Idea 13

Traumatic Brain Injury
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The following is an on-line version of text from Getting Better (and better) After Brain Injury/A Guide for Family, Friends, and Caregivers--25 Ideas for Living Smarter and Happier.
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Idea # 13
Check your pressure gauge often.

Interviews with the general public reveal that job, household, and childcare responsibilities are major sources of life stress. No matter who you are, stress can have a terrible negative impact on your life. How you feel about your life depends much on how you manage stress.

A Few Basic Facts You Should Know About Stress

Fact: You are not immune to stress. Everyone is affected by stress. With your family member’s injury and added responsibilities, you are more vulnerable to the negative effects of stress.

Fact: The effects of stress add up over time. You may not feel "all that bothered" by what has happened. You many feel that you "can handle things OK." Know that stress weakens your ability to handle new challenges. Without breaks, you run the risk of emotional collapse.

Fact: Many people don’t realize how much stress they have faced and are facing. Lack of recognizing comes from a focus on doing things and "trying not to think about what’s happening."

What is stress?

Think of stress as "carrying a stuffed backpack up a big mountain." Climbing the first hundred feet, your pack may not seem heavy at all. Though you don’t add anything to the pack as you climb, the pack seems heavier and heavier as you climb higher and higher without resting.

For most people, stress is a feeling or thought that you must do something. In general, the amount of stress you feel relates to several factors:

how much you have to do and the number of people telling you to do it - the more you must do and the greater the number of people telling you to do it, the more stress you’ll feel

difficulty level of tasks – the harder and more challenging, the more stress you’ll feel

your beliefs about the consequences of failure – the worse you think that the consequences will be, the greater the amount of stress you’ll feel

What are the major dangers of stress?

Reduced quality of life. Feeling stressed is very unpleasant. You may end up feeling hopeless and feeling that you have no control over your life.

Reduced productivity. High levels of stress will make your work seem harder. You will become less productive and you will be less able to help others.

Impaired health. As you become less productive, the risk of health-related problems increases. Sleep problems, head-aches, fatigue, and even memory problems are common. Preoccupied with all you have to do, you may find yourself driving dangerously, or eating too much, or not at all.

Reduced motivation: Feeling that you don’t have the energy or will to try.

Harming your relationships. Support from other people will help you do much better. Yet, your relationships are easily damaged by how you act when stressed. Irritability, impatience, losing your temper and being aggressive are common reactions to stress. Some people stop communicating and withdraw from others. They stop talking, go in a room, and close the door.

What is the first step in controlling stress?

Recognize the amount of stress you are facing. When faced with many responsibilities, you may only think about-

how much you have to do

how little time you have

the bad things that will happen if you don’t finish

Check your pressure gauge often, especially when you have a lot on your "to do" list. At least several times a day, ask yourself, "How much stress am I feeling now?"

You can also ask your family and friends to give you feedback about how you’re handling stress and where your stress is coming from. By monitoring stress levels you can better control your feelings, actions, efficiency, and quality of life.

The Guide for Families, Friends and Caregivers includes two forms to supplement material covered in this chapter. The 13 Item Stress Test helps family, friends, and caregivers identify personal stress levels. Also, a worksheet is provided that offers a structured format for identifying personal stress. Review and discussion with other family members is encouraged.

The contents of this Website were developed under a grant from the Department of Education. However, those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal government.

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Last updated - 06/06/2008