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Beyond the Stress Response – Managing Mentee Thinking to Reduce Stress

Written by: Michael Donovan

Article Overview: Being aware of the impact of stress on your mentee, acknowledging stress as a motivator and de-motivator and having simple techniques to assist mentees is a valid part of good mentoring. This article examines some of the issues.

Beyond the Stress Response – Managing Mentee Thinking to Reduce Stress

There is a common myth today that stress can be almost alleviated by adjusting your work / life balance. Be aware that some mentees may have this viewpoint. Changing work / life balance is unrealistic – and is in itself stressful! Recent statistics from the OECD show that Australians are amongst the hardest workers (in the total number of hours worked per week) compared to workers in any other country. Senior executives and CEO’s regularly work in excess of 70 hours per week. When work accounts for 70 hours or more the remaining activities are inevitably compromised. Many executives work longer hours if you include extensive international travel in different time zones that interfere with their rest and recovery cycle..

Physical exercise and relaxation strategies such as meditation will help the mentee reduce stress levels however; stress is a fact of life. Stress cannot be alleviated ; it can be managed. As a mentor, you have to be comfortable with tackling the issue of stress with your mentee. Many business people live with stress constantly! They have too little time, too much or too little information, more competitors to contend with, issues with the management of staff, their peers and the Board.

In times past, when we were hunter / gatherers, the activation of the ‘fight / flight’ mechanism, the ‘on switch’ for stress, acted as a warning signal – move on or be eaten by predators! The ‘predators’ are now in differing guises yet our primitive brain still activates the stress response. The ‘fight / flight’ mechanism releases powerful neuro-chemicals and hormones when this response is activated. This release happens automatically, without our full awareness. It is ‘hard wired’ into our physiology. By addressing the individuals thinking behind the stress response, you can help your client reduce their stress levels.

When stress is a constant in working life, for example a long term illness or anxiety about job performance then the physical body has no opportunity to replenish its lost reserves and the ‘flight / fight’ mechanism remains ‘on’.. Continual stress leads to ill-health even life threatening disease such as heart attacks and is proven to contribute to some cancers.

The most potent way to reduce your mentees stress is to guide them to manage their thinking. As a mentor it is your decision whether to address the issue of stress directly with them, otherwise you may refer them to a specialist in the field.

Consider and discuss as a series of questions, “What is their usual response when a working scenario presents with a series of challenges? How do they think about the issues? How much of their thinking contributes to the stress experienced every day? Ask: Do you react or respond, to stressful situations? The words easily conjure up the meaning. Reaction is fiery, sudden, without deep thought; response is more measured, more deliberate. Think about how you act - do react or respond?

Managing thinking requires awareness of the type of thoughts being experienced. People who experience high levels of stress may have a less than optimistic view of what might happen. Do they usually have a negative view of situations generally? Do they worry constantly perhaps lying awake at night? How often is their worry justified by the reality of the final outcome? What steps do they clearly see are needed to change the situation?

One technique that can easily be used is to question or challenge their own thinking. By asking them, ‘Is this thought justified?’ ‘Is the outcome a possibility or does it represent my fear?’ ‘Who or what is really behind this thought?’ Often negative thinking emanates from inherited belief systems. Challenge presumptive thinking by asking – ‘Just how likely is this situation to occur in reality?

When we face the possible outcome of a situation – “What is the worst thing that can happen?”, we begin to take charge of the situation and not become a victim to it.

There are many powerful tools to reduce stress, the most potent one we have is to manage our own thoughts. In business, we plan and strategise – we attempt to anticipate. Thinking rationally about the strategic possibilities puts the possible options into the real and unreal categories.. The pneumonic – Anticipate, Think and Act, is therefore a useful reminder tool to approach a stressful situation and resolve it.

Jane Mara is an associate of iMentor-pro and is Managing Director of Intuitive Thinking Pty Ltd. She mentors business leaders to access and use their intuitive mind, on demand. She is available for keynote presentations, master classes and one on one mentoring.

Visit the web site www.intuitivethinking.com.au or email jane@intuitivethinking.com.au

© Copyright: This article remains the property of Intuitive Thinking Pty Ltd.

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