Dealing with stress is a difficulty of a lifetime. More
accurately, dealing with distress is a difficulty of a lifetime. The
distinction is important for a few reasons.
First, stress is actually vital to our survival. Similar to sugar,
it is a necessary commodity that is viewed, in modern times at least, as hazardous
to our health. In a Nutrition class that I took, we learned that sugar isn’t
bad for you, too much of ANYTHING is bad for you. In this way, we
clarify that stress is a type of pressure, while distress is distinguished as any
stress that exceeds the level of optimal achievement in life.
That being said, learning how to cope with distress can be a
challenge. There are several ways to do so, including learning how to implement
that distress into mere stress, which can be an efficient method for
productivity.
In the ABCX model, distress over a situation can be clearly
exemplified.
In that model, “A” stands for “Actual Event.” This is the
trigger that warrants distress, and could be any number of things, including expected
or unexpected disasters, or even just something long term, such as a mental
illness.
“B” stands for “Both: Resources and Response.” This covers
both what materials and assistance one has on hand to help them to cope, as
well as how they use those resources. Someone with all of the right materials
that doesn’t use them is no better off than someone who doesn’t have the
resources at all. Response is the first variable that is under the control of
the focus of the equation, the subject of the event, per se.
“C” stands for “Cognition.” In other words, how one perceives
the situation and event. This is almost completely under the direct control of
the subject. Madness, after all, can change one’s perceptions of the world to a
nearly unrecognizable state.
All of these add up to the X, or “Xperience” (Get it?). Note
that the total experience is not determined, in total, by things that are
outside of the control of the subject. Such an assumption would violate the
agency of the subject, and ultimately label them a victim of their circumstances.
Alas, this happens all too often in the world today, and levels of despair and
depression have never been higher.
This is most effectively generally addressed by the
psychological technique of CBT, or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Using this
technique, one primarily focuses on the use of Response and Cognition to change
the total experience, with an inordinately high success rate.
In changing one’s perceptions and reactions to the
unchanging resources and events, one can change much of the overcharging and
ultimately unhelpful distress into a much more manageable type and quantity of
stress. In short, much misery can be eliminated and eradicated.
While this style may not be suited for all, nearly everyone
can incorporate most of the principles involved. The system begins by asking about
a specific event that has occurred. After the event has been recorded, the subject
is asked about their emotions regarding the topic. They are then requested to rate
their negative emotions on a scale, generally from 1 to 100.
After that is finished, they are asked to list some thoughts
that they had during the experience that assisted in the devastating emotions. When
they have done that, they rate their current amount of belief in that
particular statement. This continues until several thoughts have been listed,
which are then put under scrutiny by whether or not they commit any of the
following logical fallacies:
All-or-Nothing Thinking / Polarized Thinking.
Overgeneralization.
Mental Filter.
Disqualifying the Positive.
Jumping to Conclusions – Mind Reading.
Jumping to Conclusions – Fortune Telling.
Magnification (Catastrophizing) or Minimization.
Emotional Reasoning
Should/Must Statements;
Labeling;
Personalization
After being judged through these criteria, the subject is asked
to make a new, more accurate statement about the affairs of the world than the
original thought. After doing, so the subject is asked to again rate their
belief in the old thought.
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