Life has it's way of making you feel as though you are “going crazy.” In today's world their seems to be a never ending list of things that need to be done, should have been done or must be done. You have more and more responsibilities that demand your time, energy and attention. All of these pressures can make you feel overwhelmed, frustrated, and exhausted! When you feel this way, you don't seem to be able to handle your emotions as well as you would like. This may result in being short tempered with your children, your spouse or other people that you care about, which makes you feel like you are not measuring up and that you are not good enough, nor will be ever. How can you live up to the expectations and responsibilities you have?
If this resonates with you, you are not alone! Life is stressful and it can be overwhelming and frustrating. The good news is that it does not have to be that way! Let us look at at what stress is: Stress is the condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that “demands exceed the personal and social resources the individual is able to mobilize.” In short, stress is what we feel when we think we've lost control of our lives.
You can learn to change your perceptions and learn new coping skills that will reduce the stress in your life and help you gain control of your life. However, if you continue to stay “stressed out,” you more than likely will experience some of the short-term and long-term effects of stress. A few of those effects include:
SHORT-TERM:
Headache, back ache, and neck pain
Low energy
Difficulty in concentrating
Trouble sleeping
Decreased sexual drive
Loss of appetite or increased comfort eating
Anxiety
Depression
Anger
LONG-TERM:
Chronic headaches
Mood swings
Anxiety disorders
Addictions
Heart attack
Disease
Stress is best managed by a multidisciplinary approach. Because stress affects you mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually, focusing on each of these areas will ensure you learn to handle your stress in the most effective way. Unfortunately there is not a “one size fits all” answer to stress management.
My hope is that this blog will help everyone who is experiencing stress in their life. It will be a place you can go to learn new coping skills to manage your stress more effectively. You also will be able to see that you are not alone in any area you are feeling "stressed out."
Please let me know your thoughts on this post and how this site can help you cope with your stress and life in general.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!
