Stress. An issue which plagues us all. Sometimes it’s mild, but sometimes stress can make you feel like you’re drowning. Sound familiar?
Do you remember the first time that you felt stressed? Or do you remember when you first learned about stress?
From the time you were young you probably heard people talking about being stressed out. Then the moment you experienced stress for yourself, you immediately knew what everyone was complaining about!
It’s true that stress is a part of everyday life, but where does stress come from exactly? What is the origin of stress? This is a question that many people ask but never figure out the answer to.
So let’s demystify some of this common, and prevalent occurrence of life.
Where Exactly Does Stress Originate From?
If you ask 10 people where their stress comes from you’re likely going to get answers such as their kids, family, work, and especially money.
These are stress factors that are common to most of us. Yet, when you receive these answers and really understand them you’ll notice that these are causes of stress but not where the stress actually comes from.
So where does stress come from??
There are many different schools of thought about where stress comes from. The fact of the matter is that stress is our body’s response to the demands that we place on it.
These demands may be physical, mental, or emotional in nature and when we place these demands on our body, chemicals and hormones like Cortisol and Neuropeptide Y are released into our bodies and then we feel stressed.
Basically that’s a lot of scientific speak to say that stress comes from your body reacting to the pressure of your thoughts and movements that happen during each day. And it is the way that your body responds which causes you to actually feel the stress.
Stressful Thoughts Lead to Stressful Feelings
Some believe that stress can stem from our own minds. This is true to some extent because we can cause stress through our worries, fears, and anxiety.
I certainly know that I have done this more times than I can count.
We often get into the habit of negative thinking and can often convince ourselves about things that simply aren’t true. For example, have you ever convinced yourself that you aren’t good enough, smart enough, or pretty enough to do something?
This negative self-talk creates stress within our own minds. Unfortunately, these thoughts are going on unbeknownst to us because we have come to accept our negative thoughts as truth, even when it’s far from it.
This is precisely the reason as to why we need work on taming our negative thoughts and replacing them with positive truths. No, it’s not easy……it’s a simple concept, but not easy.
Why? Because it’s hard to change a pattern that you’ve been comfortable with for years, or even decades. But just because it’s not easy doesn’t mean it’s not worth it.
That simply comes down to picking the type of “hard” you are willing to live with…..but that’s a topic for another day. 😉
Stress is a normal part of life so we’ll never be able to escape it. What really matters is how we deal with stress. And since we all experience stress differently, there’s no universal stress treatment. But there are proven variety of methods to ease stress.
I’ll get into some of the ways to ease stress below, but if you’d like to learn the main methods that I recommend in more detail, you can pick up my framework: “Decoded: The Calm & Joyful Mama” by clicking the button below.
How to Handle Stress
As you now know, stress is a bodily response to the pressures and demands that we place on ourselves in every day life.
To limit the negative effects of stress – such as heart attack, breathing problems, reproductive problems, and stomach problems (yes these are all VERY REAL and even scary effects of stress) – you need to learn how to actively manage your stress.
There are many simple stress coping strategies that you can use such as:
- Getting more exercise
- Using positive self-talk
- Keeping things simple
- Getting more restful sleep
- Knowing your work limits
- Eating a healthier diet
- Employing deep breathing techniques
- Using positive imagery
- Saying no when you need to
- Creating time for fun
- Listening to calming music
- Clearing your life and workspace of clutter
- Asking for help
The Importance of Proactive Stress Management
The ways mentioned in the above list are all effective ways to deal with the stress in your life. However, you need to remember that the goal is to proactively manage your stress.
If you react to your stress, you’ll be spending most of your time putting out fires. Instead, if you constantly implement just a few of these stress management techniques, you will live a healthier, happier, and more productive life!
I am still constantly amazed at how just a few of these techniques have helped me. Prior to creating my daily stress reduction and relief routine, I was an angry, anxious, overwhelmed and STRESSED OUT mess.
But after working with a therapist and a coach, I discovered the most effective and FAST techniques that have completely shifted my life. And then took this momentum to become a coach myself and write out the framework of techniques that have helped me.
If you’d like to check out the framework for yourself, click the button below and grab a copy of my framework “Decoded: The Calm & Joyful Mama.”
Lots of love and gratitude to you mama!
Until next time, happy stress relieving,
*Legal Disclaimer – All information provided above is for educational purposes only. Information should not be construed as medical or legal advice in any capacity and is not intended to prevent, diagnose, treat, or cure disease.