Uncertainty or lack of control?

Stress Reducer — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:34:05 +0000

Recently I’ve been addressing uncertainty as a cause of stress…and it is, but it seems to me there’s also a component of feeling out of control that’s feeding the high levels of stress and anxiety.

In psychological terms it’s called locus of control. People with an internal locus of control experience themselves as being in control of their lives where as people with an external locus of control attribute their circumstances to factors outside of themselves.

It’s been well known for years that people with an internal locus of control tend to have much less stress than people with an external locus of control.

In our individualistic American culture, we tend to see people with that internal sense of control as being healthier, but how are they faring in the current economy?

Seems to me these might be the people having the hardest time of all.

What do you think?

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Uncertainty, Stress & Unhappiness

Stress Reducer — Sat, 23 May 2009 18:52:48 +0000

I recently posted about how stressful it is to be dealing with a sick dog who has a decidely uncertain prognosis.

I’ve seen the same kind of stress in people diagnosed with cancer. Having a life threatening illness with an uncertain outcome is amazingly stressful…more stressful than facing a certain death.

It sounds odd to think that death can be a relief and yet I’ve observed that relief in many of the hospice patients I’ve worked with. It’s just easier to prepare for a certain outcome than it is to anticipate an array of possible outcomes.

In a recent ‘New York Times’ article, Daniel Gilbert writes about the uncertainty we’re all experiencing around money as our economy and personal finances seem to be spiraling out of control.

He maintains it’s dealing with the uncertainty of the financial crisis rather than the crisis itself that has Americans reporting increased levels of unhappiness and depression.

He has some interesting research to back it up.

Uncertainty, Stress & Unhappiness is a post from: Stress Reducer Blog

Technorati Tags: Dealing with Uncertainty, Stress Reducer

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Uncertainty or lack of control?

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Uncertainty, Stress & Unhappiness

Other Stress Reducer Post