Stage-5: Pleasure — Recuperate!

Rationale

The PLEASURE Quest focuses on yourself. As a mode kicking off Cycle-2, it enables coping by ensuring personal recovery from the silent build-up of inner stressful states.

To this point, all coping has been intrinsically stressful. Working smart (μ1) can still be physically, mentally and emotionally stressful. Applying values (μ2) is never simple and straightforward. Consideration for others (μ3) always makes emotional demands. While the ENLIGHTENMENT maxims (μ4) to be calm, tolerant and accepting may soothe to a degree, actual emotional and intellectual demands are not reduced.

Refusal to Recuperate is a Failure to Cope

Denial of stress and the need for recuperation is common. But the consequence is that a person is likely to escape in dysfunctional ways. Use of intoxicants—drugs and alcohol—is common, and associated with eating unhealthy foods, barely exercising, and missing sleep. This escapism can impact on family and private life, compounding physical and emotional stresses. The last resort, which operates unconsciously, is an accident or illness that lands a person in hospital and forcibly prevents work.
Karoshi

In Japan, «karoshi», overwork death, is specifically recognized: death is usually from a heart attack or stroke, but suicide (karojisatsu) also occurs. This is increasingly recognized as a global problem. A WHO/ILO study suggests that anyone working more than 55 hours or more per week is vulnerable.

Values & Assumptions

Promoting Survival

Essence: Recuperate regularly

Recuperation must take place on a regular basis and long before any signs of exhaustion appear. This need is reflected in the notion of the Sabbath: even God rested on the 7th day after his 6 days of creation-work (μ1). Regularly working nights and weekends to meet deadlines is dangerous. There is no merit in waiting until you are overwhelmed, or illness strikes.

Benefit: Recover energies

Continuous stress depletes energies. Deliberate recuperation enables an unconscious and natural healing process. Recuperation normally occurs on a daily basis by sleeping properly and waking refreshed. We can force ourselves to keep working just as we can force ourselves to stay awake, but then energies will not recover.

Means: Enjoy rest and recreation

Removal from the stressful environment is the primary requirement. This can occur simply by switching off at home, but healthy vacations are often worthwhile. For most people, eating, drinking and sunbathing in the company of family and friends generates feelings of peace and warmth. Pleasure also comes from stress-free activities like walking, swimming or golfing.

Handling the Socio-physical Environment

Participation: Explain experiences

Given a welcoming atmosphere, being able to talk about events and how you feel typically reduces stress. This might be possible regularly after work so that frustrations do not interfere with sleep.

Interaction: Associate with positive people

Camaraderie leads to trust and enjoyment at work or in any other team activity. If it is not possible to avoid unpleasant relationships at work (e.g. from a controlling boss, difficult colleagues, awkward customers), then socializing outside the work environment becomes particularly important. Foster a supportive family and friends who are positive about life.

Individualization: Select suitable pleasures

Everyone is different. Recreation is stressful if it makes demands like those of the workplace. For some, a group cruise with numerous scheduled trips and forced socializing is exhausting, while a strenuous mountain-climb may be restful.

Channelling Your Functioning

Endurance: Experimenting

It is not always evident what will be beneficial and able to provide the necessary stress relief. In addition, as time passes, activities can become less satisfactory: a regular squash game may work in your 20s but not in your 50s. It is therefore worthwhile trying different forms of recreation and being open to discovering something new.

Limitations

With incorporation values from PLEASURE , stresses intrinsic to coping in Cycle-1 can be brought under regular and immediate control.

However, the PLEASURE modeis a safety valve. It is self-centred and superficial. There is a need to be able to reduce stress while actively at work and to support coping without escaping. The final two modes provide for this.

Guidance from OBEDIENCE Quest comes next because it brings support from the social environment and the requirements are tangible and specific.

Ruling out Alternative Moves

Moving to SPIRITUALITY does not appear to offer a specific form of escape, makes significant demands, and does not necessarily provide milieu support.

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Moving on…

• Continue to Stage 6: Obedience mode.

Originally posted: 9-Dec-2022. Last updated: 28-Mar-2023.