Most of us have heard the word stress for as long as we could remember.
That deep sigh. You know the sigh you make when you realize that the list is too long, and the time is too short. Or maybe it’s looking at the calendar every morning and noticing that EVERY single time slot is filled with meeting after meeting or task after task. It’s noticing how fast time is moving now that you have a deadline to meet when just yesterday 15 minutes felt like an hour. It’s the pressure. It’s the anxiety. It’s experiencing everything all at once, knowing exactly what it is, and dreading it.
It’s stress.
Most of us have heard the word stress for as long as we could remember. Maybe you’ve heard the statement “stress is just a part of life”. Honestly, stress does come with certain aspects of life. Believe it or not, stress can be beneficial and healthy at times. However, that kind of stress probably didn’t bring you to this article. You are probably here to learn how to deal with that heavier side of stress. The side of stress that can have you just sitting with no words to describe how you will finish or do all there is to do.
Stress comes in many forms and impacts everyone differently. Some of us can go with the flow while others may stumble a bit. Regardless of how stress impacts you, there are two little words that tend to pop up the moment you say, “I’m stressed”. Those words are stress management.
If you are thinking, “Here we go again with a quick Band-Aid to a bigger issue”, it’s completely understandable. Stress management can sometimes be presented as a generic catch-all term people throw around. You know, that generic term that goes with that generic list of stuff to do when you are stressed out about the list of stuff you have to do that caused your stress in the first place? Who wants to do more stuff, especially when it might not even fit your situation?
Unfortunately, generic stress management techniques and associated strategies might not consider that stressors are just as unique as individuals. Stress can impact every aspect of your life, so how you manage it counts. It’s this simple acknowledgment of unique experiences that could mean the difference between a successful stress management plan and a potential waste of time. This is why understanding how stress and stress management work for you is so important.
When the things you use are helpful, they do not feel like “just another thing on the to-do list”. They become another tool in the toolbox to assist in moving things forward or slowing down when you need to. Remember, stress management losses its effectiveness when it lacks that personal connection. Resources/tools such as a stress audit, LWC’s stress management workshop, and free counseling to name a few are just some of the things available to help you along the way. Regardless of the pressure you may be feeling right now, you don’t have to figure this thing out alone.