Is Stress ever a problem for you?
Stress affects us all at some time. Work, family, money and health are just some of the things we have to juggle. It can all get a bit much to cope with, and stress creeps in. Understanding stress and how it affects us can make things easier to manage.
Stress refers to pressure or tension on an object or person. Stress is like a weight pushing against something or pushing it down. Buildings under stress get stress fractures and so do people.
Stress on humans is caused by many things, usually things we don’t like or don’t know how to deal with. We get stressed when we life throws us difficulties – anxieties, fears, phobias and other challenges.
Is Stress Good or Bad?
We may wonder if all stress is bad. One idea is that some stress is good as it motivates us to action. If, for example, we did not feel some kind of stress when we got hungry, we may not be motivated to eat and therefore would die. Or if the thought that our children would get run over if we don’t teach them road rules did not stress us, we might not bother. So we could say that ‘good stress’ motivates us to action.
Stress is not good however, when it is severe or constant, and when we don’t know how to relieve it. Stress can injure our health and wear us out. It can leave us emotionally and physically exhausted.
Resilience
I think of resilience as the antidote to stress. Resilience is the ability to absorb stress or pressure without being injured or damaged. Like stress, resilience refers to both objects and people. If an object is resilient, it ‘bounces back’ when hit or knocked. Likewise with a person. If we are resilient, we bounce back when life throws us the unexpected or unwanted. Better than getting stressed!
For more information on stress, including tips to manage stress, see: Stress, and get in touch if we can help you further.
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