‘Health is wholeness and balance, an inner resilience that allows you to meet the demands of living without being overwhelmed.’ – Andrew Weil
Optimal Health
Optimal health is more than just the absence of disease. It allows you to come into contact with the day-to-day stresses of life and still maintain a sense of strength, energy and enjoyment.
Optimal health involves good health care, self-awareness, living according to our values and beliefs, being your own best friend, recognizing the value of family, friends and co-workers, and maintaining an enthusiasm for work, growth and life.
Sounds simple enough.
But stress is a reality for most of us. Statistics Canada found that approximately 1 in 5 employed Canadians experience high or very high levels of work-related stress, with heavy workloads and balancing work and personal life among the most common causes.
The question, however, may not be how we get rid of stress.
It may be how we get better at recognizing and managing the amount of stress that works for us.
Optimal stress is the level of pressure that helps us feel energized, focused and able to respond effectively without becoming overwhelmed. It isn’t a fixed amount. Our optimal level changes depending on the situation, the demands we’re facing and the capacity we have available at the time.
So What Is Stress?
Stress is your response to the world around you—a situation, an event, a demand or a change.
While stress can be related to good or bad events, such as the stress felt the night before a wedding or the stress of facing a significant financial challenge, our body’s response can be very similar. Like a race car at a starting line, the body gears up to meet the challenge of the stressful situation.
And that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
We need some stress. It can give us energy, sharpen our focus, motivate us to take action and help us respond to a challenge. The problem comes when the demands we are facing exceed our ability to cope with them, particularly when that continues over time.
This is where finding your optimal amount of stress becomes important.
Optimal stress isn’t one particular level that works for everyone. It is personal and situational. What feels energizing and challenging to one person may feel overwhelming to another. Even our own capacity changes. A workload we manage quite well one week may feel completely different when we haven’t slept well, are dealing with uncertainty, have challenges at home, or simply haven’t had enough time to recover.
Part of the challenge is that stress is highly individual. What creates stress for you may not create stress for your spouse, neighbour or co-worker. Even when two people are facing the same situation, they may interpret it differently based on their experiences, expectations, available resources and what else is happening in their lives. That is why comparing our ability to cope with someone else’s is rarely very helpful.
The goal isn’t to eliminate stress. It is to become more aware of when stress is helping you engage with what is in front of you and when it is beginning to overwhelm your available capacity.
Stress often becomes a problem gradually. We may initially feel energized by a challenge or deadline. As the pressure continues, we may start to notice that we’re becoming more impatient, distracted or tired, or that it takes longer to recover at the end of the day. If the demands continue without enough opportunity to recover, that useful energy can turn into strain.
The earlier we notice that shift, the more opportunity we have to do something about it. Rather than waiting until we feel completely overwhelmed, we can look at what is contributing to the stress and decide what kind of response will be most useful.
Coping With Stress: Use the S-O-S Principle™
When stress begins to move beyond your optimal level, not every stressful situation requires the same response.
My S-O-S Principle™ provides three different places to look when stress starts to build: the Situation, Ourself, and Support. Sometimes we need to address what is creating the stress. Sometimes we need to focus on how we are responding to it. And sometimes we need to reach out and let others help.
S — Situation: Identify and Solve the Problem
Is it your job causing you stress? A relationship? Too many commitments? Are insignificant problems masking more significant ones?
Once you have identified the actual problem, you can start to think about possible solutions. Should you have a conversation about an unrealistic workload? Do you need counselling to work through a relationship issue? Do you need to simplify your life or change some of the expectations you have placed on yourself?
Sometimes we spend a great deal of energy managing the symptoms of stress when what we really need to do is deal with the stressor itself. When there is something that can be changed, ask yourself: What can I do to solve or reduce the source of this stress?
O — Ourself: Give Your Mind and Body a Break
Not every stressor can be solved immediately. Some can’t be solved at all. This is where we need ways to offset the impact that stress is having on us.
Physical activity can be a very effective stress reducer. It teaches the body to use energy efficiently and can help release some of the pent-up energy created by the stress response.
Volunteering in the community, spending time doing something you enjoy, listening to music, being outside or connecting with people you care about can provide purpose, focus and satisfaction.
