Enhancing Workplace Resiliency Flashcards
What is the definition of stress according to Hans Selye, the Austrian-Canadian physician? Does he see it as good or bad?
The non-specific response of the body to any demand made upon it. It is neither defined as good nor bad.
What are the two major factors that can impact our susceptibility to the negative impacts of stress?
The nature / level of stressful demands and the resources we have available to meet the stress.
What is the Yerkes Dodson law of arousal and performance?
If we are laid back or relaxed (under-aroused), we may not perform at our best. If we are stressed (over-aroused) we will be tense and unfocused. Optimum performance occurs at a moderate level of arousal.
According to the Yerkes Dodson law of human performance, how might you know you are under aroused, optimally aroused, or overaroused in your day-to-day tasks?
Under: feel bored
Moderate: work is effortless, energized, focused
Over: fatigued, exhausted, poor health, burnout and breakdown
What would a lot of eye blinking / lack of eye blinking in a golfer making a put mean?
Lot: anxiety
Lack of: focus, and low anxiety
Describe a possible physiological process of performance anxiety in a basketball player shooting a free throw?
Before the game, must get his arousal level up with sensory stimulation of the amygdala, like shouting, cheering, loud noises, movement, etc. For a free throw, a very technical operation, the athlete must bring his arousal level down very quickly. The frontal lobes must muffle the amygdala, to calm emotions, breathe slower, lower heartrate. But the frontal lobes can be distracted by thoughts, like fear of failure. If the thought has strength it can trigger a fear response in the limbic system, making focus on a complicated action very difficult.
What are the big 4 skills that sports psychology and military resiliency training can teach us to enhance performance?
- Goal Setting
- Visualization
- Self-Talk
- Tactical Breathing
What are 3 phases of a task?
Preparation, Performance, Recovery
How can the Big 4 skills be used in the 3 stages of a task?
Preparation: Goal setting, visualization
Performance: Self-Talk and Tactical Breathing
Recovery: Rest, reflect
Describe how goal setting as a skill can be helpful manage stressful situations?
Break things down into specific, manageable, atteinable pieces. For example: read for 1/2 hour every other evening. Bad example: read a book a week, lose 25 pds
Describe how visualization as a skill can be helpful manage stressful situations?
See the successful outcome. Studies show that imagining self making free throws improves accuracy.
Describe how self-talk as a skill can be helpful manage stressful situations?
Under stress, self-talk can become negative. “I can’t do this.” “People like me are no good at this.” Replace this with positive self-talk. “I can do this. I have done this before. Everything will be okay.”
Describe how tactical breathing as a skill can be helpful manage stressful situations?
Stress leads breath to become shallow, quick, and ineffective. This leads to increase in anxiety and panic.
Who developed the Mental Health Continuum Model?
Canadian Armed Forces
How is the Mental Health Continuum Model helpful in conceptualizing mental health?
Captures the idea we are neither healthy or ill but, rather, there is a continuum on which we move in both directions. This normalizes fluctuations in mental health, creates expectancy for recovery, and may contribute to early recognition, early intervention, and better health outcomes.
What are the 4 main domains on the Mental Health Continuum Model?
Healthy (Green) Normal function
Reacting (Yellow) Common and reverseable distress
Injured (Orange) Severe, persistent functional impa
Ill (Red) Clinical disorder, functional impairment
On the Mental Health Continuum Model, what are some indications one is in a Healthy (Green) state?
Normal mood fluctuation Calm, rolls with punches Sense of humour Performing well Mental control Good sleep Good energy levels Physically and socially active Limited alcohol / gambling
On the Mental Health Continuum Model, what are some indications one is in a Reacting (Yellow) state?
Irritable / Impatient Nervous Sadness / Overwhelmed Displaced sarcasm Procrastination Forgetfulness Sleep issues Nightmares Intrusive thoughts Muscle tension / headache Low Energy Decreased activity / socializing Regular but controlled alcohol use / gambling
On the Mental Health Continuum Model, what are some indications one is in a Injured (Orange) state?
Anger Anxiety Pervasively sad / hopeless Negative attitude poor performance / workaholoic Poor concentration / decisions Restless disturbed sleep Recurrent images / nightmares Increased aches and pains Increased fatigue Avoidance Withdrawal Increased alcohol use / gambling hard to control
On the Mental Health Continuum Model, what are some indications one is in an Ill (Red) state?
Angry outburst / agression Excessive anxiety / panic Depressed / suicidal thoughts Overt insubordination Can't perform duties, control behaviour, or concentrate Can't fall asleep or stay asleep Sleeping too much or too little Physical illnesses Constant fatigue Not going out or answering phone Alcohol or gambling addiction Other addictions
In addition to the big 4 and CBT, what are the most important things to do to manage stress?
