who try to focus on the

positives and see the bright side of the situation. Therefore, rely on

oneself, reduce perfectionism, be more optimistic, provide positive

feedback, acknowledge problems, consult the values and do not

suppress feelings, share them with everybody! Moreover, Hart

mentions the environmental approach which tries to create

environments that do not generate excessive stress (as an illustration,

in an office try re-positioning the desks, change lighting or colour

schemes, here being helpful the “Feng Shui” art).

It is essential not to deny the existence of stress as some have

the tendency of doing for fear of recognizing a weakness or of having

3
to reconsider a part of themselves and their activities. To cope with

stress people can favour all the conducts liable of maintaining or

improving one’s health condition. According to an article from a

Romanian magazine one can follow four anti-stress schedules.3 The

first one is called “NEW START” and is conceived as an assembly of

recommendations whose initials give the title: N-NUTRITION; E-

EXERCISE; W-WATER; S-SUN; T-TEMPERANCE; A-AIR; R-REST; T-TRUST.

A. Thorp, the author of this schedule highlights the power of the two

“T”, trust and temperance, in order to keep the balance in critical

situations. Sobriety limits the possibility of a chaotic evolution of the

behaviour and faith in God stabilizes us emotionally, contributes to the

maintenance of endorphins’ secretion which has a role of stimulating

immunity.

Practicing activities which make us satisfied induces a mood

emotionally favourable and opposed to one typical of a stressful

situation. Therefore, one can try another schedule proposed by the

author of the article, named “Roy Masters” which suggests that the

acquisition of health and the disproof of stress can be made only by

self-control and confidence in our strengths. To achieve this goal there

are some conditions: take notice of the stress mood and find its

reasons; put aside the workaholism; refrain from using alcohol, drugs,

tobacco, sedatives; make relaxation and emotion control exercises or

3
Ovidiu Popa-Velea, “Cum sa reducem stresul ?,” Psihologia Azi No2 (2004), 50-51.

4
use the one called “Tallis”, centred on avoiding negative thoughts,

being more optimistic. The person needs to eliminate the tendency of

self-accusation and underestimation and to value personal success.

Some of the aspects the most noxious of the stress are negative

emotions. It is necessary to balance these emotional moods injurious

to our entire system through positive thoughts, thing that can be done

by the last schedule, “Birkenbihl”, that suggests the efficient

administration of the “stress energy” by ways such as: the so-called

emotional “catharsis”, a sort of tension discharge; exercising at least

15 minutes a day; practicing activities which generate “eustress”:

gardening, listening to good music, having a body massage, taking a

long hot bath, laughing more often, meeting friends and spending

quality time with the family, acquiring periodically little gifts, achieving

important aims, buying a pet (especially a cat or a dog) and so on.

Mother Nature can be very useful in our struggle against stress

by using fragrant plants. For example, mint and hop have a calming

effect on our body, these plants being used since olden times, when

our great-grandmothers filled the pillows with scented herbs to offer a

quiet and deep sleep. The rose is not called for no reason “the queen

of flowers”, its perfume stimulating the function of the cardiovascular

system and protecting the organism against pathogenic bacteria.

Conifers and their virtues are known for a long time. The smell of

needle leaves, resin and fir cones calm the nervous system and

5
stabilize the function of lungs. Citric fruits are helpful too. The smell of

lemon lowers the sensibility to stress and a hot tea with a lot of lemon

increases the mood for work.

Our nutrition has modified considerably over the century with

more secure products from the point of view of bacteria and better

from the point of view of quality. The famous psychiatrist and head

manager of “Stimulus”-consulting office for behavioural problems-

Patrick Légeron said in one of his works that there are three major

tendencies of modern nourishment suggested by nutritionists: lack of

fibres (which facilitate digestive transit), a great percentage of lipids

(which encourages cardiovascular diseases and obesity) and a great

consumption of salt (which favours arterial hypertension).4 Eating well

in order to increase the endurance to stress resides in introducing in

our food fibres, fish, complex carbohydrates (pasta, bread, cereals,

rice, lentils, beans, peas), vegetal oils, a lot of fruits and vegetables

and limiting sugars and fat meat.

Thus, stress is not an invincible necessity. We are not sentenced

for good to endure its negative effects. The solutions are collective and

individual. Firstly collective, because the society is directly affected,

though it denies its existence or avoids the problems, accusing the

individual and sending him/her “to see the psychologist”. But each of

us has in his/her interior the ability to fight against stress by learning

4
Patrick Légeron, Cum sa te aperi de stres, trans. Genoveva Teleki (Bucuresti:
Editura Trei, 2003), 311-312.

6
to control our physical and psychological reactions and taking

advantage of the numerous possibilities today’s development of

research offers.

7
 Works Cited

Drenth, Pieter Johan Diederik, Henk Thierry, and C. J. De Wolff. A

Handbook Of Work And Organizational Psychology: Work

Psychology vol.2. London, UK: Psychology Press, 2000.

Hart, Kenneth E. Introducing Stress and Stress Management to

Managers vol.5 Bingley, UK: Journal of Managerial Psychology,

1990.

Légeron, Patrick. Cum sa te aperi de stres, trans. Genoveva Teleki.

Bucuresti: Editura Trei, 2003.

Popa-Velea, Ovidiu. “Cum sa reducem stresul ?.” Psihologia Azi No2,

2004.