How to Navigate Thought-Induced Stress

Written by Megan Prentiss

What is stress? Stress is a common reaction to things happening around us, like tight deadlines, unexpected interruptions, bad news, or getting sick. These stress triggers can be one-time events or ongoing challenges. However, while some stressors are beyond our control, others are created by our own thoughts and behaviors.

You might think that it doesn't really matter what causes the stress, you just want relief from the stress, but that is only a short-term solution. So what is the long-term solution to help you navigate and cope with stress that is fully constructed by your own thoughts?

First, determine if the root of the stress is truly thought-induced and not rooted in an external force.

Are you feeling overly responsible for a mistake? Not capable of doing anything well?

Are you stressed not knowing or feeling appreciated? Valued? Admired? Successful in the eyes of others?

Are you not living up to your expectations? Feeling inadequate? Not living up to your ideal?

Are you worried about fitting in?

Are you feeling trapped to confront problems?

Do you feel uncomfortable stepping out of your comfort zone? Lacking control?

Our stress is often a reaction to our beliefs, in large part the result of how our personality habits can distort reality. The good news is that we can dramatically reduce stress by adjusting our attitude. Because when we can take control of our unhelpful beliefs, it alters our consequent feelings that will help us to better cope.

It means consciously remembering the totality of who we are in our resourcefulness and wholeness. We also must think more clearly about what’s going on in our heads and body, expanding our awareness and understanding. Even if our attitudes and judgements are more unconscious and deeply rooted, our response can be intentionally practiced and shifted over time. Research also suggests that if you approach a situation as a challenge, rather than a threat, you won’t trigger nearly the same stress response intensity.

When you're feeling stressed, take a moment to identify the activating event, your belief about it, and your consequence. This can help you to see that your stress is often caused by your thoughts and beliefs, and that you have the power to change them. The ABC approach can help with this in many different situations:

* **A** is the activating event (what triggers your stress).

* **B** is your belief about the activating event (how you interpret it).

* **C** is your consequence (how you feel and behave).

For example,

If A, the activating event is: You made a mistake at work.

If B is, "How irresponsible! I’ll never be able to live it down or recover!”

Then, C is likely to be an emotional response that is Scared & Troubled.

BUT,

If B is "Oh, I’m so capable in my resourcefulness to fix this mistake. I’m reminded that I’m smart, responsible, and very reliable.”

Then C is likely to be an emotional response that’s Compassionate & Empowered.

Or, if you're feeling stressed about a work deadline, you might think, "I'm not going to be able to finish this on time." This belief is likely to make you feel stressed, which can make it even harder to focus on your work. However, if you can challenge your belief and think, "I've finished work deadlines before, and I know I can do this one too," you're likely to feel more confident and less stressed. This will make it easier to focus on your work and get the job done.

We may not be capable of changing the emotional reaction that we experience when stress triggers happen. But, we have tremendous inner capacity to cope with our stress better when we pinpoint what triggered it and appraise the options to relate and respond to it

Megan is an ICF-Certified leadership coach and consultant for individuals and teams to create what they want in their professional ambition and achieve exponentially greater fulfillment, impact, and results. She also uses the Enneagram as a developmental framework for deeper inner work and for relating better to others’ personality patterns and habits. The Enneagram system also can help to identify what causes stress in our lives and developmental pathways to relieve those stressors.