Understanding Stress

Stress and Resilience

I’d like to introduce you to my daughter – Gabriella Lowgren. She is one of the most resilient and optimistic people that I know. I’m so proud of her for overcoming anxiety and difficulties concentrating on her studies. It took determination and courage for her to seek support and learn the techniques that enabled her to top her year and achieve her goals.

She is the light of my life and tells me that I’m the coolest person that she knows. Apparently, some of her friends want to be me when they grow up! That makes me feel proud and also makes me smile.

I’d say that one of her strongest character traits is optimism, combined with fortitude (just another word for resilience). This chapter is dedicated to Gabriella and all the lessons that she has taught me along the way.

Do you have someone that you admire?

Think about their character and behaviour traits…

How could you benefit from being more like them?

Understanding Stress

Let’s start with some definitions to provide context…

Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances. And the opposite is eustress. Eustress is a positive form of stress having a beneficial effect on health, motivation, performance, and emotional wellbeing.

Then there’s distress - extreme anxiety, sorrow, or pain. This state occurs after extremely traumatic events in our lives and generally dissipates after a period of grieving and adjustment. If not, then it can move into depression that requires more serious support to shift.?

A certain amount of stress can be a good thing and eustress is definitely a great state of being as it can provide motivation and increased energy.

Types of Negative Stress

Acute stress and chronic stress are the negative stress states that we must seek to manage or avoid.

Acute stress…?

• Very short-term type of stress that can either be positive or more distressing
• Experienced as part of daily life’s ups and downs
• In extreme circumstances can trigger heart attacks, arrhythmias, and sudden death!
• Episodic acute stress - acute stress that is unchecked, excessive, and becomes a way of life that leads to distress

Chronic stress…

• Seems never-ending and inescapable
• Interferes with normal life over an extended period
• The longer it lasts the worse it is for the mind and body
• Causes fatigue, irritability, poor concentration and can lead to heart disease and depression
• Impairs ability to recover when sick

Take a moment to consider the types of stress you are experiencing in your life right now.

Is there any action that you can reasonably take to manage or avoid the negative stress?

You might realise that there are some simple steps that you can take to immediately minimise the impact that stress is having on your life and your wellbeing right now. If so, then what are you waiting for? Take action NOW!

If it is something outside of your control, then consider how you may be able to gain more influence over the situation so you can gradually reduce the stress and its negative impacts.

Anything you can do to lessen the impacts of negative stress in your life is a great thing!

Negative Impacts of Stress

The impacts of acute stress can be extreme, especially if you are experiencing episodic acute stress where acute stress becomes ongoing and leads to a form of heightened chronic stress.

The impacts of chronic stress are almost more insidious as they can be attributed to other issues and often set off a negative chain reaction where the systems are indistinguishable from the causes. Thus, making it more difficult to identify and treat. The best treatment is to avoid or minimise any form of negative stress.

Please take a moment to consider these long lists of physical, mental, and emotional impacts of chronic stress. Then go one step further and tick off how many of them you suffer from on a daily or weekly basis.

Accessed in October 2021 https://www.verywellmind.com/stress-and-health-3145086 Elizabeth Scott

I put a lot of effort into stress reduction techniques, and I still tick 3 boxes in total on a regular basis – muscle tension, dizziness, irritability. When I’m going through a period of increased stress, or I am neglectful of my self-care regime then I add to this with – weight gain, decreased immune system, poor memory, and in extreme cases anxiety in the form of panic attacks. Thankfully this happens rarely due to my discipline and focus.

Stress Management Techniques

Sphere of Concern Model

I first came across this model in Stephen Covey’s book 7 Habits of Highly Effective People and it originated from Gestalt therapy. Gestalt therapy is a form of psychotherapy that emphasises personal responsibility and focuses on the individual's experience in the present moment. It considers both the environmental and social contexts of a person's life, as well as the self-regulating adjustments people make as a result of their overall situation. It was developed by Fritz Perls, Laura Perls, and Paul Goodman in the 1940s and 1950s, and was first described in the 1951 book Gestalt Therapy.

In short, you have the power to influence your perception of your environment to make choices, in this case specifically around your levels of negative stress.

According to Covey, those of us who experience the highest amounts of negative stress are normally spending too long in the Sphere of Concern, such that when we bring our perception back into our Sphere of Control, we reduce both stress and distractions.

I have certainly seen this play out in my own life and my coaching with clients. We can become highly anxious and sometimes frenzied or immobile when we are focused on all the stressful and negative things that are going on in the world. When they are out of our direct control then this wastes time and can make us feel powerless.

Human beings function better when they have some form of control and choice that enables them to take action. Interestingly, one of the issues that contribute to lawyer dissatisfaction is low decision latitude – or low levels of control. The working conditions for junior lawyers often involve long hours, high pressure, little control over the work, and low decision-making latitude. It is possible to reframe your thinking around these concepts and also to consider how more flexibility and autonomy can be afforded to junior lawyers.

