Dealing With Difficult People

Stress Defined
What is stress? Why do people say "I feel stressed!"? The most common source of stress comes from dealing with difficult people, and, according to psychology experts, stress itself and feeling stress are results of chemicals being released from the body in to the blood, and happen as a result of actions that take place outside the body. Whether it is dealing with difficult people or that problem with a dripping tap effect- or something as simple as a rainy day, these can all cause feelings of stress or anxiety. Identical to an infection, a small problem gets worse if left to develop. Stress levels resulting from stressful situations are often worsened because they are dwelt upon instead of being rationalized. Hence, the most stressed people are often not the most rational.

Reasons for stress
Apart from partners, where do almost all confrontations occur? The workplace. More specific- certain difficult people in your workplace. After all, you spend the majority of your waking hours working. Bosses generally spend the most time dealing with dificult people, although jobs dealing with the public can be stressful in this way too. In order to own and respect yourself, you must be equipped at dealing with difficult people effectively, and, according to two surveys conducted in 2006-07(conducted by labour force*), over half a million people in the UK thought that they were experiencing stress at work to an extent where it was affecting their health. In other words, they weren't equipped. Not all stress can be blamed on difficult people, but alot can be traced back. That shows a lot of people who can't solve their problems effectively, and that's just the ones that admit to it- the actual figure is far greater!

*Surveys conducted by Labour Force for Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment (DETINI)

Remember: If you have come off difficult situations worse and that difficult person has got the better of you, replaying the difficult situations in your head will help you see what they did well. Work out exactly what negative quality the person has the most of. More often than not, difficult people that make fun of you have one or two concepts nailed down, and each time- consciously or subconsciously direct the situation toward their secret weapon, whether its:

1. Sarcasm- not taking your seriously, pretending too

2. Cynicism- on a pedestal looking down on the situation

3. Exploitation of an anomaly- A little thing that occurs every so often in a job that prevents the job from being done. The thing is not realized by others, exploited by the difficult person, and costs you a few units of embarrassment when an argument about the job occurs!
4. Enough general head knowledge to make a convincing lie and trace the blame back to you or someone else.

More on this soon. It'll be worth the wait, honest- esp. if your difficult.