Under stress?

After reading a short article on managing stress, I asked the students in my English class to each say one thing they find helps them deal with stress in their lives. I got the usual answers right away, “Pray to God”, “Take a few minutes for quiet meditation”, “Try to find the solution to the problem that’s causing stress”. But one woman gave a different answer. She said, “I go somewhere by myself, don’t talk to my family, and I keep saying to myself ‘I am in stress’.”

After telling her the correct term is “under stress”, I asked her to explain what she meant. It didn’t seem to me that telling yourself that you are stressed would be a way to help you calm down. But after she explained, I realized that this woman had touched on a key, but often overlooked factor in dealing with the problems of life.

It’s something I like to call, “This too shall pass”.

One of the best pieces of advice I was ever given is that it’s important not to make any major decisions when you are upset, or going through a particularly difficult period.

For me, those difficult periods come in the form of depression. It’s something I’ve struggled with from time to time for years now. While I used to think that I would find a magic key that would completely cure me, I’ve now come to accept that it’s a problem I will always have to deal with from time to time. This has helped me to find keys to keeping it on a manageable level.

Reminding myself that I am simply going through a difficult time and that it soon will pass and everything will go back to normal, is a vital key which helps me to keep the bigger picture of life in mind instead of getting overwhelmed by what I am experiencing at the moment.

I imagine this would work very well for times of stress too. In staying away from your friends and family you could ensure that you wouldn’t snap at them or say things that you might later regret. By telling yourself that this is just a stressful time, you put the blame back onto the problems causing the stress, and remind yourself that it’s not going to stay this way. As soon as the situation is resolved the clouds will pass, and you will find yourself feeling happy and calm once again.