Common Causes of Computer Stress

Morton C. Orman, M.D.

Anyone who uses a computer regularly knows how valuable these machines can be. And anyone who has ever waited for their on-line service to respond, received a “mailbox full” message, or had their hard disk crash knows that working with computers can sometimes be stressful. Dealing with computer stress is really no different than dealing with any other type of stress in life. In what follows, you will find some common causes of computerrelated stress, as well as some tips to avoid them.

Failing to Anticipate Problems

Yes, power failures do occur, and damage, viruses, and hard disk crashes may not always be avoidable. But adopting a regular backup schedule can make such losses easier to bear. The point is there are many potential computer-related nightmares, but they can be anticipated and steps taken to prevent a disaster.

Failing to Relate to Stress as Feedback

The best way to deal with any type of stress in your life is to view it as personal feedback. Instead of blaming your computer, blaming software developers, or blaming life itself, take the viewpoint that any type of stress in your life may have something to do with your own thinking and behavior. Are you frustrated and angry because you can't seem to get your slick new software program to run as advertised? Or did you fail to read the instruction manual or skip the online tutorial?

Unrealistic Expectations

Much of our stress in life is caused by our own unrealistic expectations. Much of our frustration with computers comes from expecting ourselves or our computers to function perfectly all the time. While this is an admirable goal, it is not very realistic. From time to time, computer problems will occur.

Beating Up On Yourself Unnecessarily

Along with the expectations of perfectionism and faultless performance comes the very common behavior pattern of beating yourself whenever you do something wrong or make a “dumb” mistake. Mistakes in the computer world are very common. Forgiveness and compassion are what you need to deal with the many difficulties computer usage entails.

Available at: <http://www.stresscure.com/hrn/common.html>. Accessed on: 19 jan. 2016.Adapted.

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