To address and successfully overcome any challenge in life it’s critical to understand it first. Knowledge is power – understanding something enables you to act with certainty and success. It’s hard to win against something you do not understand.
With that in mind, let’s talk about stress.
According to recent studies, approximately half of all Americans admit to dealing with some level of stress on a regular basis. So if you’re feeling stressed you can take some comfort in knowing that you’re not alone. What makes your situation unique is how you deal with it.
It’s no surprise, then, that there is a lot being said these days about stress. What is a surprise, though, is how few people really understand stress -- what it is, what it does, and how to effectively address it. I’ll say it again: it’s hard to win against something you do not understand.
So first, let’s take a closer look at stress, the factors that create it, and the ways in which it reveals itself. Stress is different for everyone. What stresses you out may not even bother family or friends, and vice versa.
Still, our bodies react the same to stressors. That’s because the stress response is your body’s way of dealing with difficult situations. It causes hormonal, respiratory, cardiovascular, and nervous system changes. For example, stress can make your heart beat faster, make you breathe rapidly, sweat, and tense up. It can also give you a burst of energy.
This is known as the body’s “fight-or-flight response.” It’s this chemical reaction that prepares your body for a physical reaction because it thinks it’s under attack. This type of stress helped our human ancestors survive in nature. Stress is a normal, physical, and chemical reaction to danger, to change, to deadlines, to the unknown.
Stress can be good and bad. It can motivate you to action and help you meet the challenges of everyday life, including avoiding things that might harm you mentally or physically. That’s good. But it can also cause you to freeze in the face of adversity and prevent you from acting in a positive way. That’s bad.
Stress can be caused by variety of factors, including:
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Bad relationships
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Working too hard
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Marital conflicts
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Bullying
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Difficulties at work or school
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Family problems
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Health issues
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Death of someone close
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Dramatic changes in daily life
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Financial troubles
Stress can show itself in both physical and emotional ways, including:
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Loss of sleep
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Moodiness
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Anxiety
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Headaches and muscle aches
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Loss of appetite and/or sex drive
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Hypertension
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Loss of interest in hobbies and activities
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Depression
Kicking stress to the curb
The good and bad news is that stress starts with you. It’s an internal issue. By that I mean stress results from how you react to an event or situation. It’s self-imposed. The good news is that because stress starts with you, it can end with you. You can decide you want no part of it. Once you understand stress, you can start to take positive action to defeat it.
Therapeutic journaling: Writing your way out of a stressful situation.
Therapeutic journaling helps you know yourself better to understand the triggers of the stress affecting you. It helps you examine the way you are behaving and reacting to situations and discover where your stress comes from. Through journaling, you can begin to deconstruct all the issues, roadblocks, and conflicts that create your stressful condition and reveal options about how to deal with life’s challenging situations to reduce or even eliminate that stress.
Understanding your thoughts and behavior patterns enables you to understand how you create your own stress. Journaling will help you choose to change the way you respond to stressful people and situations so you are healthier and happier. If you want to learn how to manage the stress and strains of life, please download the eBook titled The Journaling Guide to Manage The Stress and Strains of Life.
Our Reset & Recharge Your Life in 7 Days self-paced journaling course can help you chart the most important journey you'll ever take: yours!
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