Chapter 3: What helped you to change? 3.1 Solution for anxieties 3.1.1 Definition of four key schools of thought when considering individual change There are four main schools of thought when considering individual change: Firstly, the behavioral approach is to change the behavior of others through reward and punishment For example, if the change is intended to improve the quality of output, then the company should not reward the quantity of output Secondly, the cognitive approach is a manager needs to employ strategies that link organizational goals, individual goals and motivation This will create both alignment and motivation Thirdly, the psychodynamics approach is about understanding and relating to the inner world of change This is about treating people as adults and having mature conversations with them Finally, the humanistic psychology approach is to believe in growth and maximize potential with a focus on healthy development Working through these feelings can release energy for the change effort rather than manifesting as resistance to change 3.1.2 Solution for the case From the theories provided above, our team has come up with a specific solution for this case study as shown in the following table Behavioural Cognitive Attend training courses Manage personal goals Control work performance Innovative thinking and risk-taking Values translated into behaviours Beliefs, attitudes and cultural interventions Teamwork and collaboration Strive for high achievement Understanding change dynamics Developing your own skills Surfacing hidden issues Addressing the hierarchy of needs Addressing emotions Addressing emotions Treating co-workers and managers as adults Fostering communication and consultation Psychodynamic Humanistic We also divided into approaches as described earlier From the behavioural perspective, an internship has to get used to teamwork and cooperation with colleagues as well as actively participate in training courses at the company to improve and enhance the profession Besides, you must know in detail what you are expected to and how you are expected to perform Behaviour needs to be defined, especially when many organizations today are promoting “the company way” The cognitive approach is about achieving results through positive reframing, such as managing personal goals or renewing your mindset and accepting challenges Furthermore, you must always work hard every day to achieve high results as well as have belief, confident attitude towards work and cultural interventions even though you not have much experience working in this field About the psychodynamic perspective suggests to adjust the approach and working style to suit the emotional state of the person making the change Therefore, working as an intern needs to understand the dynamics of change and how to treat co-workers or managers as adults In addition, you also have to surface potential problems and deal with negative emotions when having trouble at work The humanistic approach builds on the psychodynamic ethos by believing that people are inherently capable of responding to change Internships should prioritize developing personal skills as well as understanding how to address hierarchy of needs or emotions Besides, increased levels of open communication and consultation with colleagues should contribute to a healthy work environment 3.2 In what situations we often have anxieties? Anxiety is a mental health condition that can cause feelings of worry, fear, or tension This type of emotion appears very often, however, sometimes, anxiety can last longer than usual and negatively affect our lives On a daily basis, you may feel anxiety due to events or bad experiences in your life as well as other external factors Life events Stress buildup A big event or a buildup of smaller stressful life situations may trigger excessive anxiety — for example, the death of a loved one, stress from study or work when we have to worry constantly about finances Stress due to an illness Having a health condition or serious illness can cause significant worry about issues such as your treatment and your future Public events or performances Public speaking, talking in front of your boss, performing in a competition, or even just reading aloud is a common trigger of anxiety Conflict Relationship problems, arguments, disagreements — these conflicts can all trigger or worsen anxiety If conflict particularly triggers you, you may need to learn conflict resolution strategies Other external factors can also cause anxiety Medication side effects Certain prescription and over-the-counter (OTC) medications may trigger symptoms of anxiety, such as birth control pills, weight loss medications, etc That’s because active ingredients in these medications may make you feel uneasy or unwell Lack of oxygen in circumstances as diverse as high altitude sickness If you travel to a high elevation without letting your body adjust to the new altitude, you can get altitude sickness leading to increased anxiety Use of stimulants with addictive properties like caffeine Because caffeine is a central nervous system stimulant Its regular use will cause mild physical dependence and may cause or worsen anxiety 3.3 What we received after anxieties? (What has the fear helped us?) Anxieties helps protect us It makes us alert to danger and prepares us to deal with it Feeling afraid is very natural — and helpful — in some situations Fear can be like a warning, a signal that cautions us to be careful Anxieties keeps you safe Fear acts as an internal danger alarm It compels you to action and helps you make wise and prudent decisions Feeling Anxieties —in the right dose—is fun and exciting