How stress leaves me cold-shouldered by myself

Everyone experiences stress at some point. That is not immediately something negative. A little healthy stress is even desirable. You need the tension that goes with it in order to get moving. Many students, for instance, wait until the last moment before starting to study. Or take a look around your own working environment. Colleagues, or you yourself, often only spring into action when there is really no other option. But what if you are dealing with total stress?

An extra gear

The more stress people experience, the more they display of their preferred behaviour. They shift, as it were, into an extra gear. Someone with a yellow driver, for example, then analyses even more strongly and asks even more critical questions. And the people-oriented green driver involves even more people in their cause and attaches even more value to the importance of good communication with each other. In my own MyDrives colour profile, orange sets the tone. When I have healthy stress, I become even more results-oriented and continuously ask myself: what do I get out of this? What does this situation yield for me?

Your personal stress pattern

With total stress it is not immediately clear which drivers determine your behaviour. The MyDrives database shows that in such cases many people display behaviour that differs from their habitual behaviour. That different behaviour stems from the drivers that occupy you most, consciously and unconsciously. This behaviour forms your personal stress pattern and emerges mainly when your own interests are at stake. 80% of people display an individual driver (yellow, orange, red) when stress hits hard. 45% display exclusively the red driver when the water is up to their lips. The red driver then responds with the speed of light and regularly with forceful and angry behaviour. Red under stress is mainly occupied with defending its own arguments. Black-and-white thinking is part of that as well. There is a chance that other drivers are overwhelmed as a result.

I run into blue

When I am under extreme pressure, the blue driver is always the first to report for duty. The consequences: the more the pressure builds, the more tightly I hold on to strict ordering and framing of matters. An additional effect is that I fall back strictly on my own tasks. The thought that constantly accompanies me: they have no idea how hard I work, what I do and what I give up for the business. Something else that is often the case: the blue driver under severe stress keeps hammering on details, even the very smallest ones.

The solution

For your personal development it is important to know which colours steer you once you have ended up in a stressful situation. And bear in mind: looking in the mirror and judging your own behaviour is always difficult. When you are under extreme pressure, it becomes even harder. In that case, think of concrete examples or ask people around you whether they recognise your behaviour and the colours that go with it. Because the more aware you are of your thinking and acting, the better able you are to adjust your response and thereby make personal gains. Put differently: anyone who simply lets themselves be led by their unconscious habitual behaviour under severe stress runs the risk of harming themselves. That risk increases the more your personal interests are at stake.

Recognising stress colours in others

If you also recognise which stress colours are decisive for the people around you, that knowledge contributes to your personal development too. You can then make a good assessment of their thinking and behaviour under extreme pressure, so that you are not faced with unexpected surprises and can respond to a situation more quickly and more effectively.