“Everyday brings a choice: to practice stress or to practice peace” – Joan Borysenko, Ph.D.
We live in a stressed society. Stress is everywhere. Interestingly enough, many people have forgotten that stress is not the enemy, stress can actually be good… that is, until it is left unmanaged and ignored. That’s when we have a problem.
Anxiety and stress are often misunderstood and interchanged. Stress is a response to a threat in a situation. Anxiety is a reaction to the stress.
There is good stress and bad stress, called Eustress and Distress respectively. Everyone has stress, it’s a natural, normal part of life. We want that stress to stay positive (Eustress)… that’s the stress that focuses and motivates us to be productive. What we find often, is that people allow the once good stress to grow with no awareness and no active management until it no longer is helpful, but is hurtful (Distress).
Chronic negative stress can affect your health both physically and psychologically. Physically, you may notice headaches, high blood pressure, chest pain to heart palpitations, skin rashes, interference in sleep, and changes in appetite. Psychologically you may notice feelings of hopelessness, anxiety, depression, lack of focus, and short term memory issues.
The good news is that you can learn ways to manage the stress and anxiety you’re experiencing. The symptoms discussed above are signals… signals to us that we are out of balance and must become self-aware and active in listening to our mind and body. We must use these signals as clues as to how to behave in ways that will bring balance back… bring our stress levels back down to a positive level.
At More to Life Counseling, it is our goal to help you listen to your mind and body and to begin to respond in productive ways in order to take back control over the stress and anxiety experienced. Call us today so we can help you begin your journey to control and manage stress and anxiety.