Body gives signs when one is under too much pressure

By Britta Schmeis Jul 7, 2011, 3:06 GMT

Hamburg - The pressure to achieve and maintain appearances in everyday life is enormous in modern society and there is a limit to how much a person can take.

When the stress gets too great, psychologists say we should scrutinize our goals and apply the brakes when physical disorders or discomforts arise.

The pressure to achieve is something introduced early in life. Most schoolchildren are expected to get good grades, participate in sports and play a musical instrument in the hope that those things combined will lead to a high score in their final examinations. The pressure that starts early in life doesn't end in adulthood. In fact the opposite is true.

'The requirements only increase as you get older,' says German psychologist Claudia Schmeink. It gets even worse when people don't allow themselves a break and believe they must always be available. This leads in some cases to enormous pressure that ultimately results in burnout.

'How a person perceives pressure to perform and at what level he or she starts to feel it is a very individual thing,' believes psychologist Werner Gross. There is also an internal component which is more about how a person deals with a challenge and whether they believe they can accomplish their goal.

Svenja Hofert, a career counsellor in Hamburg, believes that the way people interpret pressure to perform is important. 'The expression pressure to perform has a negative connotation, but when it is called a challenge, that is perceived as motivating,' she says.

'Challenging someone is good,' adds Gross, 'but asking too much of someone is not good'. Gross cited a doctrine known among pilots which states that on the way to the airport they their level of excitement is elevated while in the cockpit they are cool, calm and collected.

However, in today's society it is extremely difficult to attain this equilibrium. In many industries when a person admits they can't achieve a particular benchmark, it can be detrimental to their image, says Gross.

This is often difficult to do in private life where most people also experience stress. What's important is to be able to steer away from it. However, that is easier said than done.

'It is often a principle that was communicated during childhood that guides one's performance,' Schmeink reveals.

She advises people to investigate what drives their actions and to scrutinize it. They should ask themselves why they believe they must accomplish a particular goal and how important is it in the overall scheme of things. It helps to take a look at one's life from an eagle-eye view in order to achieve a healthy distance.

'Then you can ask yourself what it is you want to achieve in life,' says Schmeink. However, this shouldn't again be coupled with thoughts about performance.

Hofert said it's important to investigate the source of the perceived pressure to achieve and to follow up by seeking solutions, recognizing that it could mean changing jobs. 'You have to scrutinize your own worth or decide to perform only as directed,' says Hofert.

Difficulty falling asleep or waking up too early are clear indications that a person is feeling strain from excessive demands on their life, Gross says. It's important to take breaks. For some people it's enough to switch off their mobile phone for a short time.

'It's often possible to deal with these physical reactions by exercising. This helps release the pressure,' says Schmeink. For long-term results it's often wise to develop changes in attitude with professional help.

One thing psychologists agree on is that there is a limit to the amount of stress a person can take.

'It is wishful thinking, but a deceleration of our fear-motivated society would do it some good,' says Gross. He recommends that people who feel plagued by stress put on blinders and to resist chasing after every idea. However, Gross recognizes that in real life this isn't easy.