I am not going to lie, I’ve looked like Fry off and on for the last month or so. Stress can come at you from many different directions. Sometimes stressors come one at a time and the situations can be handled one at a time. Sometimes they come all at once from every angle and it can be overwhelming to say the least. Most people assume that stress is work related and give the advice to leave work at work, but what do you do when it really does feel like stressors are coming from many different sources.
First, what is stress? The Centre of Studies on Human Stress states that stress describes a force that produces strain on the physical body. They also mention that how your body stores and handles stress has been linked as far back as neanderthal times. I’m sure most of you have heard of the fight or flight reaction your body has when it comes to stress and/or anxiety. The primary goal of the fight or flight response is to mobilize energy by extracting stored energy and redirecting it. Some of the things your body does to redirect that energy is increase your heart rate to pump more blood to your muscles, your pupils dilate to sharpen your vision, and your body stops digestion and reproduction.
There are two kinds of stress; acute and chronic. Acute stress results from a specific event or situation that stem from unpredictability, threat to the ego, or sense of control. Chronic stress stems from repeated exposure to situations that release stress hormones. Overuse of stress response can cause many health problems including high blood pressure and high blood sugar. To help cope with stress, the Centre of Studies on Human Stress recommends two different strategies. Problem-focused strategy relies on using active way to tackle a problem. You can analyze the problem, work harder, apply what you’ve learned from daily life, and talking to someone about the problem can also help. Emotion-focused are used to handle feelings of distress rather than the problem. You can focus on avoiding/denying the situation, blame yourself or others, etc.
Others also suggest performing a stress check by checking your posture to see if your shoulders are high up by your ears or if your breathing is erratic. It’s recommended to take a 5 minute de-stress break and focus on your breathing. Exercise has also been known to help reduce stress. The University of Texas at Austin Counseling and Mental Health Center offers audio breathing exercises to help control breathing and reduce feelings of stress.
What do you do to help reduce stress?
My New Challenges 
I am devoted to chanting, meditation and prayer, as my first paramount task to accomplish in the morning. I have a whole process that I go through. It looks a little like this, clearing any negative energy through “black and white breathing”, visualizing light, receiving light and blessings, re-dedicating myself to pure intentions, making requests on the behalf of myself and others, expressing gratitude for my precious human life, claiming the spiritual attributes that I wish to expand or manifest, and cultivating a deep wish for the happiness of all living beings….etc. I have discovered that my whole day is so much more “synchronized” if I will only dedicate the time to this devotion. I try to do it before I ever even think of stepping out my door, into the world, and before I am encountering other living beings. I can always tell the difference in my life when I don’t follow through on this practice. My world gets……let’s say….highly, highly uncomfortable! When things get too out of synch, and I have been faithful to my individual practice, then I know… it is time to call in the troops, and I will do this devotion with my spiritual group. I have found that there really IS power in numbers. I also walk, try to eat right, and do some of the other common recommendations for health, like take a power nap, a hot bubble bath, or commune with animals and nature! But, if all else fails, I will get some friends together, I will drink a cocktail, or have a nice meal, or both, and I will listen to some really good music! Sometimes a girl just needs to totally relax, be amongst friends, and have a little fun, right? Right!!! Nice post! Metta, Duane
Thanks for sharing Duane! I’ve been trying to pay attention to my body and realize when I’m getting tense. I’ve also been trying to control my breathing. I agree with your animal/nature comment and I’m always amazed how much that helps.