Stressed Out
No matter what, you're going to experience stress. There's no avoiding it. But how do you respond? Or do you simply react, without much thought?
You can't deny the existence of stress. And you can't avoid it. No matter what you do, it's there. But some ways to handle it are much healthier than others.
Let's explore.
First, you can't simply tell yourself that stress is not there. That's simple denial, and it's not true that stress is not there. You have to acknowledge its existence.
If you deny stress, you're in for bigger problems. It will definitely show up in different ways, either mental or physical. You may get headaches or tension in different parts of your body. Or you could get much worse physical illnesses.
If you deny the existence of stress you could then experience depression and anxiety. Of course, these are very unhealthy conditions.
So let's acknowledge it. Life is stressful!
So what can you do? First, accept the fact that you're experiencing it. That's a mental response. Then notice where you're feeling it, and in what part of your body. Notice it and accept it. Most importantly, approach yourself and this situation with the utmost kindness and love towards yourself.
Talk about what you're experiencing with a friend or professional. It's good to share these feelings with another human. It's not a sign of weakness. You might even try a healthy activity like meditation. The most important thing is to take care of yourself, physically, mentally, and spiritually.
No judgments allowed! Only kindness and love.
Bob Solley
Recent Comments
28
Well written Bob. I can relate. I am currently working on being on good terms with stress. Then, I hope to proceed to the next step: SELF-ACCEPTANCE. Long way to go.
Yes. I totally agree. In my case it has proven to be quite a difficult task. But, you know, I feel like I'm just starting to discover myself, my skills, my attitude, and I just realized that there are a lot of things that I can do, that I wouldn't think about doing before. Me, joining WA is the best prove of that 😉 Now, I know I can do it. Let's just stay positive 😉
Joining WA has been such a positive experience for me! It has opened up creative aspects about myself I didn't know I had or appreciate, such as writing. So I'm with you on that.
When I am stressed, Bob, I simply go to bed and get a good night's sleep. It seems to work for me most times!
Jeff
Great post, Bob!
Music therapy is great for dealing with many types of stressful situations. 😎
Rock On! 🤘
Frank 🎸
Music is great for stress relief. For that, I like classical music. Even if I've heard a piece 100s of times, I can listen to it again and hear notes I've never heard before.
Hi, Bob
You have real musical talent if you continually hear new notes and patterns upon listening repetitively!
I love classical music, and Opera is my favorite musical genre, but there's nothing wrong with a little Rock N' Roll. 😎
Rock On! 🤘
Frank 🎸
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Up until people starting talking about stress, whenever that was, I used to just think, "Wow that was really tough." or "Or man that was scary" or "I am exhausted from facing this situation." Now I know that I was stressed. You are right. It's a part of life. I am not at all sure that naming every problem as stressful is a good thing. I watch a couple on Youtube who are building a home. The wife says that thinking about how much sheet rock they need is stressful or lots of snow is stressful. My concerns is that when everything is stressful, the really stressful are not taken seriously enough.
Jim
I'm 68 yo. When I was growing up you never talked about stress or any "mental" problems you might be having. Maybe that was just my family, though.
I agree. My dad would ask me what was wrong. I would tell him I was worried about a test. His answer was usually something like what difference will it make in 100 years? There was not talking about the feelings.
It's important to talk about how you feel! Better than keeping feelings bottled up.
I agree.