She is troubled

With thick-coming fancies,

That keep her from her rest.

— Shakespeare, Macbeth, V, 3

In other words, she is so stressed out that she cannot relax, cannot sleep, cannot rest. Clearly it’s not just now that people are undergoing stress, but it’s only now that they have a name for it. Here we like to say this of people who are undergoing stress, “Him stress out and mash up.”

Stress can be terrible for some folks, and although scientists have said that there is bad stress and good stress, it always somehow seems to have negative connotations. “Listen, just don’t stress me out, you hear.”

“I can’t take the stress, please get off mi case.”

For those of you who say that you never get stressed out over anything, just go back a few weeks to the World Championships when Usain Bolt was about to run his final 100 metres race. Do you remember how you felt, with the increased heart rate, quickened pulse, shortness of breath and cold sweat washing over you?

Well, that was stress in a nutshell right there. But there are other types of stress, and different people deal with them differently, as we’ll find out right after these responses to ‘Professions that cheat’.

Hi Tony,

In many societies cheating is the norm, and in many cases it’s expected. While I have no issue with cheating consenting adults, I have a real problem with people, men and women, in positions of power who initiate affairs with their subordinates. The unwilling subordinate is placed in a terrible position where they feel they must comply out of fear of losing their jobs. I would consider those situations a form of rape, with the job held to their head.

Pascal

Hey Tony,

The plain truth is, everybody cheats, regardless of their profession. The only difference is that some only think about it, have their fantasies, but are afraid to carry it out, while others actually act on it and do the deed. It’s unfair to single out only certain professions when the fact is, cheating goes across the board, from politician to preacher. Look how many men and women of the cloth cheat, also teachers, policemen, taximen, yet you didn’t mention them. Those you spoke about are really the careless ones who don’t bother to cover up their actions.

Monica

Stress can be a terrible thing and has been known to not only cause illness, but even death sometimes. How often have we heard of people who were so immersed in stress that they had a heart attack and died? That’s why doctors will recommend low-stress activities for people who are highly stressed.

I remember a doctor saying this to friend of mine, “Mr Brown, your pressure is up. I suggest that you drop everything, take some time off, and get as much rest as possible, don’t even wear a watch.” Stress can be a killer, and many persons are trapped in high-stress situations that they become ticking time bombs.

One area of great stress can be the work environment. Of course, there are some jobs that are high risk and highly stressful, but there are others where the person simply stresses out himself or herself over silly things and foolishness.

“How the boss mek little stupidness stress him out so, every likkle thing bother him.”

People get immersed in those kinds of jobs and have no release whatsoever. They eat, sleep, drink, talk and complain about their work from morning till night. It’s as if nothing else matters in their world, as their stress levels reach epic proportions.

This often leads to hypertension and other severe health problems if not addressed. Just take a look at past US presidents and see what the stress of the job did to their physical appearance. In a few years they all turned grey. Yes, high stress does hasten the transition of black hair to grey. Even though they took frequent vacations and days off, the stress level was so high that it still showed on them.

Stress can begin early in a person’s life. The school system can be a place of very high stress, and that’s why almost all schools have extra-curricular activities for students to ease the pressure. Mid-term, end of term, GSAT, CXC, CAPE and other exams can be extremely stressful. So much so that some students have had mental breakdowns because of the high stress level.

Those extra-curricular activities, such as sports, are a sure way to alleviate all that stress brought on by academia. That’s why the old adage has endured the test of time, ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.’ Not only will it make him dull, but it will stress him out as well. Just think about how you feel after a good, physical workout. Less stress, don’t?

Then there are some people who are trapped in stressful situations and simply cannot find a way out. Relationships can be very stressful for some persons, especially if one party is not used to a certain lifestyle and got thrust into it.

Men complain about nagging wives who seem hell-bent on stressing them out. Some deal with it by staying away from home as long as possible, while others get immersed in other activities or take to the bottle to ease their stress level. “Here’s to my wife, she drove me to drink…hic.”

Women also complain bitterly about men who continue to stress them out every day of their lives. “I never grew up like this, under so much scrutiny, pressure, and harassment morning, noon and night…I am stressed out.”

Some snap under the pressure and do things that they wouldn’t normally do. Others actually get physically ill, wither away and die. Scientists have proven that stress accounts for a large number of deaths in our society.

What really is stress though, what are the dynamics of this malady? It’s said that stress is the body’s way of responding to any kind of demand or thought when you sense danger, whether it’s real or imagined. The body’s defence kicks into high gear in a rapid, automatic process known as the ‘fight or flight’ reaction, or the ‘stress response’.

But they also say that stress isn’t all always bad, and I did mention that there is good stress and bad stress. The bad stress we know about, but what is good stress? Well, stress can actually save you in certain situations as it’s what makes you rise to meet challenges. It’s what keeps you sharp and focused and heightens your senses.

People will feel stress right before a big presentation, but that’s good stress, for it sharpens your mind and makes you focus more sharply. That’s why some athletes are referred to as ‘big occasion’ athletes. This heightened stress makes them rise to the occasion and do things that they couldn’t normally do.

Many world records are broken at big meets. But on the down side, some athletes wilt under the pressure of stress and cannot deal with the huge occasion. Can you think of any?

People may feel stress right before making a public speech, but it’s how they handle that pressure that makes them give a great presentation or a terrible one. It’s not the stress per se, but how you deal with it that’s important.

Even a simple thing like going to the doctor can raise some people’s stress level, and that’s why they have this term, ‘white coat syndrome’. That’s when a person’s blood pressure increases just because he’s visiting the doctor. The anxiety stresses them out.

In sex, stress plays a big part in a man’s performance. You know I had to go down that path, right? This stress is transferred into anxiety and that, my friends, is the downfall of a man’s performance.

This can result in erectile dysfunction where he doesn’t even get on his mark, or get set to go. Others may fly out of the blocks, ‘pick’ the race, but finish long before they reach the finish line. This is all caused by stress…bad stress.

A man will be perfectly fine with his regular woman until he meets a woman who is so astoundingly beautiful that his stress level rises, but nothing else does. Combine this with the fact that it’s stolen love, and his stress meter goes through the roof. When he sees her naked for the first time, the stress is too much for him to take, so his body reacts in the worst possible way, and the night is ruined. The cliché response is, “This never happened to me before, I don’t know what went wrong.” We all know what happened…stress.

The cruel irony is, he will go home to his regular woman and perform like a stud, all because there’s no stress there. He just can’t handle the big meet occasions. Such is the power of stress.

More time.

seido1@hotmail.com

Footnote: One highly stressed job is that of being a policeman. They run towards danger when other people are running away. Like them or not, they are our only barrier between safety and anarchy. What I find disturbing to observe is the large number of policemen who are leaving the force on an annual basis. True, the bad ones should go, but it’s disheartening to learn of how many cops are disillusioned and frustrated.

The question should be asked, why are so many leaving the force in droves? Instead I’m reading that hefty fines will be imposed on those who want to leave without giving six months’ notice. Another question, why would you want to hold on to someone, even for a brief period, if that person wants to go? And why make them potential criminals for wanting to leave?