Stress is an ugly thing. It can really affect everything that you do and how you do it. It affects your mood and energy level. It affects the way you deal with the people and situations around you. Stress is frustrating. Everyone has it. It's hard to deal with and you can't just will it away. When I am stressed it takes away my focus on the things that are far more important.
Stress causes strains in relationships. It causes me to snap at my kids, fight with my fiancee, yell at my mom, say nasty things to my brother, distance myself from my friends. I do not like being that person. That is not who I am. I am patient (most of the time), respectful, caring, loving, sociable. I do not like the way that stress makes me act or feel. I realize that I am the only person who can control how I respond to situations. The way I react to things is under my control and only my control. I don't have to act this way if I don't want to. If I can learn to deal with the stress in my own way, I can learn to react differently as well.
I have many ways of dealing with my stress. Sometimes, I shut down and ignore it completely and pretend that everything is fine. I have come to realize that this is probably not a good way to do things. It definitely doesn't solve any issues. Sometimes, I like to just let out a good scream and cry and be really dramatic about it. That's probably not a good way of handling things either. I, also, have a habit of stress eating and shopping. Those are two things that I really want to break the habit of because neither of them are good for me! I have now found that taking some time to myself to breathe and think, makes things a lot better. It can be 5 minutes, it can be a half an hour or longer if I choose. In those minutes I can choose to concentrate on the problem, block it out, cry if I have to. Basically, it gives me the time to do what I need to do to move on and deal with the problem at hand. If I can't deal with it, if it's something that is out of my control, I can still figure out what I need to do for closure, to move on and relax.
I know this won't work every time. There are a lot of things that just weigh on you that you cannot get out of your head. Sometimes I think I just like beating myself up instead of letting things go but that's a goal for 2014. Letting things go. So this is something I have been working on about myself. Letting go of stress and dealing with it differently.
Has anyone else been under a lot of pressure and stress lately?
How do you deal with it? I would love to hear new and different ways to cope if you have them!
Have a fantastic Friday and weekend!
Love, love, love!
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