k_X_power_descriptor ,,, k_office_sanctuary

Each time, when I pay attention to these words and their differences, i become more tuned into the subtle characteristics of (my reactions to) various stressors. Good exercise in my experience.

Most of the stressors in my life are harmful, but a few are positive [stress in eq-investing, recreational^burdensome complexities], to be embraced. You can find many examples explained online. It is a matter of attitude. Many stressors are inevitable. Reduction/prevention can be ineffective. That’s when we need protection.

Note: In (American and other) movies, cashflow stress is often depicted as extreme. In terms of livelihood stress, cashflow is usually a smaller stress than health or family.

— Reduction … means (minor/major) strength reduction of usually _unavoidable_ stressors; in contrast Prevention means reducing towards zero, or wipe-out.

As such, Prevention is often the smart strategy when applicable.

Disambiguation: reducing strength of the stressor is real reduction and direct reduction; reducing the sustained damage-due-to-the-stressor is actually protection, not “reduction” per se.

— protection.. Also known as “stress /coping/” and “stress /resilience/”, implying no further reduction possible.

Prootection can also imply that an external threat is unavoidable and not something to be reduced.

Protection is often the final layer of defense. Includes biological , mental wellness protection , family bond protection,,,

Disambiguation: protection is what we do after minimizing stress. Therefore, in our context, protection excludes reduction. In everyday English, “protect” has wider (vague) meaning including reduction and prevention.

— 3 layers of defense. Think of a bunch of meteors heading to our planet:

1. prevent (i.e. avoid, deflect, break, pre-empt, shield) if possible
2. reduce the strength of the meteors at every stage, if /impact/ is unavoidable
   1. relief .. more immediate, more short-term
3. protect our most vulnerable, most vital systems against impact.

(In everyday English, each term can be so broad as to cover all other terms. )

In each stressful period of our lives, we might select one of the 3 to focus on, even though we need more than one strategy. For example,

• — half ranked by effectiveness and stressor severity
• [s=specific. Less specific items to be removed. This bpost is for disambiguation.]
• [s] blogg and other therapeutic hobbies .. including QQ/coding, stock picking .. can reduce (or sometimes prevent) stress
• .. blogg on parenting .. esp. after a crisis event can (prevent and) reduce the magnitude of stress
• WStC: absence of annual appraisal .. preventive and protects my self-esteem.
• [s] the office as a sanctury.. is a prevention shield of stress
• quiet idle time .. is hopefully protective , comparable to but fundamentally different from sleep.
• [s] BMI deep-green zone .. is protective when I face many stressors and increase stress-eating.
• better sleep .. protective but not really reduces the stressor
• [s] jogg.. (more effective than swimm or cycling) can protect against stress. Among other things, jogging generates a temporary boost to inner confidence and energy level.
• [s] MLP severance + 3M NC + 3M NP… feels like protective of family livelihood. Classic example of protection when “meteor” impact is inevitable. Also a stress relief.
• [s] active and cooperative (no 100% perfection) intimacy .. protective. Additionally, it can reduce (even prevent) some types of spousal conflicts .
• — unsorted
• choosing car-less or rental lifestyle .. can prevent some stressors, but staying rented also comes with its share of stressors.
• [s] more paid leaves .. seem to reduce and prevent stress, but I guess in the U.S. my contractor job was somehow less stressful.
• Staying relevant on U.S. job market [IV body-building] .. can prevent a lot of stresses. If you restrict yourself to Singapore, then more stress.
• [s] mtg preparation and plann .. can prevent  and reduce  stress, esp. last-minute … See also “slack resources”
• [s] spare of keys (and everything important .. slack resources) can prevent  and reduce stress
• [s] exp recon and annual snap .. takes huge amounts of time bue feels like satisfying (therapeutic) deep work… The clarity/insight/confidence might prevent some pff stress. In a stress_test (PIP, khm downturn), this data analysis and evicence might reduce my stress level. I would feel protected by these valuable pff resources.
• [s] My anti-inflation assets .. are protective of family livelihood. HDB home, SP500, SGX bluechips and very few other assets.
• To protect against the inevitable professional decline, I try to plan ahead for second career, develop r-ikigai. Ineffective? Unsure.
• [s] In every job, I seek chitchat partners for stress relief and reduction… sometimes even stress protection, after a “meteor hit”
• MOETF firewall .. reduces stress from volatility
• [s] yoga .. supposed to be stress reduction in many practitioners, but I tend to focus on the wrong thing — the gap between me vs other students, the gap between the instruction vs my limits. Those necessary modifications are supposed to be gentle, and better than no practice, but they (modifications) tend to create stress.
• [s] health screening .. (and other periodic “tire checks”) can prevent/reduce stress
• .. similar: https://btv-open.dreamhosters.com/18807/reduce-annoyances-before-stress-spike/
• ##[21] current coping strategies: 困扰 #R.Teo lists many examples

— Stress buffering .. a well-defined academic term, very graphical. It is related more to reduction , less to protection .

According to https://what-when-how.com/social-sciences/stress-buffering-model-social-science/ , stress-buffering model hypothesizes that certain psychosocial resources help to reduce the impact of negative life events on an individual’s health status. An accumulation of adverse occurrences can be related to health problems, but life stress may have less effect among people who have more /psychosocial/ resources. In this sense, the resource serves as an insulating factor, or buffer, between the /stressors/ and the disease outcome, so that people who have more resources are less affected by stress.

So the “buffer” is always a specific psychosocial resource, playing a role between the stressor and the disease outcome. By extension, the buffer can also be adequate sleep, a day off, a long walk,,,