When you step outside your comfort zone, it is fear that makes you feel alive, which is fun and exciting The excitement generated can also help alleviate depression by increasing adrenaline, which in turn increases arousal, excitement and glucose (converted into energy) It’s nearly impossible to be thinking of your everyday pressures and worries when you’re experiencing fear or feeling scared A dose of fear is an “eraser” for the mind Anxieties gives you a natural high and a sense of empowerment Not only is adrenaline released when you feel fear but other chemicals as well, such as dopamine, endorphins, oxytocin and serotonin There’s a good reason for that serotonin, in particular, helps your brain to work more efficiently Fear is energy For example, if you’re a runner and you tackle the same three-mile loop every day, you’re much less likely to get into a runner’s high than if you find a new and unfamiliar place with some precarious footing where you’ll be a bit scared and where you’ll really need to focus The brain craves new challenges; it’s the key to neuroplasticity And every time you come through a challenge and accomplish your goals, you feel empowered This natural, biological high often lasts longer than the time you spent feeling scared, which is why you feel so great afterward Anxieties helps you stay in the present moment and to focus Thinking about the future outcome of something unknown can be enough to scare you If you’re feeling a little worried or anxious about it—in other words, fearful—you can harness that fear to get you to focus on whatever work or planning that needs to be done Anxieties socializes you and bonds you to other people When you feel fearful, oxytocin is released, a hormone associated with prosocial behavior Oxytocin makes you seek out the comfort of others The brain’s survival instinct is to pair with other humans in order to increase the chances of survival The classic image of people huddling together on the couch while watching a scary movie is a perfect example Anxieties allows you to live life to the fullest When you fear something, you have a choice: you can let that fear stop you, or you can face it head-on and expand the possibilities and opportunities in your life Being afraid of something can alert you to an area of your life that is limiting you For instance, if you’re afraid of flying but face the fear and muster up the courage to step on an airplane, you can travel the world Anxieties gives you clarity on what’s really important in life When you’re fearful for a sick child, an aging parent or a career move, your fear can be a great clarifier on how to take care of what is truly most important in your life 3.4 Should we worry about learning anxieties or not? Why? The reason why we remember specific moments or movies is because they have been stored in our memory under the influence of emotions When we win or fail, cry or celebrate, we learn fast, deep and plenty But when we are afraid our brain limits our ability to think, for some of reasons Anxiety is assumed to consume the necessary resources of working memory, and it can inhibit the student’s capability to act well in learning situations Heimberg et al., (1993) found that people who experience high level of anxiety were less successful at encoding information and less effective at processing events, that’s because that lots of their energy and attention wasted for managing anxiety, and fewer clues from the environment will be recognized by them; all of these will lead to losing considerable capacity of their working memory which can negatively impact their learning processes Likewise, Goleman (2004) shows that brain activity and one’s cognition procedure can be impaired and negatively influenced by psychological impact of anxiety Learning as a cognitive activity is dependent on encoding, storing and retrieval procedures Each of these processes can be disturbed by anxiety because of its negative impact on one’s attention and concentration Anxious children and adolescents exhibit less capability to keep their attention Strauss at el., (1987) in their study identified that students who rated by their teachers with high level of anxiety to compare with non-clinical children exhibited more impairment in control of their attention In conclusion, Anxiety may make a child uncomfortable in the school environment It gets in the way of their concentration, and their ability to learn Anxiety affects working memory — our ability to hold information in our minds for short periods, in order to something with it In addition, Anxiety makes thought processing less efficient Therefore, Anxiety adversely affects students' learning and working results Not only can anxiety motivate us to work, give us more motivation to conquer challenges, anxiety also brings many disadvantages that we need to recognize and control our emotions most effectively We should not worry too much to cause a negative effect on work productivity, we should only take advantage of anxiety to promote self-development That is the benefit that anxiety brings to us ... — in some situations Fear can be like a warning, a signal that cautions us to be careful Anxieties keeps you safe Fear acts as an internal danger alarm It compels you to action and helps you. .. alert you to an area of your life that is limiting you For instance, if you? ??re afraid of flying but face the fear and muster up the courage to step on an airplane, you can travel the world Anxieties... When you fear something, you have a choice: you can let that fear stop you, or you can face it head-on and expand the possibilities and opportunities in your life Being afraid of something can alert