Proper sleep, diet, and exercise
Describe the concept of automatic thoughts to a client:
We have thousands of thoughts every day. Some thoughts are brief and unimportant, while others can stick with us for days, weeks, or years. Many of our daily thoughts are automatic - they ‘pop’ into our minds without conscious intent. Automatic thoughts can help us get through our daily life. For example:
“I should look both ways before crossing this street”
“If I’m friendly to people, there’s a good chance they will be friendly back”
“Breakfast is important, even if I’m in a rush”
We may not always be aware of these thoughts until we reflect back. For example, when we speak with strangers, it is likely we have an automatic assumption they will treat us with respect.
What is the basic CBT model?
Our thoughts, feelings, and behaviours all affect one another.
What are the three domains upon which we can evaluate our thoughts? What would be an indication of the most problematic automatic thought?
1) Accuracy / validity
2) Helpfulness
3) Strength / intensity
Low in accuracy, low in helpfulness, high in intensity thoughts are the most problematic
In this example: “You see two of your coworkers laughing as you walk toward the lunchroom”, how might a problematic thought play out?
Automatic thought: they must be laughing at me (low accuracy, not helpful)
Your thoughts start to snowball: Is it my new haircut? etc (not helpful and intense)
You lose confidence and spend much time by yourself
What happens with negative automatic thoughts when we are stressed?
They skew in even more in a negative direction, increasing negative feelings about our situation
What is a helpful way to get another perspective on negative or stressful thoughts?
Writing them down.
On a Friday afternoon as you are leaving work, you wish a new, usually-cheery co-worker a great weekend. She mumbles ‘thanks’ in a hurried fashion, and doesn’t make any eye contact with you. (You find out later that she had a death in the family). How might your perception of the situation be skewed by negatively charged, emotionally driven, thoughts
“She doesn’t like me.” and you ruminate on that.
We all have ‘go to’ negative thoughts when we get stressed out. What are 5 domains to ask about common negative thoughts? “When I’m stressed, I tend to have negative thoughts about…”
1) Myself
2) Others
3) Future
4) Personal Life
5) Work life
What is the cognitive triad? (of negative thoughts)
1) Negative views of world (People are cruel and selfish)
2) Negative views of oneself (I have nothing to offer)
3) Negative views of the future (Things won’t get better)
These patterns of negative thinking sustain each other
What is the problem with someone outside saying your thoughts aren’t realistic?
They FEEL all too real when we experience them. It is invalidating.
What is an effective way to interrupt the cognitive triad?
It isn’t easy, so breaking thought patterns down into smaller components and replacing negative thoughts with realistic ones can be helpful
What are cognitive distortions?
When we are under stress or experiencing negative emotions, we are more likely to engage in negative thinking – specifically having negative thoughts that are simply not true, or are grossly exaggerated. These sorts of thoughts are known as cognitive distortions, which are a form of unrealistic – and unhelpful – thinking. (We can also have cognitive distortions that are positive – for example, seeing others in an exaggerated positive light.)
What is the impact of cognitive distortions on an individual?
Excessive cognitive distortions can cause and perpetuate negative psychological states and disorders, such as stress, anxiety, and depression.q
Can cognitive distortions provide a protective function?
Unlike some negative thoughts that serve a protective function, cognitive distortions may sound reasonable to the individual affected by them (and typically no one else), but they are misplaced and ultimately serve to make us unhappy and limited in our thinking.
Can cognitive distortions be reversed?
Thankfully, cognitive distortions can be reversed! The process of reversing these distortions is highly supported by empirical research, and is one of the core components of cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). Psychologists and other regulated health care professionals practicing CBT regularly have their patients identify and begin to reverse their cognitive distortions.
What are some common cognitive distortions?
1) All or nothing thinking: “I never have a successful relationship”
2) Blaming (self or other) “I feel sad because I don’t have what it takes to meet my goals”
3) Discounting the positives; “I only got one job offer after three interviews; what is wrong with me?”
4) Emotional Reasoning: “I feel dumb around my boss so I must be a dumb person”
5) Fortune Telling: “I’m sure I’m going to trip and fall walking across the stage”
6) Labeling and mislabeling: Labeling is when you use a single instance or quality to concretely define yourself (or someone else); mislabeling is when you justify using extreme and negative language to describe yourself or someone else.
Labeling: E.g., “I received a poor mark on my history paper; I’m a terrible student”
7) Mislabelling: E.g., “I had to take two days off from work because of illness; I am a terrible and uncommitted employee, I may as well quit”
8) Overgeneralization: “I had a difficult time making friends at my old workplace so I will probably always have a difficult time making friends”
9) Personalization: (Taking it personally) Personalization is when you overestimate the degree to which other people’s behaviours are related to you.
E.g., “I noticed that the boss took a long time to respond to my email; she must not like me”
What are 3 ways we can create distance from negative thinking, in order to focus on the purpose of the thoughts rather than the content?
1) Treat your mind as an external entity/character (e.g., “my mind is panicking again”)
2) Treat negative thoughts as annoying advertisements (e.g., an internet ad, a doorstop salesman)
3) Identify the purpose your negative thoughts are serving, and whether they are in your best interest (e.g., ask yourself: “what purpose or function are these thoughts serving?”; if you can’t find a useful purpose or function, actively tell yourself to not buy into those thoughts)
