WOW Word-Of-the-Week #72: Stress
May 12, 2009 by Susan Clarke
Stress – what happens when we have a lot of pressure and tension in our life.
Do you feel “stressed out” most of the time? There is good stress and bad stress. Bad stress is when we feel resistance rather than excitement when we have lots of things happening.
One way to help buffer the side effects of stress is to reflect on your personal values, relationships, and qualities that are a source of pride to you.
Stress Relief
Shelley Taylor, a professor of psychology says, “Self-affirmations can be a very good stress combatant especially under conditions of chronic stress. It’s helpful to remind yourself you’re a good person with talents, and remind yourself what is important to you. That can be hard to do when you’re going through something that’s really awful.”
This week define the values that are important to you. Think about the relationships that bring you great joy, and focus on your good qualities and talents. Write them down and read them when you feel overwhelmed by pressure and/or tension. How does it make you feel?
Reader Responses
“We all go through stress. I think that is universal. The key in dealing with stress is how we ACT and not REACT. When things start to go haywire in our lives, it is very easy to simply REACT out of frustration, especially with things we have no control over. That is natural. However, learning how to simply THINK and then ACT instead of REACTING takes time and experience in those situations. Stress will always be a part of our lives, it is just how we deal with it.” — Joe Moran