On the other hand, if we spend all of our time in our Sphere of Control there is no room for growth or progress. My rule of thumb matches Pareto’s principle of the 80/20 rule. I suggest spending 80% of your time in your Sphere of Control and 20% in your Sphere of Influence. The more you can expand your Sphere of Control then the more you can also expand your Sphere of Influence, and this triggers a virtuous cycle of increased personal control, increased influence, and more choices of action.

According to Martin Seligman in his online article, Why are Lawyers for Unhappy (accessed in April 2022 https://www.lawyerswithdepression.com/articles/why-are-lawyers-so-unhappy/ ), low decision latitude is a major psychological factor that demoralises lawyers, particularly junior ones.

Especially when combined with the high levels of stress that are apparent in most legal workplaces. In the Sphere of Control Model, this aligns with a very small Sphere of Control, and a lack of control has separately been found to be one of the most stressful situations for people in any situation, especially when going through change.

Decision latitude refers to the number of choices an individual has (or perceives they have) when undertaking their work, and this relates to perceived levels of control. Rather shockingly, individuals with high-pressure job demands coupled with low decision latitude have much higher levels of coronary disease and depression. According to Seligman, junior lawyers in major firms often fall into this ‘unhealthy’ job category.

Simple Steps to Reduce Stress

According to the American Psychological Association, there are some relatively simple things we can do to reduce stress and its impacts on our lives. Accessed April 2022 https://www.apa.org/topics/stress/tips

The key message is to reduce the impact of stress by making time for enjoyable activities every day, and to…

1. Identify what’s causing stress and remove or reduce the impacts - if you feel stressed, write down the cause, your thoughts, and your mood. Then you can develop a plan to address the cause. This might mean doing better prioritisation, reducing time spent with negative individuals, or reframing a situation to appreciate the learnings.
2. Build strong relationships and positive connections - relationships can be a source of stress and they can also serve as stress buffers. Reach out to family or close friends and let them know you’re having a tough time. They may be able to offer practical assistance and support. Strong social support can improve resilience to stress, although choose your support people wisely. Friends or family members will be good at supporting you in different ways (listening, sympathising, bringing over dinner, or babysitting) and some may inadvertently make the situation worse, may be good at listening and sympathising. The act of giving support can also increase positive emotions, and it’s important to ensure the balance is roughly equal. Friends who seek support and never give any may increase your stress.
3. Manage your emotions and walk away when you’re angry – consider your emotional reaction and whether or not it is beneficial to the situation or inappropriately volatile. Use the emotion as interesting feedback and choose a more appropriate response or positive frame of mind before re-engaging. Committing to regular exercise supports a more positive mood through the production of endorphins and it can also be a method to burn off any frustrations before they become angry outbursts. More on this in Module 3.
4. Rest your mind and ensure you get the recommended seven or eight hours of good quality sleep each night. Remember that the time you are in bed doesn’t always equate to the time you are asleep. I find that I need to be in bed for 8.5 to 9 hours in order to get better 7.5 and 8 hours of good quality sleep. Incorporating practices such as meditation or yoga can also assist in quietening the mind.
5. Seek good nutrition and follow a healthy diet – during times of stress the central nervous system releases adrenaline and cortisol. These stress hormones impact the function of the digestive tract. Acute stress often makes your appetite disappear, whilst chronic stress can cause fat and sugar cravings. There is research that suggests high cortisol combined with high sugar consumption can lead to dangerous fat deposits around our internal organs. A healthy diet protects your health and improves resilience by providing more physical energy to deal with challenges.
6. Avoid substance abuse – self-medication to take your mind off stress and to dampen the senses can lead to larger problems down the track, and we already know that lawyers have a higher tendency to abuse drugs and alcohol than most other professions. These substances don’t solve the root cause of the problem and can have serious health effects.
7. Relax your muscles and reduce tension - stress causes muscles to tense and this can lead to tension headaches, backaches, and general fatigue. It also increases the chance of injury. Tactics such as yoga, stretching, massages, saunas and or warm baths can help to alleviate muscle tension. Especially warm baths with a few cups of Epsom salts and infrared saunas.
8. Practice mindfulness or meditation – according to the APA, there is a strong body of research that shows mindfulness and meditation can reduce anxiety and psychological stress. As little as 5 minutes can be sufficient to reduce stress hormones, blood pressure, muscle tension, digestive distress, and other stress-related symptoms. Medication and mindfulness are covered extensively in a later chapter.
9. Cultivate good sleep practices to protect and improve your sleep – there is no dispute that stress during the day impacts our quality of sleep at night. Poor sleep can impact cognition and create more negative moods, which create a more nature spiral. It is important to have a consistent sleep routine that allows time to wind down before the lights go out. Good sleep habits are covered extensively in a later chapter.
10. Move your body – exercise or brisk movement can improve sleep and help to reduce stress. Physical activity reduces our levels of perceived stress and can also cancel out some of the negative effects of stress, including negative impacts on the immune system. It could be as simple as a brisk 30-minute walk. Exercise is also covered in more detail in a later chapter.
11. Spend time doing something you enjoy - this could be spending time in nature, reading a non-work-related book, doing a puzzle, or watching an uplifting program or funny movie. Taking a moment to notice nature (in real life or simply a picture) helps to refocus and calm the mind. When things get hectic, people often stop doing leisure activities or participating in favourite pastimes – this can be counterproductive.
12. Reframe your thinking - reframing your thoughts around stress and specific negative events can help manage your emotions and reduce feelings of stress. One of the most well-researched and supported treatments for stress and anxiety is cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT). This therapy is founded on the understanding that our thoughts influence our emotions, which in turn influence our behaviours. If you feel yourself ruminating or heading into a negative spiral, then it’s good if you can break the pattern and put your mind elsewhere until you are calm enough to put together a practical action plan.
13. Get help - if you continue to feel overwhelmed and self-help isn’t working, consult with a psychologist or other mental health professional who can help you learn how to manage stress effectively. Especially seek urgent assistance if you have persistent thoughts of self-harm by contacting emergency services.

