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STRESS and bad thinking...
WHEN THE BREAKS ARE BEATING THE BOYS, IT'S TIME FOR A VACATION!
DECISIONS, DECISIONS!
With disaster looming as Germany suffered one military defeat after another near the end of The Second World War, Adolf Hitler ordered the country's top psychiatrists and psychologists to answer a question much on his mind: Why do people make bad decisions?
The question has tormented everyone. "How," you ask, "could I have ignored all the evidence, all warning signals and done something as stupid as...?
You complete the sentence: Buying that car; investing in that stock; hiring that worker; marrying that dolt; betting on that team; quitting that job; having sex with that slob; getting this country into that war...
The question does have implications that go far beyond the personal. In a modern society, bad decisions carry the risk of triggering technological disasters with far-reaching consequences. Studies have implicated poor judgment in the nuclear accidents at Three Mile Island and Chernobyl, the space shuttle Challenger disaster and in jetliner crashes. Wars and other conflicts frequently raise questions about the judgment of political and military leaders.
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When Hitler raised the question, it apparently did not involve any self-doubt about his own twisted capabilities. Rather he blamed his generals for bad decisions.
Interestingly enough however, Hitler's scientists made valid observations. They concluded that "mental fatigue" is the basis for many bad decisions.
"Mental fatigue" is one of those terms still applied to human health. Like ''nervous break down" it occupies only a hazy position in official medical terminology. Doctors and researchers often use "mental fatigue" as a synonym for psychological stress.
Hitler asked the psychiatrists to compile a list of warning signs. They included several factors that have become widely accepted as symptoms of psychological stress: anxiety, sleep deprivation, clinical depression and other established health problems.
B.F. Skinner, the renowned Harvard University behavioral scientist, (1904-1990) called attention to "HITLER'S LIST" two decades ago in an address to the American Psychological Association.
Skinner revealed that he personally used some of the items on Hitler's list to recognize when he was getting "stressed-out", or going stale intellectually.
"The kind of fatigue that causes trouble has been called mental, perhaps because it has so little to do with the physical fatigue of labor," Skinner said; "You can be fully rested in a physical sense yet tired of what you are doing intellectually."
On Hitler's list were:
Skinner took special note of another, the unusual use of profanity — even an occasional "damn" from a person not accustomed to cursing, thus he made several of his own additions to the list:
Historical documents indicate Hitler read the report from his experts and ordered that any general with signs of mental fatigue be relieved of command and sent on vacation for a change of pace to relax and to recover.
Skinner took the advice. When mentally stale, he read detective stories, flopped in front of the television and took other breaks from his usual routine.
It may be that simple: a break in routine, a few days away from the office or factory which breaks the cycle of "mental fatigue" leading to bad and sometimes disastrous decisions! If it doesn't, and the symptoms continue, they may mean a more serious problem such as clinical depression which requires direct medical treatment.
Automated Decision Maker II |
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IF MISTER JAVA FAILS YOU…
TRY ADVICEWHERE
SHRINKWHERE
PERSONALITY TEST…
STRESSWHERE
BRAINWHERE
CHECK YOUR GRAY MATTER
FEELING SICK?
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