Managing stress: the prescription of Dr Serge Marquis

October 30, 2009 – Stress threatens our health when we overestimate our ability to do it all in one day, at work and at home.

This is the gist of the message delivered by D^r Serge Marquis, during his conference presented to physicians as part of the French-speaking Symposium of Medicine¹ to Montreal.

Effective stress management begins with the discipline of taking time out to take inventory of our resources before acting, explained Dr.^r Marquis, specialist in community health and occupational health.

“Stress is the disproportionate gap between the perception of demand and the means at our disposal”, maintains D^r Marquis. Our power lies primarily in choosing the most appropriate response to respond to it, he says.

This downtime takes just a few minutes to refocus our attention on our breathing, he explains. “A moment that opens what I call a window of lucidity, essential to assess the problem before providing a solution. “

A demanding exercise, taking into account the average time spent on activities in 24 hours, says the doctor. “Body care takes 1 hour. We need 7 a.m. to 8 a.m. to sleep. At least another hour is needed for basic necessities such as drinking, eating, paying bills, refueling, etc. Add 2 hours devoted to meals and washing up, in addition to the time devoted to transport, you only have 2 more for relaxation. “

Live, love, transmit and learn

For the D^r Marquis, the best way to reduce stress is to assess each situation against a fundamental question: what is most important to consider right now?

To achieve this, you have to know how to manage your priorities according to their importance. This is the concept of coherence, explains Serge Marquis. As an evaluation tool, it uses a grid developed by Stephen Covey, American author² and world-renowned management consultant.

“The balance in our life responds to 4 fundamental aspects: living, loving, transmitting and learning. “Our activities should meet one of these categories to give meaning to our life,” explains Serge Marquis.

Living relates to activities related to survival, such as eating, drinking, sleeping, etc. The notion of loving targets the people around you, the work and the ability to recognize our successes during the day. Learning a foreign language, professional improvement or reading are learning activities. Finally, transmitting embodies the way of feeling useful in society, either through education or community involvement, for example.

Priority management: importance in the face of urgency

The real test, explains D^r Marquis, arrives when one is plunged into a very distressing situation, where the choice between two important activities is essential. You have to let go, which is probably the most difficult exercise to do, he emphasizes.

He recounts how he set aside time on a Sunday afternoon to polish a presentation he was due to deliver the following Thursday. A real stress, he recalls, since he underestimated his ability to deliver a performance that lived up to expectations.

Her daughter then comes to ask her to help her choose her ball gown. The moment was not well chosen, but he preferred to accompany his daughter. He didn’t want to continue working with remorse at having disappointed her.

Serge Marquis remembers how important his involvement had been for his daughter at that time. Afterwards, he had felt stronger to have managed to leave his file aside, to move from the box “Learn and transmit” to that of “Love”. This new energy also allowed him to finish his presentation with more attention and concentration, on time.

This readjustment is vital to keep meaning in our life, argues Dr.^r Marquis. It requires the effort to keep the balance between everyday challenges and our limits. Above all, to keep stress at bay to maintain health for a long time.

Danny Raymond – HealthPassport.net

1. The French-speaking Symposium of Medicine, which took place on October 28, 29 and 30 in Montreal, is organized by the Association des médecins de langue française du Canada.
2. Covey, Stephen R. Priority to priorities. Paris, First Businessman, 1995, 447 pages.