Newsletter Archive

MARCH 2010

Executive Function at Work, Part Seven:
Managing Stress

This is the last in a series of articles about managing executive function challenges at work. Executive function relates to a person's ability to plan, prioritize, manage time, comprehend the big picture, change course and make good decisions.  

This issue of the Asperger's & NLD Career Letter concludes a seven-part series on executive function at work with a discussion about stress.

Those of you with Asperger's Syndrome or Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NLD) are quite familiar with the deleterious effects of tension and overwhelm. In particular, emotional stress such as anger, fear and anxiety often triggers problematic behaviors in the workplace, as these client examples illustrate:

• John became so frustrated when a co-worker disagreed with him that he quit his job on the spot
  
  
• Elizabeth's anxiety about a missed deadline caused her to explode at a colleague for calling her "Beth"
  
  
• Jack was furious when his request for a vacation day was denied and sent a threatening email to his supervisor ... and was promptly fired
  
  
• Ellen abruptly walked out of a department meeting because she could not follow the rapid pace of the discussion

In all of these cases, the individuals were overwhelmed by their feelings and reacted without thinking the situations through. Their impulsive actions, rigid thinking and poor decision making are all symptomatic of executive functions gone awry.

The cause is what Daniel Goleman describes, in his classic book Emotional Intelligence, as an "amygdala hijack." 1 Strong emotions like anxiety, fear and anger activate the body's fight or flight response, triggering the amygdala (the emotional part of the brain) to react. The reaction is automatic, visceral and occurs before the cerebral cortex (the thinking part of the brain) can intercede. During such episodes, an individual is literally not thinking straight. When the emotional storm passes (and the thinking brain takes over) the person usually realizes that his emotional reactions were inappropriate.1

Obviously it is important to find ways to control the level of stress in your life! Otherwise you risk damaging your reputation and credibility and possibly losing your job. Here are some suggestions:

• Accept that you cannot control the actions of other people. Instead, find ways to control how you respond to them. (Hint: don't take their actions personally.)
  
  
• Understand what triggers your anger, frustration, overwhelm, anxiety, panic or other strong emotions. Then devise a plan to deal with it before you are in an out-of-control situation. Jane, for example, became angry and snapped at people who asked her too many questions at once. Instead of feeling pressure to respond immediately, she now says, "Let me think about that and get back to you."
  
  
• Whenever possible, take a break when a situation becomes intense. This helps to "short circuit" the fight or flight response. Go the company break room, walk around the parking lot, call a family member or friend, listen to music on your iPod, etc.
  
  
• Explore whether there are attitudes or behaviors that you need to change. Unrealistic expectations, perfectionism, and insisting that things be done a certain way are examples of self-defeating patterns. A coach, therapist or mentor can be helpful here.
  
  
• Exercise, good nutrition and adequate sleep can vastly reduce the impact of stress.

Here are some of my favorite books for learning more about executive function in general and managing stress in particular:

...Find Your Focus Zone by Lucy Jo Palladino, Ph.D presents a wealth of ideas for avoiding distraction and overwhelm
... Asperger Syndrome and Anxiety by Nick Dubin explains how anxiety works and how to manage it
... although It's So Much Work to Be Your Friend by Richard Lavoie focuses on children with learning disabilities, it explains executive functions in a very accessible way (and many of the strategies work for adults, too)
... finally Executive Function in Education, From Theory to Practice, edited by Lynn Meltzer, is a great read for those who want a more in-depth, scholarly explanation of how executive function deficits affect learning.

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1 See also The Emotional Brain by Joseph LeDoux for an explanation of high and low road brain processing and the impact on executive function.

© 2010 by Barbara Bissonnette, Forward Motion Coaching