A fascinating short interview from the BBC Business section with António Horta-Osorio, the CEO of the Lloyds Banking Group about mental well-being https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/business-51181861/mental-health-combine-peak-performance-with-moments-of-rest
This chimed with some great insight shared by CPAS on leadership issues in general but the areas around dealing with stress were very good indeed. Going back to my Engineering days, the human being under stress actually seems to act in a way parallel with a spring. Hooke's Law describes the relationship be relationship between stress and strain in an elastic body, such as a spring. As strain increases and decreases, so does the extent of deformation (stretching or bending, for example). This relationship is linear (stretching and returning to the original shape) until the yield point is reached, after which the deformation becomes permanent (the metal beam is now bent, or the spring snaps).
This page also gives some more information about the mechanics of this, if you are interested.
So too with the human being. A footballer might play in front of a hostile crowd with enormous stakes up for grabs, but that stress is then given time to work out of their system (relaxation is part of the cycle between matches) but for many, Mr Horta-Osorio for example, the stakes remain too high for too long and something has to give in order to prevent permanent damage.
I admire his courage for speaking out in a world in which somehow it is seen as a sign of strength to be able to cope with constant pressure.
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