The 3 Pre-Stages of Stress

Whether the cause is good or bad, we will all experience stress at some point in our lives. Here at T2 we talk a lot about understanding the causes and effects of stress, which help us to recognise when others or ourselves are experiencing it. But, what if we could decrease the likelihood of us experiencing stress in the first place? 

Here at T2 we have identified 3 things that make us more susceptible to experiencing stress. We call these the pre-stages of stress or pre-trigger states. 

1.   Tiredness/Fatigue 

When we get a good nights sleep, everything feels just that little bit better. You happily let the driver who’s pushing their nose out in the traffic pull out in front of you. You don’t mind that the person in the office who made a coffee before you used the last of the milk. Your chimp is calm and collected. However, the day after a bad nights sleep is a completely different story. Everything seems to be going wrong and the smallest inconveniences seem like big ones. Your chimp is irritable, and therefore, is more susceptible to experiencing stress. 

From the thousand of studies that have been carried out on the benefits of sleep, we can say for certain that getting a good nights sleep is good for us, both physically and mentally. As well as helping us when we are experiencing stress, sleep can also be a preventative of experiencing stress in the first place. 

2.   Hunger/Thirst 

We’ve all heard of the term ‘hangry’ right? Well hangry is actually a thing! Studies have found that when we are hungry or indeed thirsty, it can have a negative affect on your mood, and therefore, can make us more susceptible to stress. Being hungry or thirsty can have an affect on your performance at work too. Research shows that people who skip breakfast in the morning, are less productive than those that have it. After all, it is the most important meal of the day! 

3.   Isolation 

The third pre-trigger state is isolation. When we say the word isolation, we think of being alone, physically. However, people can experience isolation mentally too. We can still feel like we’re alone when we’re in a room full of people. Some people like their own space and spending time on their own, however, whether you like being alone or not, being isolated for long periods of time can make us more susceptible to experiencing stress. 

Although all 3 of the above are pre-stages of stress, the first 2 manifest themselves differently to the 3rd. Tiredness/Fatigue and Hunger/Thirst fuel feelings of anger and irritability, whereas isolation creates feelings of fear. Experiencing these negative feelings can make us more likely to adopt a threat state mindset, rather than a challenge state mindset. 

In Summary: we have identified 3 pre-trigger states that can make us more susceptible to experiencing stress and adopting a threat state mindset. Keeping on top of our pre-trigger states and reducing our chances of us experiencing them will keep our chimp at bay, increase our productivity in the workplace, and most importantly, make us less susceptible to experiencing stress.