Navigating Stress and Rebuilding Hope Through Perceptual Style
Stress is an inevitable part of life – a natural human response to difficult situations, pressures, and demands (the kinds that cause feelings of tension and worry).
Stress is a huge topic and one that’s increasingly important to address, considering how pervasive it is in our daily lives. Whether it’s related to work, our personal lives, or broader societal issues, stress affects us all.
While stress in small amounts can be motivating (we all know someone who says they work best under pressure), excessive doses of stress can result in overwhelm, anxiety, and even health problems.
One blog post isn’t going to solve the issue by any stretch of the imagination. But I can give you a few quick Perceptual Style insights about stress that may surprise you!
How Perceptual Styles Experience Stress
Stress manifests differently for each Perceptual Style, but it’s often triggered not by the presence of the stressors themselves but by the absence of key motivators – leading to the loss of hope, feeling a loss of control, or even the feeling of being trapped.
Let’s look at a few stress triggers for each Perceptual Style:
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Vision: Feels stress when future possibilities shrink, and optimism turns to pessimism due to a bleak picture of the future.
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Activity: Stressed by the lack of action, loss of connection within their networks, and feeling constrained in a static environment.
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Flow: Experiences stress from crumbling community ties and feelings of isolation.
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Adjustments: Finds stress in chaos and the disappearance of structured processes.
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Methods: Stressed by disorder, unfairness, and unclear facts.
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Goals: Faces stress by obstacles that block problem-solving and achievement
Group Dynamics and Stress
When you are experiencing personal stress, it’s tough. And that is amplified in group stress situations. Work teams began to fray and crumble; social situations became tense and difficult. It can become a negative whirlpool, because as you try to manage your own stress, you keep getting pulled back by the stress of the people around you.
Strategies for Managing Stress
Before diving into style-specific strategies, here are three simple things you can do to help manage your stress, no matter your Perceptual Style:
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Start small. One of the best ways to begin to combat overwhelm is to take one step at a time. Recognize Rome wasn’t built in a day. Your stress didn’t happen overnight, so reducing it will take a little time, too. So start with small steps. The same adage that works for skill development works for stress relief. Small steps build confidence and reduce risk.
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Smile. There’s real science behind why a simple smile can make a huge difference in your mood. Suffice it to say, smiling is good for you! When you are stressed, you smile less. Remembering to smile at least a few times a day is a natural stress reducer. Smile at a fond memory, smile at a joke, smile at the weather, smile because you can.
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Create some safe space. Step away from stressors. Take a walk outdoors. Have your morning cup of coffee while listening to some music rather than reading the news. Do some breathing exercises. Invest as little as 10 minutes each day in something that involves some movement and space for your thoughts to relax or be distracted from the reality that is feeding your stress.
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Incorporate humor and joy. Laughter is a natural stress reliever. Finding humor or joy in the moment is an essential tool in your stress relief tool kit. Both serve as a “protest” against stress and instantly lift your mood a bit.
Now let’s explore some specific actions each Perceptual Style can take to manage stress more effectively:
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Vision: Choose a project you’ve been putting on the back burner and plan small steps towards it. Maybe it’s learning something new or cleaning out that closet. Whatever it is, see the possibility in your mind and then take one small step towards it each day.
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Activity: Engage in some physical activity. Work out, do some gardening, clean the garage, walk the dog. Notice how the combination of physical movement and accomplishment – however small – makes you feel a little bit lighter.
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Flow: Reach out to a friend. Enjoy a quick phone call, or a walk, or lunch together. Make sometime each day to talk with someone, just to say “Hi” or maybe to accomplish something together. Allow yourself to enjoy the company of others.
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Adjustments: Choose a new topic to explore. Set aside time each day to learn a little bit more about it. Maybe it’s a new hobby, or mastering that AI tool, or researching something you’ve always been interested in. Watch for ways to integrate what you learn into your everyday systems and processes.
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Methods: Organize something in your environment. It could be your office, or garage, or pantry. Pick something that you can start and finish in an hour or so, or plan out incremental steps. Either way, notice how the feeling of accomplishment lightens your load.
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Goals: Put your problem-solving talents to work on some small things in your own environment. The things that get put on the back burner because of other, larger, and “more pressing” issues. Celebrate the small wins. Notice how identifying an issue, resolving it, and moving on helps you smile more.
The key to reducing and overcoming stress is to recapture small sparks of your personal motivation factors.
You do that by picking one thing you can do today, one thing that will make a difference, however small, to you or someone you care about.
By taking action, you spark the “muscle memory” of using your strengths. That will help you regain your equilibrium and reduce your stress levels.
Start Today
Understanding and utilizing your Perceptual Style for stress allows you to navigate your challenges with resilience and hope.
What’s one thing you can do today to help reduce your stress? Please share your thoughts in the comments below – we’d love to hear how you are applying these ideas in your life!
By embracing the richness of diverse perceptions, we not only expand our own worldview but also contribute to a more inclusive and empathetic world.
Find out more about the services we have available to help you find the success you want and deserve!
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About Lynda-Ross
Lynda-Ross Vega is a partner at Vega Behavioral Consulting, Ltd. She specializes in helping corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and individuals with interpersonal communications, team dynamics, personal development, and navigating change. Lynda-Ross is co-creator of Perceptual Style Theory, a revolutionary behavioral psychology theory and assessment system that teaches people how to unleash their natural strengths and build the life and career they dream of.
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