This is from a lightning talk I gave at a PICC / LOPSA-East conference, either 2010 or 2011.

1. MANAGE STRESS
(before it kills you)
I originally wrote an article for Simple Talk magazine with this title. Four years or so ago, I
went to the hospital because of what I thought was a heart attack, but it ended up being
caused by stress. I learned some ways to cope with it, and wrote the article to help others.
This slideshow was originally presented at the PICC’11 conference. Enjoy!
--Matt Simmons (standalone.sysadmin@gmail.com)
Sunday, May 1, 2011

2. STRESS IS CAUSED BY
Evolutionary: Chased by a lion
Humans were meant for
short bursts of stress,
evolutionarily-speaking.
There were no 3-month
project deadlines in the
savannas and trees
where we evolved to our
current form.
Historically: warfare, famine, pestilence, other plagues
Modern Day: traffic, bosses, relationships, Nagios
Sunday, May 1, 2011

3. SHORT-TERM
STRESS RESPONSE
“Alarm Phase”
“Fight or Flight”
Adrenaline Released
Muscles Tense
These last t wo chemicals are maybe the most
insidious parts of the stress response.
Serotonin and dopamine both activate the pleasure
sensors of the brain. Evolutionarily, they exist
because stressful situations cause pain, and the
release of the chemicals counteracts that, which
allows us to escape the threatening environment.
The body and brain don’t distinguish bet ween a
present danger and psychological stress inflicted by
long-term situations (like work).
Because the stress response is the same, we get a
chemical “hit” of pleasure when we come under
stress (even if we don’t feel it).
Elevated blood pressure & heart rate
Serotonin & Dopamine Released
Sunday, May 1, 2011

4. LONG TERM STRESS
Inter-arterial scars create places for LDL cholesterol to cling
to, which is the beginning of a plaque buildup. Over time, these
create dams, which block the blood-flow.
Those coronary by-passes that are all the rage? It’s to deal
with narrowing of the arteries caused by the plaque build-up.
Body’s coping mechanisms start to break down
Mental and physical abilities break down
Inter-arterial scarring from constant high blood pressure
Psychological dependence
Interesting fact: Dopamine is the
exact same chemical released by
the brain when you gamble.
Sunday, May 1, 2011

5. FINAL STRESS PHASE
Interesting Fact: Stress is vital, and we can’t exist
without it.
Body gives up
Completely burned out
Elevated stress levels for short periods of time actually
decreases our body’s response time, increases our mental
acuity, and the addition of adrenaline actually makes us
stronger.
Unfortunately for us, those are only temporary gains, and
there is a refractory time needed to recover.
When we don’t get that recovery time, the good things still
go away, but we have fewer mental reserves to deal with
the next round of stress. Repeat ad mortuus.
Far, far past peak performance
This happens when we’re out of coping mechanisms
Sunday, May 1, 2011

6. COPING WITH STRESS
Burnout == No Coping Methods Left
Remedies:
No interesting facts, just the observation
that I’ve been here, and it sucks.
More coping methods
Removing stressors
Sunday, May 1, 2011
If you’re here, you’re not alone.

7. COPING METHOD #1
ACTION ORIENTED
Confront the stressor head-on
For some reason, this is
my go-to method, but
maybe I’m just direct like
that.
Plus I tend to be grumpy
when I’m stressed.
Work / Tech related?
Discuss options with manager, escalate if necessary.
If they’re unwilling to fix the problem? Leave. It isn’t
worth your life, and you probably didn’t like it anyway.
Sunday, May 1, 2011

8. COPING METHOD #2
EMOTION ORIENTED
People assure me that
this works, but I think
I’m just too stubborn to
make it happen.
Please try it though,
because if it works for
you, then that’s what
counts.
Attempt to change how you feel about the problem
Difficult to do, worth it if it works
Examine different perspectives, try other ideas.
Sunday, May 1, 2011

9. COPING METHOD #3
ACCEPTANCE ORIENTED
When you can’t change the stress (even temporarily), accept
the source of the longterm stress:
Accept that you are stressed
Build buffers between you and the source
Find other outlets for your stress
We’ve all been here.
If you don’t see light at the end of the
tunnel, talk to someone who will help you.
If you don’t have anyone to talk to, then
please call the crisis inter vention hotline
at (800) 273-8255. Someone will listen.
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Even just admitting that you are
stressed helps. Accepting that you’re in
a stressful situation is good, particularly
if there’s light at the end of the tunnel.

10. THE STRESS DIARY
A spreadsheet with the following columns:
Name of stressor
The advice books all say “get a journal and
write in it”, but we’re sysadmins, and
spreadsheets are a natural fit.
This would be a killer mobile phone app, too.
Severity of stress
How it makes you feel
How many times it has occurred
Maintain by week
Sunday, May 1, 2011

11. THE STRESS DIARY
Sort your stressors by severity
This is one of those
annoying “this stuff
should have been on
the last slide, but it
would have been way
too cluttered” slides.
Sort your stressors by frequency
Identify these top two stressors first, then re-evaluate
Sunday, May 1, 2011

12. COPING METHODS
I workout, paint, take pictures, walk through parks.
What do you do?
As I said in the presentation, I also find
that Death Metal works pretty well.
Other great suggestions were yoga, bike
riding (fast!), meditation, shooting
ranges, golf, batting cages, and pretty
much anything else that uses lots of
kinetic energy or intense concentration.
This makes sense when you consider
what the chemical response to stress
was intended to do, and how it affects us.
Sunday, May 1, 2011