I was once catching a tiny, eight-seater light aircraft between two mining towns in the outback of Western Australia.

Having worked myself into a state of hysteria at the minute proportions of the plane, I was not comforted to find that my luggage was strapped behind my head in a mesh harness or that I could see over the pilot’s shoulder to the nose of the plane.

Before we had even belted in I had scanned Mechanic’s World from cover to cover and had left my fingerprints forever etched on the chair arm.

I happened to be seated next to a retired helicopter pilot.

Thinking this a good omen – especially if the pilot and the co-pilot both simultaneously suffered coronary failure – I tried to absorb some of his laid-back confidence.

But then a glaring omission caught my eye.

Where were the parachutes stored?

The ex-pilot laughed long and hard at my query. “Even if they stored parachutes on these flights,” he drawled, oblivious to my mounting panic, “we don’t climb high enough for them to open in time.”

As I absorbed this piece of wisdom, I turned my attention back to my magazine. Suffice to say that I could have re-assembled a semi-trailer from scrap by the time we actually touched down.

Bracing for Impact

I do not enjoy flying. Despite this fact, I regularly fly, having made countless international trips in recent years. But it is always a stress-inducing experience.

Like many people who fear flying, my largely irrational stress begins well in advance of actually boarding the plane.

Sleepless nights, a vague sense of distress at the back of my mind and an obsession with the most efficient way of packing my suitcase are all ways in which my stress is manifested.

As one witty writer once pointed out, stress is a type of disease, or to be more precise a DIS – EASE, where those afflicted suffer both mental and physical strain.

But even if you are one of those cool commuters who can carry on a conversation while the drinks trolley hits the roof, you will no doubt agree that there are some common stress triggers that ignite us all.

They fall loosely into the following three categories:

1. Events – these include exams, a new job, a new baby, quitting smoking, an injury, a divorce, retirement, a new house or even a vacation
2. Circumstances – these include illness, debt, bullying, family problems, pregnancy, poor performance at school, lengthy travel times or less personal issues like world terrorism or political unrest
3. Thought patterns – these include unflattering comparisons with others, a high expectation of self, fear of the future, fear of failure or fear of death

Attitude Sickness

It seems that while our preparation for events, our support structures to circumstances and the training we have put into our thought patterns can reduce the amount of stress we feel, it is difficult to escape stress altogether.

Despite this reality, I have often wished that there was a symbolic parachute that I could add to my hand luggage.

Having once assembled this life-saving device, all of my stress would melt away and I’d be free to embark on my journey with a positive, bold outlook.

Not one to spend too much time involved in unproductive activity – I’m sure I’ll reap the benefits of Mechanics World one day – I instead devised a simple program to tackle my stress.

I called it R.I.P.C.O.R.D.

And while the real test will come the next time I fly, in the meantime I’m practicing packing my chute whenever turbulence strikes.

A Crash Course in Stress Control

There are seven key steps to escaping your stress.

If, like me, you can imagine stress as a rapidly-descending, out of control airplane, then think of these steps as the magic chute that will help you leap free and guide you in for a perfect landing:

1. Recognise your stress pressure points

The first step is to identify the origin of your stress. Common stress pressure points are in the HOME, (money worries, privacy, chores, neighbours) at WORK (deadlines, boredom, customer complaints, loss of free time), in SOCIAL settings (meeting new people, isolation, personality clashes) or in the COMMUNITY (traffic, global warming, cultural differences).

2. Identify your stress impacts

We then need to recognise the impact upon our PHYSICAL health, such as exhaustion, irritability, poor communication and binge eating. Similarly, stress can cause EMOTIONAL issues like anger, depression, sensitivity and withdrawal. When you can identify these issues as side-effects from stress, you can begin working on the healing process.

3. Pinpoint the stress trigger

The stress trigger can be linked back to the three categories listed earlier : EVENTS, CIRCUMSTANCES and THOUGHT PATTERNS. A combination of these elements, such as undertaking exams when you are unwell and plagued by fear of failure, can be crippling. It is important to note that CHANGE, in any one of these areas, is one of the most common causes of stress.

4. Control your stress response

Having recognised the PHYSICAL and EMOTIONAL impacts, apply the appropriate action to control it. Take a quick walk when you feeling under siege, put barriers in the way of reactive over-eating or channel your emotions through constructive writing. Use your family and friends to help you adopt more positive reactions to stress.

5. Own up to the need to change

If the stress is intrinsically tied to your lifestyle, you may have to commit to some major changes. If your job is making you ill with stress, it might be time to negotiate different working arrangements or to move on altogether. If your relationship seems to be the source of your stress, counselling may be required. Once again the key is to recognise and take action.

6. Respond with the appropriate technique

The best technique to deal with stress might be by focusing on the PROBLEM and taking practical action to counter it, such as carpooling to reduce the stressful drive to work. Alternatively, the technique might involve focusing on the EMOTION and assuming a positive attitude and mindset to reduce the stress.

7. De-stress your lifestyle

Once you have committed to change and begun to reap the rewards of controlling your stress, you may need to embed this into your lifestyle. This includes increasing your daily exercise, taking the time to meditate, managing your time and commitments more effectively, laughing and celebrating more and generally being kind to yourself.

Perhaps stress is simply a modern day malady that we have to live with.

But rather than taking up the brace position every time it gets a little turbulent, perhaps we should be looking at adopting a more effective de-stressing process.

Remember: Don’t spiral out of control… pull the ripcord and escape your stress… It beats reading statistics on how safe air travel really is!