When you know the various ESTP stress triggers and how they cope with stress, it becomes easy for you to communicate and relate with them at a personal level.
ESTPs are bold personalities. They are known as doers and you may find them ‘in action’ always. But they get stuck in strict rules and regulations. It makes them feel stressed out and jittery in subtle ways.
They also hate multitasking as they prefer a slow and relaxed way of working. These people prefer moving on to the next work, only when the present task is successfully accomplished.
In this article, we will discuss more about the stress factors that irks an ESTP and how they overcome them in reality.
Factors leading to stress in ESTP personalities
Stress is all over the place to make us more irritable and restless. ESTPs are also in their grip at times. When ESTPs are facing stress, their weaknesses may start to emerge in the spotlight.
They may become excessively moody, show tantrums that they would not show off otherwise. ESTPs will feel empty from within. They might also become resentful and try to take revenge from those who have tried to play with their emotions.
In the face of stress, ESTPs can even mock other people’s values and behavior. They may behave in unexpected ways, such as projecting their negative emotions onto others, or trying to blame someone for an action that went wrong because of them.
If they fall into chronic stress, then ESTPs may become pessimistic and do things totally out of their ways. Their easy going nature may take a backseat and they may turn towards hopelessness and anxiety.
ESTPs cannot handle stress well. They may look worried because of petty matters also. In such a situation, ESTPs should use some quick healing stress busters to feel better and in control of their emotional surge.
Some of the factors that can cause stress in ESTPs are as follows:
1. Being judged
ESTPs are easygoing personalities. They will find it hard to deal with people who judge them. These people fear criticism as they know they cannot handle it well.
If others talk about their relaxed and happy-go-lucky nature, they feel bad about it. In the face of stress, they retreat inside themselves, as if trying to find some solace deep inside themselves.
2. Multitasking power is not present in them
ESTPs will feel nervous and anxious if someone gives them to do many tasks at a time. This is because their multitasking ability is poor and they concentrate on all tasks with ease and comfort.
Moreover, ESTPs are sensing personalities. They are detail-oriented and prefer to accomplish the task in hand before moving on to the next one.
3. Planning a schedule
ESTPs hate to make big plans that they know will not fall in place over a period of time. They will not like others to sit down and make an agenda for the next course of action to be taken in a decision.
ESTPs are spontaneous and live in the moment. They prefer to decide on the spot and will hate laying out plans that are cumbersome and useless.
They will be the last person to make plans with precision and accuracy. ESTPs will get jittery if they are told to do things according to a set plan because they feel stuck if not allowed to do things flexibly.
4. Emotional overload makes them uncomfortable
ESTPs will naturally feel overwhelmed if they are put into situations that require a good amount of emotional intelligence. ESTPs are naturally logic-oriented. Their feeling function is not well developed.
Thus, they feel stressed out in case they need to handle emotional drama. ESTPs cannot express feelings as they should. They cannot handle the emotional outbursts of others as well. It makes them feel drained completely.
5. Attention seeking is a must have
ESTPs are social butterflies. They love the spotlight on them always. Thus, if they see others are not giving them the required attention, or trying to ignore them in some way, they feel extremely stressed out.
They don’t like people who do not praise them, or appreciate their accomplishments in finer ways. ESTPs love to be regarded and appreciated for who they are. For them, public attention is a way to feel fulfilled and worthy from within; without which they feel anxious about identity as well.
6. Micromanaging
ESTPs are their own boss. They hate being told by others what needs to be done. People with this personality type are fiercely independent and hate being told or managed by others.
They hate others micromanaging them when they are aware of what needs to be done in a specific task. These people do not prefer others to influence and control their life matters unnecessarily.
7. Complaining people
ESTPs feel annoyed when others complain without a solution in hand. They dislike those who constantly nag and do nothing to change the situation effectively. ESTPs love to fix their and others’ problems.
You will never find them talking about a problem and not doing anything to resolve the issue. Thus, complaining people and their nagging tendencies put a lot of mental pressure.
They feel angry and irritated enough to rob their inner peace. If people do not offer practical solutions to problems, it can make an ESTP feel stressed out completely.
Similarly, people who project blame onto others for their individual failures are not in their liking checklist.
8. Slow paced lifestyle
ESTPs hate slow and steady outlook towards life. You can say that they are spontaneous and action-packed in nature. They hate procrastination and will do the needful job immediately.
ESTPs get annoyed if others are laid back, slow, and are not keeping pace with their energetic and spontaneous lifestyle.
They find it hard to adjust with slow coaches who move through life at a very slow pace.
ESTPs may feel stuck in such a situation. They feel stressed out in dealing with situations that move very slowly towards the desired goal.
9. Dismissal of their thoughts and logic
ESTPs love to be regarded for their logical reasoning and curious thoughts. They love to think deeply into the matter before jumping on to conclusions.
They have a mind map that is logical and systematic. Thus, they feel stressed out if others dismiss what they think to be right.
ESTPs may become anxious and lose confidence as well. Sometimes, they will behave in complex manners, not what they usually do in reality.
