How to manage stress in this urban rat race

Stress, what was once a physical term describing physical pressure exerted on one thing to another has come to common use in behavioural and health science. Stress in this context refers to bodily processes created by circumstances that place physical or psychological demands on an individual through various stressors either psychological or physical (Krohne, 2002). Silent and deadly, stress according to American Heart Association (2012), is related to increased in high blood pressure, stroke and more importantly heart attack, the world’s number 1 killer. Not only that, stress is also thought to be one of the major reasons for the increase in suicide rate to 401 in 2009 from just 364 in 2008 in Singapore. Ms Christine Wong, executive director of Samaritan of Singapore (SOS) said: "In many suicide cases, there may not be an isolated factor leading to suicide, but an accumulation of various stresses, overwhelming the individual [...]” (CNA, 2010). According to Ms Wong also, individuals with fewer coping mechanisms, weak family support and social networks may be more vulnerable when they are overwhelmed by feelings of desperation and hopelessness. In this dynamic urban rat race, stress can be managed through sense of control and the importance of social support.

A sense of control in situation determines the coping ability in an individual. In a now famous study conducted by University College London, Whitehall study, it was revealed that the lower an individual position in an organisation or even social hierarchy the higher is the mortality rate. This is the exact opposite of the common notion that those in the position of power are more likely to die from diseases such as high blood pressure and heart attack (UCL, 2004). Why is this so? After accounting for various variables such as diet, daily activities and obesity, it was determine that the main reason for this is the difference in the level of control. Those higher in the hierarchy although has higher job demands but they are found to have higher degree of control in their work place. This includes their ability to determine certain choices in their workplace such as deadlines and pace of work. Therefore, in order to manage stress it is important to have a strong sense of control and this can be done through the understanding of empowerment and locus of control.

 Empowerment is a multidimensional social process through which individual or groups gain better understanding and control over their lives (WHO, 2010). Through the empowerment process, individuals are able to overcome powerlessness and gaining control of one’s life by removing the formal or informal barriers and the transformation of power relations between individual. This can be done through having power in the decision making process.

What is most frustrating in workplace is the inability of oneself to make decisions. In a hierarchal society or workplace decision making is always a top-down situation and those in the lower step has to adhere to any decision made by the higher up even one that lead to their own death such as in the famous poem, March of the Light Brigade by Lord Tennyson. In this situation, decision making process is almost an impossible aspect in work place but not all is lost.

Empowerment can be done through the ability of individual to exert some control over the event of their lives not only in workplace but life in general. Although it is usually a given in workplaces where the superior decides to give some decision-making power to the subordinates, this sense of empowerment can be achieve by being participative in discussions or meetings. When this is not possible, participation is office activities or even social activities such as sports and clubs helps in creating a sense of control in individuals. This is because by having a say in even in the minutest decision in life, that sense of control is paramount in the management of stress as it create a sense of belonging and independence in life as a whole.

The benefit of social support is always neglected in this complex urban rat race. We often disregard the importance of having colleagues, friends, close friends and most importantly family in our daily lives. With the high emphasis in individual proficiency and achievement, the importance of social support is place in the back seat and the team work has to printed in bold and mounted on walls to a constant reminder of its importance. In the stressful condition when achievement is what matter most individual can become reclusive and individualistic preferring to stay alone in isolation compared to socialisation. This is especially through in suicidal cases where people starts to internalise their problem and refuse to open up (SOS, 2010).

In a study conducted by Heinrich and colleagues (2003) it was found out that in the presence of social support, men undergoing  acute physiological stress exhibited lower cortisol responses, a hormone released when we are stressed-out. In a separate research conducted by Kamarck et. al. (1990) it was revealed that mere presence of a friend was associated with lower blood pressure reaction to an acute psychological stressor (Uchino, 2006). These researches clearly show that peer support is essential not as a coping mechanism but as a source of motivation to keep on going in life.

In conclusion, there are various other coping mechanisms available for stress management but none is as important as having a control in life and having those that matters to you supporting your every decisions. It is equally important to have a good sense of control over our life but at the same time without the support of our love ones those decision-making and achievement that we garnered would come to waste. We are a social being through and through; we need the sense of being accepted by the society but most important we need the sense of being accepted by those that we hold dear. When all these can be achieved, stress can take the back seat of our mind and remain the mechanism that save our life instead of driving it to its perpetual death. 

REFERENCES

American Heart Association (2012, June 7). Stress and blood pressure. American Heart Association. Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/HighBloodPressure/PreventionTreatmentofHighBloodPressure/Stress-and-Blood-Pressure_UCM_301883_Article.jsp

Chee, F. (2010, July 27). Rise in suicide among the young. healthxchange. Retrieved from http://www.healthxchange.com.sg/News/Pages/Rise-in-suicides-among-the-young.aspx

Ferrie, J. E. (Ed.). (2004). Work stress and health: the Whitehall II study. London, UK: Public and Commercial Service Union. Retrieved from http://www.ucl.ac.uk/whitehallII/pdf/Whitehallbooklet_1_.pdf

Hoe, Y. N. (2010, July 26). Increase in suicide rates in S'pore, male suicides double that of female. Channelnewsasia. Retrieved from http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/1071583/1/.html

Krohne, H. W. (2001). Stress and coping theories. In N. J. Smelser & P. B. Baltes (Eds),

The international encyclopedia of the social and behavioral sciences (Vol. 22, pp. 15163–15170).

Oxford, England: Elsevier.

Samaritans of Singapore (2010, July 26). Increase in suicide rate - young men and youths at risk. samaritans. Retrieved from http://www.samaritans.org.sg/Media%20Guidelines/SOS%20News%20Release%2026%20July%202010%20-%20Increase%20in%20Suicide%20Rate%20in%202009.pdf

Uchino, B. N. (2006). Social support and health: a review of physiological processes potentially underlying links to disease outcomes. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 29(4), 377-387.

WHO (2010). User empowerment in mental health - a statement by the WHO regional Office for Europe. WHO regional Office for Europe. Retrieved August 18, 2012, from http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/113834/E93430.pdf