© Dr. Sujendra Prakash, Ph.D.
SUPRA STRESS PREVENTION
Step 1 – (SAS)
Stop Attracting Stress
Most people believe stress happens to them.
They blame:
- Their job
- Their boss
- Their family
- Their finances
- Their circumstances
While these factors certainly contribute to stress, they do not tell the whole story.
Over several decades of studying stress, I arrived at a disturbing observation:
Some people seem to attract stress wherever they go.
They change jobs and become stressed again.
They change cities and become stressed again.
They change relationships and become stressed again.
They solve one problem only to create another.
Why does this happen?
Perhaps because stress is not always caused by circumstances.
Sometimes it is generated by the way we think, decide, and respond.
In other words:
Many people unknowingly attract stress into their lives.
The Stress Attraction Cycle
Most people imagine stress works like this:
Problem
↓
Stress
But often the cycle looks like this:
Faulty Thoughts
↓
Weak Decisions
↓
Inappropriate Solutions
↓
More Problems
↓
More Stress
The cycle repeats.
The individual concludes:
"I have a stressful life."
In reality, they may be recreating stress repeatedly.
Part One: Faulty Thoughts
Stress often begins long before a problem appears.
It begins in the mind.
Example 1: Unnecessary Expectations
A manager expects every employee to perform perfectly.
Every mistake irritates him.
Every delay frustrates him.
Every disagreement stresses him.
The problem is not the employees.
The problem is the expectation.
The manager has created a standard that reality cannot consistently satisfy.
Stress follows.
Example 2: Unsolicited Emotions
A person feels anxious.
Instead of recognizing anxiety as an emotion, he treats it as evidence.
"I feel worried; therefore, something must be wrong."
The emotion creates more thoughts.
The thoughts create more emotion.
Stress grows.
Part Two: Weak Decisions
Many stressful situations originate from poor decisions rather than difficult circumstances.
Example 3: Unfavorable Comparisons
A professional compares herself constantly with others.
Someone earns more.
Someone receives recognition.
Someone advances faster.
Every comparison creates dissatisfaction.
The comparison becomes a stress-generating machine.
Example 4: Unrealistic Goals
A student decides to complete six months of work in two weeks.
The goal exceeds available resources.
Failure becomes likely.
Stress becomes inevitable.
Example 5: Unclear Directions
A young professional wants success but cannot define what success means.
Every opportunity looks attractive.
Every choice creates confusion.
The absence of direction becomes a source of stress.
Example 6: Unresolved Choices
Someone remains trapped between two options.
Should I stay or leave?
Should I invest or wait?
Should I continue or quit?
Months pass.
The decision remains unresolved.
Stress continues.
Part Three: Inappropriate Solutions
Even when problems are real, people often respond poorly.
The response creates additional stress.
Example 7: Unfulfilled Satisfaction
A businessman achieves one goal.
Instead of appreciating it, he immediately focuses on the next.
Nothing feels enough.
Success brings only temporary relief.
Example 8: Unending Boredom
A person feels bored.
Instead of developing meaningful interests, he seeks constant stimulation.
Social media.
Television.
Random browsing.
Temporary relief.
Permanent dissatisfaction.
Stress returns.
Example 9: Unwelcome Tiredness
A professional feels exhausted.
Instead of recovering, she pushes harder.
The body asks for rest.
The mind demands performance.
The conflict creates chronic stress.
Example 10: Unopposed Frustrations
Small frustrations accumulate.
Traffic.
Delays.
Mistakes.
Interruptions.
Nothing is addressed.
Everything is stored.
Eventually the person explodes.
Example 11: Unconquered Pressures
Pressure itself is not always the problem.
The inability to manage pressure is.
Two employees face identical deadlines.
One plans and prioritizes.
The other panics.
The pressure is the same.
The response is different.
Why Some People Attract Stress Wherever They Go
Observe carefully.
- Some individuals repeatedly:
- Create unnecessary urgency
- Overcommit themselves
- Delay important tasks
- Compare themselves with others
- Pursue unrealistic goals
- Ignore recovery
- Avoid decisions
- Resist reality
Then they wonder why stress follows them.
Stress is not chasing them.
They are creating conditions that attract it.
