Stress

By Gerry Reynolds MSc

Back in 2017, I wrote an article about my relationship with stress as an Event Manager called “Stressful? Are You Kidding Me”

Since then, whenever I am talking to Event Management Students here in Scotland, I always try to remember to advise them to take a few minutes to learn more about what happens to them physically, when events go wrong. Thanks to Covid-19, these are stressful times, so I thought I would share a few thoughts, as I cannot see any of us relaxing, any time soon.

Some of this will seem familiar to you folks when you think about it. But hopefully, some will have you going “Wow, I did not know that!” And hopefully some of you will find it useful down the line in enabling you to understand yourself better than I ever did.

OK, when anything goes wrong, and I do mean anything, the first part of our body to react is the brain. It reacts instantly because that is what the brain is designed to do. It automatically calls for an immediate flooding of your system of what you will know as adrenaline from glands sitting above your kidneys. I know it is called epinephrine, but I think us calling it adrenaline has something to do with the name of the gland that produces it.

All I do know is that when that stuff hits my system, it sets off a number of involuntary responses which are designed to stimulate acts of self-preservation; and trust me, if your ancestors had not acted immediately when danger called, you would not be here today.

The heart rate increases, blood pressure rises and circulation is diverted from the organs working on digesting my breakfast to the muscles in my extremities in anticipation of me either running away or fighting for survival. More blood heads to my heart and the air passages in my lungs expand ready for an immediate explosive start of physical activity.

Lobbing my metabolism into overdrive generates heat and the first beads of sweat appears as the system to regulate my body temperature, kicks in. My eyelids contract and my pupils dilate because the extra light allowed into the system, helps give me the increased visual sensitivity that my body thinks I am going to need to get the hell out of the way of whatever is coming my way.

All of this happens before my brain has even worked out that something is going wrong with my event! We are talking about this happening so quickly, as to feel instant. I am not an expert on what fractions of milliseconds should be called, so let’s just call it instantly.

Once the adrenaline has been released, there is no way my adrenal glands want that stuff back.

“You ordered the adrenaline salad, you are going to eat the adrenaline salad and until you tell me that I am not in danger, here is your adrenaline main course. Would Sir like an adrenaline pudding with ice cream to go with that?” It keeps pumping until my brain is able work out that I am not in danger.

Of course, the adrenaline has to go somewhere and that is why you or I might shake or shudder or move around or do something else for a while until your bodies get back under control. Personally, I am a big fan of going for a wee walk and deep breathing.

There is no way that any of us can avoid that first surge of adrenaline because the brain’s request for an immediate supply of the stuff is the result of thousands of years of our ancestors appearing on the menu, or thanks to God’s mysterious ways, if you prefer.

So remember, when anything goes wrong at home or in the office, your system is designed to improve your chances of survival in nearly any situation and you are going to feel something physically, so get used to it.

When I first started out as an Event Manager, I used to get worried about the way that I was feeling when things went wrong. Guess what, that made me feel anxious! You can guess what that led my brain to do next. Instantly scream for a double helping of... bloody adrenaline.

Gerry Reynolds has forty years’ experience in organising local, national and international events and has a Master’s Degree in International Event Management. He is the Events Manager for the Highland Council based in Inverness, Scotland.

www.kaliff.com