{"id":72,"date":"2025-01-17T16:14:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-17T16:14:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zoom-out.co\/?page_id=72"},"modified":"2025-02-18T00:57:52","modified_gmt":"2025-02-18T00:57:52","slug":"stress-and-perspective","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoom-out.co\/wp-legacy\/stress-and-perspective\/","title":{"rendered":"Stress and perspective"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Let’s explore how Zooming-Out can help us view, think about and act upon stress in the most optimal way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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What is stress?<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

We are all familiar with stress, we\u2019ve all experienced it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here are a couple of dictionary definitions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Stress is: \u201csubject to pressure or tension.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Stress is \u201cto cause mental or emotional strain or tension in.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

At this point, it\u2019s worth making the distinction between physical stress such as heat, physical pressure on our body, etc and psychological<\/em> stress. In Zoom-Out we are concerned with psychological stress \u2013 which is what people usually mean when they refer to the stress of everyday life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Types of stress<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

There are generally considered to be three types of stress:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Acute stress<\/strong> is a short-lived, often high intensity reaction to a challenging situation (a stressor). Acute stress being short-lived <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Episodic acute stress <\/strong>is where the acute stress is experienced regularly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chronic stress<\/strong> is where stress is long-lived and constant. It can be caused by life factors and more constant environmental stressors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It can lead to a feeling of being overwhelmed and burn-out as a person’s psychological resources become depleted. Chronic stress can lead to illness and may require treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Distress versus Eustress<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

Distress<\/strong> is the label given to stress that is considered overwhelming (insufficient resources) and damaging and is associated with negative emotions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eustress<\/strong> is the label given to stress that feels challenging but manageable (sufficient resources) and is associated with positive emotions and growth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Which type of stress is as much a reflection of the person and their inner resources than the external stressor. Faced with the same stressor, one person may experience distress while another eustress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The role of perspective in stress<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

I think we can all relate to these definitions of stress but from a Zoom-Out stance, there is a vital piece of the jigsaw missing and that is the role that perspectives and human perception play in stress. Here\u2019s a more helpful definition:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Stress is: \u201cThe physiological changes in your body due to external factors that are perceived <\/em>as threatening harm, loss or misfortune, or as demanding more than you have in resources or capabilities.\u201d<\/strong>
– Theresa Fox, DeStressify<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The key zoom-out words here are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“perceived as threatening”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is incredibly empowering! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We have an extra variable to play with in the stress equation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

the ability to also change how we are viewing a stressful situation (stressor)<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Zoom-Out is about acknowledging and developing this ability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stress may be in the eye of the beholder!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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This is ancient wisdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThere is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Shakespeare\u2019s Hamlet<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cPeople are not disturbed by events but by the view they take of them.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Epictetus, Stoic philosopher, A.D. 55 \u2013 135<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe suffer more in imagination than in reality\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2013 Seneca, Stoic philosopher<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cWe are what we think.<\/em>
All that we are arises with our thoughts.<\/em>
With our thoughts, we make the world.\u201d<\/em>
<\/strong>\u2013 The Buddha, 563 \u2013 483 BC<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Lazarus\u2019 transactional model of stress<\/h1>\n\n\n\n

In 1976 Richard Lazarus developed what was to become a highly influential model of stress. In his transactional model, cognitive appraisal<\/strong> is key to understanding stress. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cognitive relates to thinking<\/strong> and appraisal means making a judgement<\/strong> when evaluating a potential stressor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A person perceives a situation and gives meaning to it. Stress arises when a person perceives that a situation places a strain on them which is greater than their resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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More generally, the Zoom-Out mindset correlates strongly with our cognitive reappraisal skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stress arises when a person perceives that a situation places a strain on them which is greater than their resources.<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Our ability to step back from a default perspective and find the most helpful perspective is another way of expressing cognitive reappraisal as expressed by some of the Zoom-Out signposts and motto:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cAll Perspectives are wrong but some are helpful\u201d<\/strong>
– Zoom-Out Signpost<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cDefault perspectives can be overridden\u201d<\/strong>
– Zoom-Out Signpost<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cZoom-Out to find the most helpful perspective\u201d<\/strong>
– Zoom-Out Motto<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n


You will find that some of the individual Zoom-Outs can help with \u201ccoping\u201d with stress in the model as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n