How Each DISC Style Responds to Stress

So here we are – a little more than TWO weeks until Christmas, and THREE weeks until the end of the year. Are you feeling stress rising? Will even SEVEN cups of coffee not help you deal with it?

First, let me say emphatically that Christmas is one of my top two most important times of the year. I DELIGHT in Christmas! But between our recent building and moving process, my 15-month-long challenge with Long COVID, and preparations for Thanksgiving and Christmas, I’m dealing with an unusual level of stress. Perhaps you have things going on in your life, or perhaps it is the sometimes-unrealistic expectations for this time of year, that have you experiencing stress as well.

I know there is an inordinate amount of information on Stress. But I’d like to add some insight and a different way of approaching the subject. I believe this insight and understanding can go a long way to relieving stress.

Before I understood the DISC and how it relates to Stress, I confess I held two major misunderstandings – first, expecting and assuming that if I was stressed by something, everyone else should be, too.

But second, and even more dangerous, was my assumption that others would respond like I did to stress. It still took years for me to recognize “stress markers” in my own life. And I admit that even last week, I had an incident talking with a friend over the phone that stressed me. I was surprised at my emotions that came bubbling up and how I responded – until I started writing this blogpost and had an Aha! Moment… of course that is how I would respond! It is all right there in the list below!

Today I want to distill it down to just 3 Main Steps:

Step 1: Understand the DISC Styles Basics – last week, I focused on these DISC Basics. Just click here to read that blogpost. It is a quick read, but necessary to know.

Step 2: Understand how each DISC Style responds to stress:

Since each Style is so unique in their strengths and qualities, it is no surprise that each Style’s response to stress would also be unique. I’ve distilled the information down to a short list of descriptive words. Remember as you read over the following list that these words describe how each Style tends to respond. Another important factor is that each of us is a combination of the Styles. Please take note of the main ways each Style responds to stress and seek to increase your understanding, your awareness and your empathy.

• D-Style: Impatient, aggressive, blunt, demanding
• I-Style: Seeks attention, overly dramatic, very emotional, overvalues others’ opinions
• S-Style: Withdraws, overly cautious, stubborn, resistant to change
• C-Style: Questions everything, overly prudent, withdraws, fears the worst

Step 3: Be Aware of others’ stress responses as well as your own and choose how to respond:

That list above is quite a variety of reactions! Can you use this understanding to heighten your awareness of when you are experiencing stress as well as when those around you are experiencing stress?

Next week’s blogpost is about each DISC Styles’ preferred way to alleviate their stress, and no, it’s not always with chocolate… but hopefully, it will continue the process of growing in our understanding, awareness and empathy.

I’ve also written a short e-book called “How to “DISC” Stress Goodbye for Good” that contains all this information. If you want to know how to access it, just click here.

QUESTION: Do these Stress Response Descriptors sound like how you respond? Or how someone near and/or dear to you tends to respond? I’d love to hear your thoughts and observations. Please share with me in the comment section below.