Introduction

The problem with stress is...

Stress Makers

Stress Symptoms

Stress Busters

Balanced Life Style
What do you do when stress takes hold?
Create a positive self image
Thought awareness
Unresolved conflicts, unpleasant memories
Talk to your partner
Positive visualization
Problem buster
Plan your life
Body language
Breathing
Meditation
Relaxation
Take a holiday
Scream
Smoking Alcohol & Drugs
Laughter

INTRODUCTION

Some fifteen years ago there was a man I knew well who, having arrived in England penniless after a couple of years touring Africa, started his own business in wholesale fresh food manufacture. The business grew very quickly. The products were of good quality and were readily accepted by the market. Within 6 months of the start, the business had to move to larger premises and a year later expanded again to take over the premises next door.

The business continued to expand. The food products were fresh and consequently had to be produced at night and delivered early each morning by seven trucks and vans, six days a week. The owner of the business was stretched very thin. During the day there were customers to see, marketing, and general business and financial management. In the evening and through the night there was production to supervise.

The company continued to thrive and so did the owner. The pressure, time deadlines and success conspired together to create an almost constant adrenaline high.

Five years after the business started a serious problem occurred in one of the production lines which was never traced. The problem seemed to strike with no predictability and caused major problems with the products and customer satisfaction. Eventually despite major efforts to solve the problem the business had to close down with considerable financial losses.

The owner of the business not surprisingly started to suffer from the effects of stress, high blood pressure, sweating, breathing difficulties, loss of appetite, etc. etc. etc. but the stress caused by the closure of the business was only partly to blame. The major contributor had in fact been the constant exposure to a high level of stress. The stress seemed good at the time, it was exciting, it was probably a positive contribution to the early success of the venture, but in the end it was probably a contributory factor to it’s downfall.

I can talk with some authority about this business because I was the owner and it was me who suffered from this prolonged stress exposure. At one stage when my blood pressure was out of control I was taking something called "Beta Blockers" to calm it down. I was a young man at the time in my early thirties and I realized then that the pills may be helping short term but I would need to take a serious look at my life style if I am to get back in control.

Most of us in business thrive on stress. We love it when it works and ignore it when it doesn’t. Our best performances are achieved under stress and without the stress we would probably only be mediocre.

Stress is good but it must be managed if it is to remain good.

Throughout this work you will find advice on how to keep stress under control. We will discuss:

Stress Makers - those things about ourselves and our environment that contribute to stress

Stress Symptoms - how to recognize whether the stress in your life is getting too much to cope with.

Stress Busters - ways to control the stress makers and considerably improve the quality of your life.

I hope you enjoy reading through this work and take the advice seriously. There is no need for you to suffer from the effects of prolonged stress before you take control of your life.

Eight out of ten executives suffer in one way or another from stress. Seven out of the eight deny it!