I'm going to be talking about coping or handling stress in our lives. First, let me define what I mean by "coping" and what I mean by "stress". Coping for me is, is any attempt to master or handle a new situation that can be potentially threatening, frustrating, painful or challenging. Another good phrase for coping could be "problem solving". By stress I'm referring not just to short-term events in our lives or immediate situational events, but also to a complex set of conditions which can change over time.
Lists of stressful events have occurred in newspapers and magazines. In order, from highest stress to lowest stress, some of these events are like the death of someone close; divorce; marital problems, relationship problems, illness of a friend or relative or yourself; loss of a job; change of a job, problems on the job, moving to a new location; meeting new people, or holidays.
Everyone faces stress in his or her life. Some people experience stress very frequently in their lives, even on a daily basis. This type of stress can be caused not by external events, but by the way we deal with ourselves. For example, we may push ourselves too hard; try to accomplish too much; take on more work than we can realistically complete and in short, demand perfection from ourselves.
We can notice stress from this kind of pressure by feeling a tightness around our neck and shoulders or in our chest. Some of us may experience the stress in the form of a knot in our stomach or chronic back pain, frequent headaches, or a constant fatigue or tired feeling. I often notice stress when I find myself walking faster than usual; gulping down my lunch or feeling pressured to finish a work task or get to another meeting.
The results of prolonged stress can be irritability, fatigue on a daily basis, anxiety, depression, and health deterioration.
Although you might not be able to get rid of the stressful events in your life, you always have control over your response to them and the effect that they have on your life.
The negative effects of stress can be reduced by such things as getting enough rest, exercise, good nutrition, and taking some time for yourself. But if you are finding your life a bit too overwhelming these days, you may also want to consider talking with a professional psychologist to assist you in identifying the stressors in your life and work with you in learning ways to cope more effectively. It is important to deal with your stress properly as too much stress can negatively impact both your mental and physical health. To learn more about your level of stress, please take the Stress Test.
We can all learn to cope with the stress of our lives more effectively.
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Ron Rice, PHD • Licensed Psychologist • (248) 626-2056 • 32910 W. 13 Mile Road, Suite D-402 • Farmington Hills, MI 48334-1980