Relaxation techniques such as deep breathing, napping and visualization can also give the mind and body a break from stressful situations and the effects of stress.
Offsetting doesn’t make the problem disappear. It gives your system an opportunity to recover so that the stress doesn’t continue to build unchecked.
S — Support: Gather Support From Others
We aren’t meant to manage every stressful situation by ourselves.
Try talking to others and learning to rely on them. Share your concerns with friends, family or trusted colleagues. Sometimes they can help you put the situation into perspective. Sometimes they can offer a solution you haven’t considered. And sometimes simply having someone listen makes the situation feel more manageable.
Look to your community for resources as well. Libraries, community organizations, support groups, health centres, employee assistance programs and other professional resources can all provide valuable support and information.
Seeking support isn’t giving responsibility for your stress to someone else. It is recognizing when another person, perspective or resource can help you manage what you are facing.
Finding Your Optimal Stress Zone
Health is dynamic. Our ability to cope changes as the conditions around us change.
There will be times when we can handle a great deal of pressure and still feel energized, focused and capable. There will be other times when one more demand feels like one demand too many. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we have suddenly become less resilient. It may simply mean that the demands have increased, our available capacity has decreased, or we haven’t had enough opportunity to recover.
That is why the goal isn’t always less stress.
The more useful goal is learning to recognize your own optimal range. Pay attention to the point where challenge and pressure help you focus and perform, and notice when that same pressure starts affecting your energy, patience, concentration, relationships or ability to recover.
Then ask yourself what you need.
Is there something about the situation that I can change or address? What can I do myself to reduce the impact and recover? Or is it time to reach out for support rather than continuing to carry it alone?
We can’t control every demand, deadline, change or difficult situation that comes our way. But we can become more intentional about how we respond to them.
Building resiliency isn’t about becoming so strong that stress no longer affects you. It is about developing the awareness and strategies that help you respond when it does, recover when you need to, and find your way back toward balance.
The goal isn’t a stress-free life. It is having the right amount of stress to help you engage with your life without becoming overwhelmed by it.
Contact Beverly about hosting a stress management workshop for your teams on how to cope with stress and other stress and mental health training. Discover tips to deal with stress and encourage positive stress management techniques!
If you have some strategies to share – comment on this posting!
Additional Resources:
What Is the S-O-S Resilience Principle ™ – A Practical System for Managing Stress in Real Time
What Is Adaptability Quotient (AQ)? A Leadership System for Navigating Change
Humanizing Change: A Leadership Pathway for Supporting People Through Change
Frequently Asked Questions About Optimal Stress
What is optimal stress?
Optimal stress is the amount of pressure or challenge that helps you feel energized, focused and able to respond effectively without becoming overwhelmed. There isn’t one ideal amount of stress for everyone. Your optimal level can change depending on the situation, your available resources, your health, your energy and what else is happening in your life.
Is all stress bad for you?
No. Stress is a normal response to demands, challenges and change. Some stress can help us focus, take action and respond to challenges. Problems are more likely to develop when stress becomes excessive, continues for long periods, or we don’t have enough opportunity to recover.
How do I know when I have too much stress?
Pay attention to changes in your energy, concentration, patience, sleep, relationships and ability to recover. A level of pressure that initially helped you focus may no longer be useful if you are becoming increasingly depleted, distracted or overwhelmed.
Why can two people react differently to the same stressful situation?
Stress is personal and situational. Two people can face the same demand but experience it differently because of their previous experiences, expectations, available resources, current pressures and how they interpret the situation. Even your own response to the same stressor can change depending on your available capacity.
What is the S-O-S Principle™ for managing stress?
The S-O-S Principle™ is a practical way to decide where to focus when stress is building. Look at the Situation and what can be addressed or changed; Ourself and what you can do to manage your response and recover; and Support and who or what might help you manage the situation more effectively.
How can I find my optimal amount of stress?
Start by noticing when pressure leaves you feeling challenged and engaged rather than depleted. Pay attention to the signs that you are moving beyond that point. Your optimal amount isn’t fixed, so the goal is not to find one perfect level of stress. It is to become better at recognizing your capacity and adjusting how you respond as circumstances change.