#preventstress

It’s the holiday season and a time to give thanks, celebrate with our loved ones and partake in yearly traditions.

It’s also the time of year where your stress level is ramped up as you try to balance work with endless Christmas parties, holiday shopping, travel plans etc. Throw in family drama, financial strains and the pressure to find the ‘perfect’ gifts and life suddenly spirals out of control.

Exhaustion, anxiety, low energy, rapid heart beats, upset stomach, headaches, worry, lack of sleep, compromised immune system……the signs and symptoms of stress.

We are all aware of the dangers of stress and how it can lead to physical and emotional wear and tear. We are also aware of some of the best practices to deal with stress in the moment. 

As a reminder here is a great list:

Get more exercise

Use positive self-talk

Create balance in your life

Get more rest and more restful sleep

Eat a healthier diet

Know your work limits

Say, “No,” more often

Ask for help

Carve out time for more fun

Use positive imagery

Listen to music that calms you

Declutter- your life and your workspace

Practice yoga and mindful meditation

Keep things simple

And why this list provides important reminders of what to do when you are struggling with stress, I am here to help you PREVENT stress.

Here is the secret about stress that no one is willing to acknowledge or admit.

Are you ready?

We create our own stress. Us, not the world around us, our family members, boss or significant other. We create our own stress. Let me explain….

Nothing actually stresses you out- it’s the ‘meaning’ you put on something or on a situation that stresses you out. We are often unaware that we do this. Stress is a choice that we make--usually subconsciously.

Write a list of the stressors in your life. Where you are experiencing stress? What is the root cause of it? Think of the people, places, situations, environments etc. with which you associate stress.

Any of the situations listed above originated as a ‘neutral’ situation. What happens is that we create our own stories, reactions and judgements around these situations and therefore create our own stress. We apply stress to our life.

Stress creates the story that we feed into, it’s an interpretation and it doesn’t create the truth of what is actually happening.

Think of it this way:

Thoughts→ Feeling → Action

When something happens we have an immediate thought (create the story) which leads to a feeling (stress) and this causes us to react in certain ways (action).

If you are able to separate the story from the situation and change your initial thought you can change your feelings and reaction.

Stress is associated with storytelling and  judgement. If you are able to separate yourself from the judgment you are able to reduce your level of stress. When you think of a stressor in your life ask yourself who are you judging in this moment? Yourself? Someone else? The situation at hand? The environment? And who might you be blaming for this stress? If you are able to separate yourself from the story and from the judgements associated with the stress you can actually rewrite the experience for yourself.

Ask yourself instead ‘what do I want to feel in this moment?’ (instead of feeling stressed). Get super clear with yourself. And then ask yourself, ‘what is the positive story I need to write to get out of my own way?’

Keep in mind that often we feel stressed because we feel out of control. This is especially relevant to those of us who identify as ‘control freaks.’ You know who you are. If you are able to let go of some of the need to control every moment, and shift your perception of the situation at hand you reduce stress. In this case, perception is the source of power.