That awful sinking, worried, dread feeling

Spirit · Post by **Spirit** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 12:35 pm

When I was Mr Corporate my job was very high-pressure and deadline-oriented. Things simply had to happen at the appointed time or hundreds of other people down the line would be thrown out and maybe millions of dollars lost.

That would sometimes make me rather adrenaline-pumped, literally dizzy with stress. But always I would stay calm since panic spreads like a fire.

Now I do more civilised work

with images and music and words. But I am not totally free of the big responsibities...

Tonight, because of an unlucky sequence of errors (three people making unusual mistakes in a row) I had to hit the panic button and was swept back into "dizzy-stress" land. I had the awful feeling of "huge f**k-up happening" in my stomach.

I hate it.

Maybe I'm getting too old, but any thrill of this sort of thing is long gone. I want calm and order.

So now I'm thinking: How may of you have crazy stressed-out jobs ?

And do you enjoy the stress ? Is it a challenge to combat, or something that "comes with the job" and perhaps the reason for good money and so must just be endured ?

More people it seems to me are trying to reject this sort of load....

Post by **garyb** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 12:46 pm

living in the city is stressfull by definition.

stress is the thing that builds muscles.some stress is nessessary for health.it's the DISTRESS we don't need any more of...

ChrisWerner · Post by **ChrisWerner** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 1:55 pm

If the thing what´s it all about is worth the stress, I like it. It´s good to believe in a thing, you have to pull every string to hold it together and then with the success, you fell very good, you lost few years of your life but, hey you did it.

Anyway, I always followed a very unusual way of living.
I always do what I want and not the other way around.
Well, now I live a stressless life but without the fights to get through this times, I have no job, no money, a small flat.
But I´m healthy and know that I can do something good to the other people around me and I don´t care about any deathline of anything.
Everything new today has to be higher, farer and faster and for what, only to keep a ball rolling that I don´t like. Sometimes a thought follows me, I see us all running down a hill with all our products, wishes and achievement orientated behaviours, we all know that someday this hill/run would end with smashing against a big wall, but we keep running, don´t we. Sometimes I really want to know who and why giving us this fast pace.

I´m strange I know.

Spirit · Post by **Spirit** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 2:13 pm

I think I know what you mean, but it's hard to get off. Today my work sent me a new phone: very high-tech with all the little extras... I enjoy fiddling with it. I like gadgets. Yet at the same time I'm trying to rid myself of "junk", all this "stuff" everywhere....

This story helps a bit:
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/co ... 77,00.html

Post by **Neil B** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 3:26 pm

Well,
I had a very high powered, stressful job too and I had all those crazy deadlines to meet.
I had a target though of retiring at 50, changed my mind and retired just before 49 - I simply stopped believing in it all.
I will say this though. You do tend to take stress with you and apply it to other things in your life. Stress is part of you not part of the job. The balance is between running on adrenaline or gong downbank due to stress.
Some stress is healthy for you, and I agree with Chris that if the cause is right, then some stress is acceptable, especially if it is something you believe in.
But I've found that, in my laid back retirement life, I've now started to make stress in situations that don't need it. Stupid really, and the situations don't often warrant it - they're just minor issues.
As an example - I know that my mixing/mastering is not very good yet, but I got so stressed uploading my last track!
For heavens sake - why???? It's a hobby
In my summary then - don't try to escape stress - it is part of you. You need some stress, and some adrenaline pumping.

Stubbe · Post by **Stubbe** » Mon Mar 08, 2004 4:35 pm

Funny, the number one reason for me to go get expensive CW-gear in the first place was an attempt to be able to try an calm down after a very stressed workday (not in the music business). It worked for me. This was back in the version 1.3 days, and I have since lowered my stress level to an extent where it is almost non-exixtent. My musical skills are still crap tho.

Still work 8-10 hours every day, but have learned to be focused on only the top 3 things around me and be very tough when prioritizing. Also, sharing the responsabillity and workload with colleagues and trainees helps.

Its very funny, but this makes me feel selfish, specially when I see colleagues working 'till its not funny anymore, but my boss simply loves the work I do, and I can't seem to do anything wrong.

For all it's worth, my lessons in avoiding stress evolves around

HUMOUR : you can actually blow some steam if you can tell the boss he is an ass in a funny way, and at the same time humour can create some distance between you and the problems. If you ever come across people whose job it is to clean the railroad tracks after suicide jumpers, you will very often find that they are people with a very developed sense of humour (often very black and irony/sarkasm-based). My experience anyway.

SPORTS : Simple, you can take more stress if you are fit, I think.

HOBBY : If you have something at home that can make you really unwind and relax, you also have a better chance of getting over it.

