Stress can be defined as a state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation. Stress is a natural human response that prompts us to address challenges and threats in our lives. Everyone experiences stress to some degree. The way we respond to stress, however, makes a big difference to our overall well-being.

World Health Organization

Different professions expose us to stress in different ways. For example, gigging musicians have to deal with the pressure of constant novelty. Instead of commuting to the same place every day to work alongside the same people, we are always at a new venue with new conditions, that we have to figure out in collaboration with strangers. In addition, most of us have to juggle several responsibilities on top of our music. Administrative and logistic work, finances and taxes, marketing and promotion, production, the list goes on.

To ensure our wellbeing and the longevity of our careers, it is vital that we learn how to manage stress. There are several strategies that we can apply. Wishing to improve and complement my own methods, this year I took a stress management course taught by the Real Society of Musicians and put on by BAPAM. During it, Denise Devenish, who is a humanistic psychotherapist, brilliantly described stress in terms of levels:

• Too little stress feels like lack of motivation. There is nothing pushing you to move, a sort of aimlessness that keeps you idle. This can easily lead to neglecting your duties and appearing unprofessional, which will negatively impact your quality of life and your career.
• Too much stress feels overwhelming. It brings sensations of fear or helplessness, burning your energy at high speeds. The pressure can make you react instinctively instead of rationally: you might fight, flight or freeze. Experiencing high levels of stress for a prolonged period will have a hugely detrimental impact on your mental and physical health.
• The right amount of stress feels like focus. Your senses and intellect are awake and sharp, you are motivated to find solutions and to perform the activities you need to perform.

Now, it is important to understand that, whilst we can plan and prepare to avoid stressful situations, we cannot control the amount of stress that we will experience. To explain this further, picture a situation I lived not long ago, when I had to go to Wembley, London, for a gig. I planned ahead to leave home with plenty of time, because punctuality is not only respectful, but it also saves us a lot of potential trouble. However, there were unforeseen and severe delays in the M40, which made me late regardless.

The pressure put on me increased due to something beyond my control. Not only that, but there was a sense of defeat in seeing that what I did to be on time did not work. This is a higher level of stress than I anticipated, and I could have become overwhelmed, jeopardizing my performance. To deal with situations like this, we must identify and understand our indicators of excessive stress, and have coping or deescalating mechanisms at hand. Things like breathing exercises or neurolinguistic programming can help you refocus in a moment of need, so you can use the energy of your tense mental state proactively. I kept communicating with my client —who fortunately was very supportive—so they knew about my progress on the road, and we accommodated things so I could perform with no issues.

In the long term, it is habits instead of coping strategies what keeps burnout at bay. For me, the day after a gig is always dedicated to recharge and recovery. Also, I plan my weeks in a way that ensures that I will focus on achieving what I can realistically achieve, instead of sabotaging myself via unreasonable expectations. I include my times of rest and breaks in this plan, although I am still working on following that part closely (oops!).

Learning how to manage our stress responses is a lifelong process. We will never be perfect at it, and that is fine. What matters is that we pay attention and take steps to prevent and address symptoms of excessive stress and burnout. And, of course, we are not alone! If you are a performing artist, organisations like BAPAM or the Royal Society of Musicians are there to support you. If you work in another industry, it is highly likely that you will find similar resources focused on your sector. Outside the professional world, therapy and life coaching can give you tools to deal with stress. Of course, your community and loved ones are also a support network! Never hesitate reaching out when you need it.

If you want to read further, I wrote another article about this topic as part of my Smarter Journey series.