STRESS REDUCTION
AS A MITIGATION PRACTICE

By Allen J. Pomerantz

THE PROBLEM...
Stress has reached epidemic proportions in our society today, costing the US economy nearly 100 billion dollars from related illnesses and reduced productivity. In disaster response and recovery, stress is amplified. The short-term repression of these stress factors can result in traumatic stress related problems during or even after the event that caused the stress has subsided.

Crisis management courses teach the recognition of the symptoms of stress. An emphasis is placed on receiving proper professional treatment. But can anything be done to prevent or reduce the stress resulting from crisis?

GOOD NEWS!
The answer is YES! There are mitigation practices that can help the individual not only minimize the impact from the stress of a disaster, but also lessen day to day stress.

Why not train and practice stress mitigation techniques just as we do for CPR and First Aid? By learning and practicing stress reduction techniques prior to a stressful event, we can reduce the impact an event will have. The result? We can be more responsive and effective when a traumatic event occurs.

ELEMENTS OF A STRESS REDUCTION PROGRAM
There are three key elements for a stress reduction program:

1. Recognize what stress is and how it is generated.
2. Undergo self-transformation to increase your "stress avoidance"stamina.
3. Adopt a regular practice of meditation as an exercise for stress reduction.

WHAT IS STRESS? HOW IS IT GENERATED?
The dictionary defines stress as a mental or physical tension or urgency, or the pressure causing this. In simple terms, it is a state of mental discomfort. Symptoms are high blood pressure, heart disease, breathing problems, digestive disorders, headaches, muscle pain, skin rashes, etc. Some of the mental symptoms are anger, violence, mood swings, irrational behavior, and tendencies toward use of drugs and alcohol.

Is a stressful life a normal life? Studies and surveys conducted by insurance companies and health organizations indicate that stress related problems have dramatically increased over recent decades. As much as 80 to 90% of all industrial accidents are attributed to stress related problems. Stress is associated with as much as 70% of all absenteeism. Although we have become complacent and accept stress as being normal—it is not. Stress is an abnormal condition that can be mitigated.

Stress is generated from within. It is our internal response to external events. These events can be real or imagined but they all cause a similar effect…we become stressed! Studies indicate that 90% of the stress related perceptions created by the mind are wrong. And yet, these daily occurrences translate into stress related illnesses.

UNDERGO SELF-TRANSFORMATION
Keep a Self-Introspection Diary
In this diary, list the situations, events or conditions that are causing stress. Be sure to include negative thoughts. State what you fear is the worst possible outcome. List the possible actions that could be taken to alleviate the condition. Recognizing and analyzing the consequences often provide immediate alleviation of stress.

Determine What is Important in Life
Upon close examination, one will often discover that some stressful issues are trivial or insignificant. When we determine and focus on the important things in life, the less significant events will be easier to handle. Our energies can then be devoted to dealing with the things that really matter.

Freedom to Choose How We React
We have the freedom to choose how we react to stressful events! In his book The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey suggests that we should be pro-active in our response to events. There are "Circles of Concern"—things that are important to us. There are "Circles of Influence"—things we can do to cause change. We can mitigate stress by focusing on what we can do in the areas that are important. We also must learn how to let go of those things that are outside of our circle of influence.

ADOPT A PRACTICE OF MEDITATION AS AN EXERCISE FOR STRESS REDUCTION
Stress is generated in the mind as a response to stressful issues. Meditation helps to discipline the mind to respond in a positive, pro-active manner resulting in stress reduction.

There are various kinds of meditation. Physical meditation focuses attention on one of the physical senses of sight, hearing, taste, smell or touch. Mental meditation focuses attention within the mind. Another form of meditation is spiritual meditation. Each type of meditation has a common theme—the focus of attention toward a single point.

Meditation helps to control the meandering of the mind. As a result, we can more effectively focus on choosing to react to stressors in a positive, pro-active manner.

The practice of daily stress mitigation can be invaluable! It provides a set of skills which enable us to determine what is important (and what is not) and to react in a pro-active manner within our "Circle of Influence".

If and when traumatic events occur, we have already developed techniques for "First Response"!

About the author:
Allen Pomerantz is a Vice President of MLC and Associates, Inc. Irvine, California and Port Orchard, Washington. He is also Adjunct Faculty in the University of Phoenix’s certificate program for "Business Continuity Planning". Allen is a corporate consultant and has lectured on stress reduction and meditation for more than 25 years. He can be reached at (714) 222-1202.