Increasing Resilience

“Proactively working to develop mental strength increases your resilience to stress and reduces the toll it takes on you both physically and mentally.” Amy Morin

Amy Morin is a licensed clinical social worker, college psychology instructor, and psychotherapist. She's also the Editor-in-Chief of Verywell Mind and the host of The Verywell Mind Podcast. She has written several bestselling books; my favourite is 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don't Do.

The ability to be adaptable enables us to be nimble and adjust to new conditions more quickly. The ability to be resilient will enable us to bounce back once a crisis has passed. It’s important to be adaptable during difficult times and resilient afterwards!

Most legal roles, indeed, all professional roles, involve a certain amount of stress, so it’s critical to find ways to improve our resilience.

Understanding Resilience

Sometimes it’s useful to start with definitions to establish context and provide anchors of meaning.

Resilience is the capacity of a person to recover quickly from difficulties or toughness. For substances or objects, it’s the capacity to spring back into shape, or elasticity. The synonyms are pretty cool - flexibility · pliability · suppleness · plasticity · elasticity · springiness · spring · give · durability · ability to last · strength · sturdiness · toughness · strength of character · hardiness · adaptability · buoyancy.

Resilience Reduces the Impact of Stress

I need to share that as I have been preparing this newsletter, I could feel my mood shifting. Simply thinking about stress is making me stressed and pushing me down into a negative state of mind.

So now that I’ve convinced you about the serious negative impacts of stress, let’s see how we can shift this influence and increase the positivity in our lives.

The right amount of stress can have surprising benefits, including -

• Increased focus
• Increased confidence
• Improved learning
• Improved memory
• Better performance
• More alertness

So, what determines the right amount of stress, and when does stress move from being good for us to being bad?

The answer differs widely, the same stressor may be manageable for one person and overwhelming for another. People who feel resilient and confident that they can manage stress are much less likely to be overwhelmed by it. Stress is much less likely to be harmful when you have some control over the situation.

Those who’ve had a lot of stress in early life may be more vulnerable to the harmful effects of stress at lower levels than others. One of the most important things you can do to support yourself and limit the impact of stress is to develop increased resilience.

Characteristics of Resilient People

Bouncing back is great! Resilience can provide a springboard for growth and transformation.

Resilient people show characteristics including –

• Holding positive views of themselves and their abilities
• Possessing the capacity to make realistic plans and stick to them
• Having a strong sense of control over their lives
• Being a good communicator
• Viewing themselves as fighters rather than victims
• Having high emotional intelligence and managing emotions effectively

All these skills can be learnt and improved through practice.

Simple Steps to Increase Resilience

A leading psychologist Dr. Mark Winwood, Director of Psychological Services for AXA Health in the United Kingdom developed a guide to help individuals build their resilience and become better equipped to manage stress and deal with life’s challenges.

According to his research, Dr. Winwood has identified 5 key factors that help build our resilience - energy, perspective, priorities, relationships, and emotional intelligence.

1. Improve your energy – Energy management is key to building resilience as it influences how well we sleep. Taking regular exercise, staying hydrated, and reducing caffeine intake can all help control our energy levels to support good quality sleep.
2. Get some perspective – A considered, and reasonable approach can help us to see the bigger picture when we’re thinking over a problem – and then come up with solutions. Taking a short, brisk walk can help our clarity of thought and problem-solving by allowing us to reflect.
3. Think about your priorities – It’s important to take time for ourselves in order to relax and think about our goals in life based on our values and strengths.
4. Create meaningful relationships – Having a support network of family, friends, colleagues, and other social groups helps us feel connected and valued. This is important when we’re facing awkward or difficult situations because we know where to find support, advice, and comfort.
5. Work on your emotional intelligence?– Being able to identify and manage our own emotions, as well as understand and identify others' emotions, can help us see things objectively. This can help when we feel threatened. Our interpersonal skills also help us connect emotionally with others as part of building resilience.

Direct quote from press release access October 2021 https://www.axa.co.uk/newsroom/media-releases/2017/top-psychologist-launches-new-resilience-guide-as-young-people-fear-for-the-future/

Find out more…

Understanding and managing stress are covered in detail in Module 3 of The POSITIVE Lawyer program.

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My aim is to inspire you to transform your working life and achieve great things.