Negative pressure can spill over into the rest of life because it often gives rise to feelings of frustration, anger or helplessness.
It is very common when a business is struggling, when perhaps its owner is unable to see a way through the problems, or when the numbers don’t stack up.
Pressure normally affects the way a person behaves towards their staff, colleagues, friends and family.
How this manifests will depend on the individual.
If they feel that there is no escape, perhaps because of financial responsibility for others, then the pressure may be exacerbated by feeling trapped and the pressure can become intolerable.
It could be that there is a desire to make demands on everyone else to compensate for the frustration that things aren’t working out. So someone under pressure may try to assert their “authority” by using anger, controlling behaviour or shouting. Without thinking, this becomes a normal behaviour at work and home.
On the other hand a different personality, perhaps someone more prone to suppressing their worries or not facing an issue, may retreat into themselves and withdraw from communicating with others. Waking in the middle of the night to feelings of despair is not unusual.
Such feelings can lead to attempts to avoid confronting reality, whether through obsessive behaviours such as extreme exercise, clubbing, alcohol or drugs.
Think of the character Charlie Price, owner of a failing shoe business, in the musical Kinky Boots.
Breaking the spiral of despair
Family and friends are rarely the best people to help to deal with the situation as they are emotionally involved and dealing with harsh realities can put a strain on the relationship. Close family and friends are however important when it comes to providing support and understanding, and even encouraging the right help.
In situations like this, someone or something is needed to break the cycle. All too often events escalate to an extreme level before this is acknowledged. While time can heal, dealing with immediate situations will normally need some form of intervention.
It is best to find someone to talk to, someone you trust but who can be objective about the problem. For the owner of a struggling business the need is for clarity about the situation and what can be done to solve it.
An expert in restructuring or turnaround will be able to look at the whole picture as well as the details in depth, to help analyse the problem and suggest solutions. But there has to be a willingness to face the realities, however grim, and to take the steps necessary to rectify what is wrong and thus relieve the pressure.
