Predator Awareness

We all know stress reduction is a must. The medical community touts it as a silent killer. The concept goes like this: reduce the obvious stress in your life and condition your body to combat the left over.A quick look around demonstrates affirmative steps being taken in this life saving direction. An entire industry has been built with this single goal in mind.

Since no two people are alike, we all have to create our own list of what to avoid. This is tricky. I have a Grim Reaper you may want to add to your list, if you haven’t already.

Imagine this: You are talking to an associate you’ve been around every day for the past few months. This associate can be lover, co-worker, collaborator, doesn’t matter. Now suppose you are telling this person about something and when you are mid-sentence this associate says to you something like “Dealing with you having my off the charts high IQ and your above average IQ is like you dealing with somebody with a 90 IQ.” What? Hugh. Ouch.

Once you gather yourself back together from this obvious condescending remark, what do you do?

Well, you could walk away and never speak to them again. You could consider you didn’t hear them right or that they misspoke. You could choose to ignore it as an aberration. You could attempt to respond in kind. What would you?

The only stress free option may be to walk away, never to look back. I suspect most of you will stick around. Let me tell you why I think you will and why I think you shouldn’t.

After a rapport is built with someone it is much harder to break away based on an isolated comment. We all tend to rationalize it away.

Problem is if you accept this behavior once I guarantee it will happen again and again. Unfortunately, what comes along with this repetitive rudeness is a subtle chronic stressor resulting from anticipation. What I call the“grin and bare it” syndrome. So every time this person is around your body prepares for trouble. In preparing for trouble your body goes through changes. Let’s take a quick look at what these changes are all about.

Our natural defense system is a wonderful survival mechanism when appropriately stimulated. Everybody has felt that tingling sensation immediately following a sudden occurrence of a perceived danger.

This is commonly known as “fight or flight” response. Adrenalin dashes around causing modifications to numerous involuntary systems. An accelerated heart and lung action; inhibition of stomach and intestinal action; constriction of blood vessels to the periphery; liberation of nutrients in muscles; dilation of blood vessels in the muscles; inhibition of tear glands and salivation; and dilation of the pupil are typical outcomes. Our body is now geared up for the impending peril.

Now if your body stayed at this high level modification it wouldn’t survive. Kinda like driving your car at 60 miles an hour in first gear. How long would it take for its motor to blow?

As described previously, a historical event that has a high probability of occurring again and again causes our body to prepare on the mere possibility. What we all need to understand, and is frightening, is that we don’t even realize our body is responding. Well it is without the dash.

So your decision to hang around somebody who makes tactless condescending statements towards you may be causing you stress. This type of personality is a Grim Reaper and I urge you to concentrate on how you feel around this person. If your feel lighter when they leave the room take head.

Avoid this Grim Reaper.