What Did Stress Reveal to Me?
The general consensus is 2020 has been full of stress and will likely go down in history as the most stressful year for a lot of people. Have you paid attention to how the stress has impacted you? Do you feel compressed and overwhelmed? Are your thoughts on the treadmill of your mind? Does problem solving seem to be at an all-time high?
“What we don’t need in the midst of struggle is shame for being human.” – Brene Brown
This quote is such a reminder that most people are doing the best they can with their situations and who are we to shame them? Don’t cover up your stress either! No need to be ashamed and please do not allow others to shame you for having a human response to life altering situations. But you can definitely modify how you use it. I have found that some of my best ideas came from me feeling squeezed by stress. I wear a lot of hats and I know you do to but it’s the way we move in it that will determine the long-term effects. I’ve had hair loss, weight gain (stress eating is a thing), headaches, irritability, isolation and self-defeating behaviors when I could not control my stress. It often led to depression if it went unresolved for too long. This is not to say that I don’t experience those symptoms again; I definitely do, but I no longer suffer such negative consequences as a result.
Allow your mind to protect you; it was designed to identify ways to protect you. Allow your stress response to move you into doing and not paralysis. Get organized! Do a brain dump on paper, white board or your phone. Who do you need to call? Where do you need to go? Who do you need to see? Stay current – don’t look too far back or forward. Now is not the time to discuss a five-year plan!
You know that stress can weigh down your immune system and make you vulnerable to disease. One sure fire way to use/fight stress is to remind you to take your vitamins, stray away from the junk and/or go sweat it out. For those that stress eat like myself, I tend to find alternatives to what I’m trying to accomplish. This is not a time to work against myself. I want to chew something crunchy and often salty; therefore, I will look for snacks like nuts instead of chips or fries.
Stress can be motivating by giving us a rush of energy to do things we loathe and even move through them quickly because we want to check it off of our list. Cleaning, fixing, moving and correcting will often happen because we are “frustrated” or “irritable”. Go ahead – get it done! You might find some answers in that stack of papers you’ve been shuffling around.
Some people get a rush from competing. I personally don’t have a competing spirit against others, but I do enjoy outdoing myself and boy do I praise myself when I get it right! I add to my number of strengths and shore up my limitations and this is not done when I’m relaxed…stress usually lights a fire up under me. I am going to get stronger in some facet of my life because I want to be a better version of me and if increased stress helps me build resilience then I’m open to it.
Essentially, your perspective about stress does not have to change BUT your reaction to it does. Use your time effectively, control what is within your power, be realistic with your approach and allow your mind to move from fixed and paralyzed to growth.