‘Stop, Drop And Roll’ Is Good Advice
Even If All That’s Going Up In Flames Is Your Day

By Dr. Ange DiBenedetto

Stop, drop and roll. We all remember that advice from our childhood fire safety lessons. But did you know that same advice can also help you deal with stress?  Stress, after all is like fire: it moves fast, devours resources and causes lasting damage.

Tina was an independent sales rep who sold health and beauty products for several companies. Her territory was spread out over a large area and she tried to coordinate sales calls efficiently. However, her day was filled with “emergency” phone calls from store staff and product suppliers who wanted her to respond to their crises no matter what else she was doing.  Her desire to immediately satisfy everyone’s “urgent” needs was beginning to get to her, which is why she came to me. Although she loved sales, she had become increasingly tense and unhappy and had even snapped at the store manager at one of her most important  accounts.

Tina needed help dealing with stress so that she could maintain her high performance while preserving her sanity.  One of the simple and effective tools we worked on was the “stop, drop and roll” approach to stress. This simple mantra is the ideal emergency response,  whether your stress is raging, smoldering or merely smoking. Here’s how we broke it down:

STOP: The best way to deal with stress is to take a complete break from whatever is going on to cause it. Many experts agree that the brain and body recover best from stress when allowed to completely disengage from the stressful situation for just a few minutes.  Of course there are occasional true crises when you have to keep going but unless you’re doing surgery or defusing a bomb, most work situations can be put on hold briefly.  One of the most important ways Tina learned to “stop” when she “smelled the smoke” of stress was by not answering her cell phone every time it rang. She knew that when she let the phone take a message she could avoid being put on the spot and have more time to plan her response. 

DROP: Think “Drop out.” Be a momentary stress “drop-out” and get the change of scenery and perspective that experts agree is crucial to stress recovery. A walk, a stretch, a little fresh air or a few minutes of chatting can be amazingly restorative. Taking yourself away from the clamorous demands of others can quickly restore your equilibrium. For Tina, stuck with a rude store manager, “dropping out” often meant remembering that she “forgot” something in her car. While she walked to her car for the imaginary item she practiced her relaxation breathing and came back refreshed. (By the way, she didn’t feel guilty for this little white lie, because she reminded herself that she really did “forget” something – how to deal with obnoxious behavior- and her walk to the car would help her “find” it.)

ROLL: Once you strengthen your ability to rescue yourself from stressful situations, some of the things “singed” you will begin to “roll off your back.”  And like Tina, you may find that with practice you’ll more often be  “rolling” along under your own power instead of being pulled and pushed by other’s so-called “emergencies.” 

So the next time you’re feeling the heat of stress rise to dangerous levels, remember to “Stop, drop and roll,” and you won’t get burned.

 Dr. Ange DiBenedetto of Amherst has over 20 years experience as a coach and therapist. To learn more about Courage to Succeed program and phone or in-person coaching, contact her at 413-549-4145 or visit her Web site at www.dr-ange.com.