Stress is a necessary human condition.
Without it, we do not breathe, walk, talk, sleep or eat.
Without stress, we stagnate.
Stress leads to motivation.
Stress means pressure or tension.
Stress is neither good nor bad.
Positive, healthy stress is known as eustress.
Negative or destructive stress is known as distress.
The situation or context in which stress occurs, and how it is dealt with, determines the quality of stress.
Remaining healthy with today's demands requires patience and balance.
There is pressure in maintaining our homes, jobs and relationships.
Physical, financial, spiritual and social health require time, a commodity we often feel there is a lack of.
Conversely, too much empty time could be stressful.
Vacation time reflects our perceptions and comfort with stress.
Some people do as much as they can during time off.
Others seek to do as little as possible.
Either approach carries its own set of responsibilities.
Various stressors motivate our work.
These include providing basic needs of daily living for us and our families, social interactions, and a sense of membership and productivity.
Work itself can serve as the stressor for rewarding ourselves with playtime or luxury items.
The costs of distress in the workplace are personal and financial, and affect everyone directly or indirectly.
Compromised individuals are less productive and generate greater health care expenditures.
One individual's distress or eustress can potentially infect the entire environment.
Workplace distress at its worst extreme has involved violence.
Unfortunately, it is these incidences that gain the media's attention.
It is human nature to ask questions in hindsight how to better recognize and prevent potential adversities.
While the past cannot be changed, there is always opportunity to learn from it.
Fortunately, most workplace distress does not result in human trauma.
Employers and employees share the responsibilities to recognize the potential stressors that affect the workplace.
It begins by recognizing our own mental and physical health states, and what we bring with us into the work environment.
Awareness of our needs and the ability to functionally fulfill them requires conscientious practice.
When we are stable, we are more receptive to our external environment.
This allows us to protect ourselves and still reach out to assist others.
Awareness is not hypervigilance or paranoia.
It is a sense of self-confidence that results from practice.
Physical exercise builds physical strength, and mental health exercise builds mental stamina.
Both are required for proper growth.
Effort is required, but the outcome can be very good.
Communications will enhance mutual job satisfaction, for both employers and employees.
It may include asking for help or asking another if they might be receptive to assistance.
No one should be regarded as too high up or too low in the business setting.
Expressing sincere concern for another is validating.
Interventions are available, informally and professionally.
In a world of increasing complexities and expenses, people may not be receptive to yet another demand.
The price of denial, however, cannot be measured in dollars.
The issue at hand is quality of life.
The workplace doesn't have to be distressful.
It may prove to be the optimal environment for discovering joy and opportunity.
Steven Rubin,MD, is an adult and geriatric psychiatry private practitioner in Reno.
You can reach him at 329-4284.