I have two friends who both got really seriously ill due to stress, one of them was told to "learn to skip a deadline once in a while or you'll be back here with a label around your toe in 6 months" by his attending doctor at the hospital. He got the message, but the other one is still on the learning curve and a bit in denial - can't really get around the "I've got stress" thing...

Just my pennies' worth

Cheers
Stubbe

Micha · Post by **Micha** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 6:43 am

Stress makes me awake. Until a certain top level is reached. Then the "overall existence engine" is running smoothly and producing a deep feeling of satisfaction. The good side of stress. If stress is above top level it depends in effect, sometimes you know "just this one more time & you're a winner", yes, and sometimes not. But it always costs "substance". And feelings like desperate arise. Making music is my recreation pool. Others prefer running etc. Once a week I met with a friend (teacher) and we blow out our frustration. It's a fact: music has healing quality. For the soul. To make it stronger.

And for professions that have to deal with human beeings I recommend making music. Last week I had one that cost me 13 (!) email until he understood that a firewall was blocking his download attempts. This gives inspiration for a real nasty guitar solo.

It's fun that way.
Another effect: Sometimes the "best idea" to solve the source of the stress is somehow blocked. In these cases it can be helpful to built a modular. The concentration is occupied outside the problem area and sometimes the miracle happens and all of a sudden it's "Bingo".

coc999 · Post by **coc999** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 2:27 pm

The worst stress is the stress you keep inside of you without any possibility to "externalize" it...
Here all of us have an interrest in music and that's a good way to evacuate some energy good or bad ...With experience and years i try the humour way and autojoking too (not easy)...for me that is the best

hopefully in my office i work with lot of old and experienced people who knows to laugh at the worst moment and that's really good , haha the project lost 50 milliion dollars hihi , haha ...In these big enourmous structures it saves my life ...And thinking about those billions people without No Rights kills my little stress .
my 2 cents.

AudioIrony · Post by **AudioIrony** » Tue Mar 09, 2004 7:30 pm

Yeah, I think stress is a relative thing and not simply part of one occupation over another. It might also have to do with having to work to get money for precious things

I work in the public health system. For the last 18 months I have worked in a call centre doing Triage for the local hospital system and just giving out general health advice. I thought that it should be relatively stress free, but I've had sleepless nights, in the early days, wondering if I'd given people the right advice - then also worrying if they actually took advice that I was 100% sure of

I constantly have to remind myself that people ultimately do have to take responsibility for their own actions and also that the information I give them is just a recommendation and when all is said and done - they can do what they choose.

Sad thing is, many people are stricken by the "Instant Gratification Virus" - they get angry when I can't "diagnose" their condition over a phone line

A typical scenario:

"My daughter has this rash...... etc" ..O.K is she still breathing then? "Yes" Any other symptoms, temperature? "No, she's fine, playing with her dolls and eating a sandwhich" Good, keep and eye on it and here's what you need to look out for.....etc "WHAT!!.. but she has a rash, she must be sick and I'm taking her to hospital now!!!"

It's also stressful for both parties when my recommendation doesn't suit their needs (usually they want permission to go to hospital because health care there is still free BUT my job is to take the pressure and volume away from the accident and emergency departments. There are a lot of social problems and hardship in this area.

Then I also get calls from the Triage Nurse at the hospital spinning out about the number of people walking into casualty, hehehehehe, like I sent them there personally with a note from all there mothers, which must be me BTW

It's funny, but stressful, we get over it by putting people on mute and bitching about their helpless attitude and patheticness

Ahhhhh... I feel so much better now.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: blgrace on 2004-03-09 19:56 ]</font>

skwawks · Post by **skwawks** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 7:09 am

Well there's the stress of megabucks and there's the stress of food on the table and there's the stress of getting up earlier than one would wish and the stress of overindulging in one's favourite stress avoidance devices isn't there ?
I can really do without it but unfortunately it never seems to be able to do without me .
Nothing, these relatively calm autumn days stresses me like an UPGRADE .
That's stress!!!
...recently experienced ..
but surviving so far...... I think....hope ...dear God ,dont make me do a format and reinstall of everything ...please ...dont send me to the bios ...I dont know what they want!!!! ...please ???

AudioIrony · Post by **AudioIrony** » Wed Mar 10, 2004 8:42 pm

...recently experienced ..
but surviving so far...... I think....hope ...dear God ,dont make me do a format and reinstall of everything ...please ...dont send me to the bios ...I dont know what they want!!!! ...please ???

I think there's something in that for everyone ROFL

I stress if I can't find my favourite pen - it's the OCD