As ESTPs do not like others to dominate their thought processes, they will not allow others to influence their decision making process in any way.
10. Social isolation
ESTPs cannot live without social interaction and networking. They are the typical extroverts who thrive on a vibrant social life. Social isolation and boredom of living alone can make their life stressful.
They cannot think of existing in isolation, away from others. ESTPs will soon internalize the pain of living alone and can turn into a worrywart. Again, too much stress can put them off-balance mentally.
They may blame others for their plight or try finding faults in the social system that have forced them to lead an isolated life. ESTPs are never happy living alone in seclusion and misery.
Ways to cope with stress in ESTP personalities
We all try to escape from challenging situations in our life when things seem to go out of hand. For ESTPs also, they have their own set of tools that allows coping from stress.
ESTPs are self-controlled and disciplined by nature. They are active and enthusiastic but remain serious as far as their work and commitments are concerned. These individuals may break down temporarily in the face of stress.
But their ability to turn back from adversities is also immense. They can cope with moments of stress if they do certain small alterations in their lifestyle.
They should look at things from various perspectives and find out the best possible solution that can take them out of stress and anxiety.
Let’s know few of the coping skills in this section of the article:
1. Organize themselves a bit more precisely
ESTPs are perceiving personalities. Thus, they are spontaneous and quick decision makers. Sometimes they may do things in a rush that may lead to errors. In order to keep stress out of their way, they should organize their work as much as possible.
They should start making small plans in a systematic way. Sometimes, following a routine will help to overcome the errors and help in thoughtful decision making.
2. Learn to adapt and adjust
ESTPs are flexible and can adjust to various changes quite easily. When they are facing stress, it is important to change their way of doing things.
At the same time, they should alter their behavior to accommodate the needs of others. It means, ESTPs should stay more flexible and adapt to the situation causing the stress so that they can overcome them fully.
3. Physical workouts and meditation
Workouts and regular exercise can curb stress easily. It makes the person physically fit and mentally alert and agile. The ESTP personality type can also reduce their level of anxiousness by physical exercise and meditation practice.
It keeps them calm and composed and allows for rational thinking. The overwhelming emotional surge also takes a backseat, making them feel better from deep within.
4. Socialize more
ESTPs can also socialize more to reduce their level of stress. They love spending time outside the house. Thus, doing more of it can actually help them to express bottle-up tensions with others.
They can share their woes with others and receive better insight into their personal problems. Sometimes, this also allows them to see the issue from a different perspective which is totally different from what they had already held in mind.
Newer perspectives mean solving the problem calmly and patiently.
5. Don’t seek out too many details
Don’t find the details of everything you experience in life. You need to reflect on the big picture also. Sometimes, the present situation that is appearing stressful can turn out to be a good learning opportunity for you.
You should demonstrate your openness to accept future propositions given by others. This will take the pressure off you. You will feel more relaxed and thoughtful in your behavior and actions also.
6. Express your tensions and worries openly
Being an ESTP, you will always have trouble expressing your feelings in front of the larger world. This means you tend to keep your negative emotions with you only.
You’re carrying an emotional baggage that is causing more suffering. Whenever you are stressed out, try to express your negative emotions as explicitly as possible. Share your feelings with friends and family members
You may struggle in your initial trials but will become a pro in a few days’ time.
Expressing your emotions means you are healing and have learned to ignore those feelings that are troubling you in reality.
7. Explore yourself deeply
Review your wants and wishes in life. Try to have some ‘me time’ set aside just for you. Sometimes, moments of solitude will allow you to understand your strengths and weaknesses. You can take off from busy schedules to unwind and relax.
Make small subtle changes in your daily lifestyle to feel better about what you were doing or experiencing in life. Learn to organize and manage your time before the big work assignments take away your peace of mind.
8. Stop misinterpreting the motives of others
When you are under the grip of stress, you seem to be out of place. You are about to behave in ways that are atypical of your actual personality type. You may misinterpret the motives of others. As a result, your relationships can go in opposite ways than expected.
In such a situation, try to slow down, pause for a while, and talk to others who are causing the stress. Be open about your expectations. Be firm but not rude.
Assertiveness is good but dominance is not. You should never blame others for the problems you’re suffering in your life. It could be that you are responsible for what’s not working smoothly in your life.
9. Visit a therapist
Sometimes you can learn better ways of coping with stress by working it out with a trained therapist. They will help you master your emotions in a structured way, so that negative feelings do not take over your proactive and agile mindset. You will also learn to accept others easily.
10. Listen to music
Soothing music has a calming effect on the mind. You can hear more of it whenever you feel that things are going off-beat for you. Your agitated and anxious mind will calm down sooner than expected.
To Sum Up
So far we have discussed a lot about the various stress triggers for an ESTP personality type. ESTPs are enthusiastic doers who try to live life with their self-dictated ideologies and values.
Though they are flexible but are nitpicky at times. They may act as independent rebels that often go out of their control. Others may find them dominating but they are not the kind in reality.
Thus, they should learn to master their emotions by following appropriate coping skills as already discussed in the write up.
After all, stress shouldn’t impact their lively and fun loving demeanor.
