We don’t like second hand smoking, so why put up with second hand stressing?

You can probably guess from the name what second hand stress is. It’s when others around you are feeling stressed and then your stress levels start to go up.

Ah “to vent or not to vent?” – we get asked this question a lot at Next Evolution Performance. So here’s some neuroscience to help answer the question, as well as some practical tips to avoid too much carnage for you or those around you…

A few years ago, British television presenter Piers Morgan dismissed Lady Gaga’s Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). He said that only if you’ve been to war, that you’re allowed to use that term. As a psychologist, I affirmatively call bullshit on that.

Ok so this title may sound a little harsh. Hear me out…

Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw said, “The single biggest mistake with communication is assuming that it happened.”

Put simply, neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to change itself in response to learning – the brain can be kind of “use it or lose it”.

A few weeks ago, we launched into a soft lockdown. Despite our border control measures, policing the wearing of masks, and a vaccination program, community cases increased again. Ironically, in the wake of being complimented by global bodies for our COVID-19 resilience.

This May, burnout was officially recognised by the World Health Organisation. Whilst my colleagues and I thought “It’s about time!”, it was a step in affirming that you’re neither weak nor alone if you’ve burnt out or are teetering on the brink.

Precrastination is the act of charging forward with the quickest action. Sounds good in theory, except that this fervor is often tinged with impulsivity and can actually end up taking more effort.

Pressure comes from the feeling that you “should” be doing or thinking something that you’re not. It can weigh us down and lead us to make all sorts of decisions that really aren’t supportive of where we are trying to get to.