Stress personalities may be why some people struggle with stress, while others thrive on the challenge or accept life as it comes. And identifying your client's approach to stress can help you decide on the best way to improve their resilience.
Stress 'Personalities’
In this blog, I will look at “stress personality types”. These
describe different attitudes to stress, and they might help you work with
clients. Let's say up front that the concept of stress personalities is far
from perfect. But it can still have value if you're trying to narrow down where
to start.
So the theory goes, we all tend to fall into one of three
stereotypes.
- Type As are competitive, goal-driven perfectionists who live
for deadlines and timetables. They often seek out stress, believing they
perform better under pressure. They can achieve amazing things because they are
very determined to reach their goals. But they can also be controlling,
irritable or intolerant of others (or themselves) when they don't do as well as
they think they should. There's a strong link between this personality and heart or circulatory system problems.
- Type Bs are calm and laid back, generally accepting whatever
comes along. Of course, type Bs still experience stressful events. But they
have good self-care and coping strategies in place so they're resilient. If
they do start to struggle, it's usually due to sudden or extreme external
stresses where their usual coping strategies don't seem to do the trick.
- Type Cs bottle everything up. They seem to be coping only
but that's only because they never allow anyone to see their frustrations. It's
a bit like a swan. Calm and serene on the top, paddling like mad underneath!
Eventually, it can all become too much, and they’ll suddenly become ill or
overwhelmed. There is a link between this personality and stomach/gut issues - it seems we literally swallow our negative emotions.
What's wrong with the stress personality theory?
The three types described above are based on a
study published in the 1950s, the Type A and Type B personality theory,
also known as the Jacob Goldsmith theory. Type C was added
later. The study has been subject to a lot of criticism because it had a
number of design flaws. (All the people
studied were middle-aged men. There were very unequal numbers in each group,
and attitude to stress was the only variable considered.)
In addition, of course, people rarely fit neatly into just
one of the groups. Sometimes it depends on the situation, so we might tend
towards type A at work and type B at home.
And, finally, the divisions are not inevitable or fixed.
Anyone can learn to cope better.
How can knowing about stress personalities help clients?
Despite the shortcomings, if you think of the types as
a way of describing coping strategies (instead of people) they can be a
convenient start to planning a stress management programme. When your
client has a problem with stress, knowing which group they are falling into in
that particular situation can help you decide how to start reducing their
stress. For example:
- A client who makes comments like "I never get
stressed", and has regular self-care routines in place, is tending towards
type B. If their usual coping strategies aren't working, you need to find out
why. Maybe they're facing new challenges, or something in their life has
changed. Look at what they usually do at times of stress, and what they need to
do differently in the current situation. Teach new situation-specific
strategies. Chances are, once the current crisis is over, they will go back to
coping well.
- If the client says they don't usually get stressed but have
no coping strategies or self-care routines, they are probably tending towards
Type C. They may have trouble describing or getting in touch with their
emotions because they've bottled them up for so long. You will need to encourage them to express
their feelings constructively, emphasising that you are offering a safe space
to do this. That can be a scary thought for them, but once the internal
pressure is relieved, you can move on to look at better ways to cope in the
future.
Using stress personalities in therapy
As said, the personality types are generalisations, just the
same as any other theory that dumps everyone into categories instead of seeing
them as individuals. But, especially if you are newly qualified or the client's
situation is very complex, they can be a good place to start.
So finally, I’ll leave you with something often known as
“The Serenity Prayer”. It’s used by AA but there are a few different stories
about its origin. Despite that, it is a perfect recipe for stress management
for all personalities.
Lord, give me the strength to change those things that should be changed, the tolerance to endure those things that cannot be changed - and the wisdom to know the difference.
----------------------------
Author: Debbie Waller is an experienced hypnotherapist and hypnotherapy trainer. She is the author of The Hypnotherapist's Companion, Their Worlds, Your Words, and The Metaphor Toolbox, all available from Amazon or direct from the author, and a co-writer of the Hypnotherapy Handbook.
Find out more about Debbie's services on
Yorkshire Hypnotherapy Training - multi-accredited hypnotherapy practitioner training, taster days and foundation levels.
CPD Expert - accredited CPD and other therapy training (online and workshops options), expert and qualified hypnotherapy supervision
Comments
Post a Comment