STRESS MANAGEMENT - TAKE BACK CONTROL
You would think that we are constantly being chased by lions or defusing bombs with the way we live our lives. >We are so geared for stressed and so accustomed to it that people think that it is in their DNA to allows be stressed… Well it kinda, sorta is in our DNA to stress, but not all the time to the point that your heart gives up on you and puts you six feet under ground. We are working longer hours, with demands from our children and their basic needs. We exercise less and eat more bad food, which makes us fat. We have status issues, which cause us to get into debt so can look good in our new house, with our new car, holding our new phones, in our new clothes. We are addicted to cigarettes, coffee, alcohol, TV and violence. We may be able to handle a few of these things, but should we lose our job or our debt starts flowing over, we begin to feel completely over-whelmed and so the stress levels explode, leaving in it’s a wake a weak, sick and unhappy individual.
But What Is Stress?
We have stress hormones in our bodies that are released when imminent danger is headed our way so we can take immediate and effective action toward getting out of that situation. It saves lives in it’s primal sense, but it causes havoc on us if we subconsciously feel threatened by everything. Have you ever had a near accident happen to you? The first thing you will notice when stress is rising is your heart starts pounding. Your muscles are tense, you're breathing faster, you may start sweating. That's adrenaline. You become more aware, awake and focused. Along with Adrenaline, Cortisol and Norepinephrine are released in order to take on the stressful situation at hand.
Are You Stressing More Than You Should?
Do you suffer with the following symptoms?
Emotional: depression, irritability, low moods, anxiety.
Physical: headaches, fatigue, nausea, pounding heart, insomnia.
Mental: loss of concentration, negative thoughts, lack of interest/enthusiasm, poor judgment.
Do You Need Help?
If you related to many of the above items on the list, then you should definitely consider some professional advise from a professional. They can help you understand why you are so affected by your circumstances and how to alter your thoughts and beliefs in order to better manage your stress levels. Your goal is to achieve and maintain a decent level of happiness and your life coach can assist you in this process.
There may be other factors outside of work which are causing or contributing to your work stress, so ensure you think carefully about where your stressed feeling is coming from before you are able to start addressing it.
Relationship Stress
Being in a relationship with someone else can cause every day pressures for all of us, but sometimes this goes even further and you may experience high stress levels which you can pin down to being caused by the relationship you are in.
Relationship stress doesn’t only occur within couples (married or otherwise) but is also very common between family, friends, colleagues, bosses, employees and strangers. A lot of the time the stress in a relationship can be caused by arguments between people, however, there is also an awful lot of stress which is brought about by lack of communication. When you feel aggrieved or annoyed with someone or something they have done and you don’t express it the pressure and stress caused stays within you and can eat away at you. This is why it is extremely important to communicate within your relationships. This doesn’t mean you have to tell people about every single thing that annoys you, but if you think it is likely to cause an argument in the future, perhaps it is best to address it swiftly with a calm discussion. Simple action can make a massive difference to stress levels within your relationships.
Often your stress in a relationship is not coming from the other person or people in the relationship, as many people perceive it to be. A lot of the time, our own actions and thoughts which we are not fully aware of cause stress to us and addressing this first will enable you to feel less stressed.
Thanks for reading,
Kim
Resources :
Huffington Post - Adrenaline, Cortisol, Norepinephrine: The Three Major Stress
Life Coach Directory - Stress
