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Stress is a physiological and emotional response to ‘’fear and threat’’. Stress can be good or bad, depending on how we look at it. Stress can affect our physical health, cognition, thoughts, feelings, and actions. When you are exposed to stress in the long term there may be a chance of ‘’loss of physical and mental endurance’’, which makes you lose concentration, and also have mental health issues, such as depression, anxiety, and other symptoms. At the same time, the immune system worsens, making it easy to get ill.

Stress Management

We should not aim to eliminate stress, but rather learn how to relax, using positive thinking and attitude to face various difficulties and changes in life, the feeling of stress will naturally decrease. Meditation exercises target an overactive sympathetic fight or flight response nervous system to help immediately relieve heart rate and muscle contraction. When practiced long term, they help increase parasympathetic nervous system functions, making it easier for the body to enter a relaxed state.  Sources: 

https://www.stress.org/what-is-stress

As a member:

7 cups is a place where I can vent about my problems to listeners that are non-judgemental and volunteer their time to help. There are plenty of listeners so there is always someone out there that understands and makes me feel less alone.

Group support! So many different chatrooms where you can talk about particular difficult situations or just hang out and talk about your interests with fellow members.

Self-help guides that improve my knowledge and expert advice on mental health issues.

As a listener:

I adore the forums there are so many different activities icebreakers learning about different coping methods support on how to be a better listener, information on mental health issues so I can support my members better

Listener chatrooms where I can receive emotional support when a chat didn’t go so well or hear suggestions from others when I’m on a 1-on-1 chat I don’t know what to do

1) Avoid. This means learning how to say No, avoiding situations that make you feel stressed, controlling your surroundings so that it's not as stressful, reducing your to-do list 

 2) Alter. This means trying to express your feelings, creating a balanced timetable for yourself. Attempting to relieve the situation/carrying out agreements

3) Adapt. Rethink the situation, using different perspectives to identify the truth of the situation. Increase/use open-mindedness to look at the situation. Modify your standards a little bit. Practice gratitude.

Today I’m sharing the article ‘’How to let go of the need for approval’’. Let’s face it, we all like being praised by others, it feels validating. However when you’re constantly getting approval from others, it doesn’t mean that you’re not worthy or doing great things, but it can be easy to fall into the trap of thinking thoughts like ‘ I’m not good enough’, ‘I’m not smart’, ‘I’m not attractive’ etc etc. The same goes for the reverse, someone saying you’re ‘’enough’’ does not mean you should stop improving or remain stagnant in whatever you’re working on because what others say is a subjective opinion, not an objective fact, meaning it’s not necessarily true. These are my personal insights, now let’s look at the article.

Dr Cohen first begins describing the process of seeking approval, you work hard on something, you get people to like you. However this process of seeking approval  from ‘’outside sources’’ can cause problems.

I choose Hurricane by Halsey because to me it’s about self-confidence, caring about and improving yourself without worrying about what others think of you

I’m thankful for 7 Cups because

as a member

it has allowed me to grow into a bigger, stronger person

it has provided me with ways to help myself through self-help aids and connecting with others

the patience and ability of listeners to talk things through with me and calm me down

the members for being my support buddies and we were good friends

as a listener

it has taught me how to listen actively

it has taught me empathy

it has taught me how to carry conversations

- it has made me a happier person knowing that I have made someone else’s day, and knowing that someone is in the same boat as me makes me feel less alone as well

- the listener community and subforums have provided endless support and resources for me to understand mental health better as well as acceptance and openness towards other people

[Trigger Warning]

There are many suicide warning signs:

Having suicidal thoughts

Self-hatred 

Self-harm

Buy objects suspected to be used for suicide

Isolating themselves from other people

Think that life is meaningless

Talk about death with other people 

Give farewell notes to people they know

Things you can do to support a friend having these feelings:

Accept their emotions non-judgementally

Don’t leave them alone

Be empathetic

Avoid criticism or arguments

Thinking about ways to resolve this together

Being there for them

When is professional intervention necessary?

When they act on their suicidal thoughts

Have arrangements about their own death

Emotional instability

Crisis Referral http://suicide.org/suicide-hotlines.html

Thank you for being there for me when I’m feeling down

Thank you for checking up on me even when I didn’t mention that I need help

Thank you for supporting my beliefs and/or willing to discuss issues with me openly

Thank you for studying with me

Thank you for being mindful and considerate of my schedule

Thank you for staying open and willing to communicate when we have our mishaps

Thank you for being my friend