The 14 Root Causes of Stress
Through my research, I identified fourteen recurring patterns that contribute to stress attraction.
|
Faulty Thoughts |
|
Undesired
Wants |
|
Unwanted Desires |
|
Unsolicited
Emotions |
|
Unnecessary
Expectations |
|
|
|
Weak Decisions |
|
Unfavorable Comparisons |
|
Unclear Directions |
|
Unresolved
Choices |
|
Unrealistic
Goals |
|
|
|
Inappropriate Solutions |
|
Unexpected
Barriers |
|
Unfulfilled
Satisfaction |
|
Unopposed
Frustrations |
|
Unconquered
Pressures |
|
Unwelcome
Tiredness |
|
Unending
Boredom |
These factors often operate quietly in the background.
Most people notice the stress.
Few notice the source.
DO NOT ATTRACT ANY OF THESE, AND YOU HAVE PREVENTED STRESS FROM AFFECTING YOU NEGATIVELY
A Different Question
When you feel stressed, stop asking:
"Why is this happening to me?"
Ask:
"What am I doing that may be attracting this stress?"
This question changes everything.
It shifts attention from blame to understanding.
The SAS Principle
Stress Prevention begins when we learn to examine:
My Thoughts
What am I telling myself?
My Decisions
What choices am I making?
My Solutions
How am I responding?
Many stressful situations begin to disappear when these three areas improve.
Final Thought
Stress is not always an unavoidable consequence of life.
Sometimes it is the result of habits we have repeated for years.
Faulty thoughts create unnecessary tension.
Weak decisions create unnecessary complications.
Inappropriate solutions create unnecessary suffering.
The goal of stress prevention is not merely to reduce stress.
The goal is to stop attracting it.
That is the purpose of SAS – Stop Attracting Stress.
When we change the way we think, decide, and respond, we often discover that much of the stress we blamed on life was actually being created by us.
Articles related to Faulty Thoughts
Is Thinking Necessary to Survive?
Positive Thinking (Find out how positive thinking is a trap that essentially may lead us to faulty thoughts).
What Psychologists Don’t Talk About Distorted Thinking?
Barriers to Productive Thoughts
Avoid attracting these Decisions
- Postponed decisions
- Over-analyzed decisions
- Crutch-dependent decisions
- Borrowed decisions
- Fallacious decisions
- Seemingly intuitive decisions
- Emotional decisions
- Emotionally blackmailed decisions
- Illusory decisions
- Forced decisions
- Conflict-based decisions
- Dilemma-based decisions
- Stress-induced decisions
- Careless decisions
- Biased decisions
- Over-dependent decisions
- Copied decisions
- Pre-planned decisions
- Unplanned decisions
- Assumption-based decisions
- “Playing safe” decisions
- “Pleasing-all” decisions
- Uninformed decisions
- Hearsay decisions
- Prejudiced decisions
SUPRA STRESS PREVENTION
|
(SAS) STOP ATTRACTING STRESS through |
|
Faulty Thoughts |
|
Weak Decisions |
|
Inappropriate
Solutions |
|
|
|
(SIS) START INVITING STRESS through |
|
Productive Thoughts |
|
Strong Decisions |
|
Appropriate
Solutions |
The other channels necessary stress into growth, achievement, and survival.
SUPRA STRESS PREVENTION: SAS & SIS
What Form of Stress Are You Experiencing Right Now? Identify Stress
Stress can become psychologically addictive: The Stress Addiction Cycle.
The Hidden Hunger: Why We Are Psychologically Addicted to Stress?
The Stress Map: Diagnosing the 14-U Root Causes
SUPRA STRESS PREVENTION Step 2 – (SIS) Start Inviting Stress
👉 Find explanations for each of the 14-U Root Causes
The Stress Map: Diagnosing the 14-U Root Causes
👉 [ Return to SUPRA STRESS BUSTERS ]
👉 [ Use What Kind of Stress Are You Experiencing Right Now? ]
👉 [ Use RAT (Real or Apparent Threat) Analysis ]
👉 [ Use Pressure Handling (From Overload to Control) ]
👈 [ 44 Types of Guilt We Experience (And Why They Affect Us)]
👈 [ Guilt Analysis ]
Is your guilt real or apparent?
Find out through RAT (Real or Apparent Threat) Analysis
👉 The Real Cause of Burnout May Not Be What You Think!
E-Book:
Befriending Stress
To Neutralize its Danger
By Dr. Sujendra Prakash, Ph.D.
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