1. More. Time.
Ecclesiastes 3:1a (NASB) #verseOfReflection
There is an appointed time for everything.
I was in middle school at the time, awaiting my turn to play a role in some play at church. I told the "older" adults (who were probably in their 20s at the time), that I was "stressed out" because of all the work I had to do. They laughed it off. "What does this kid know about stress?!" Other than the fact that I've never been like anyone else comparable to me in age, even then I knew enough. Much like many of my classmates did and do know even to this day.
We've continued to pour unrealistic expectations onto ourselves. From standardized testing to the expectation of working seven day work weeks. If you do take time off, it better be because you're sick; really sick. There's this obsession with always being on the go, staying busy.
What happens when you reach your breaking point? Surely your body will give in if your mind doesn't go first. You'll come to understand ever so quickly exactly how human you are. It may force you to cry mercy and finally bring the tumultuous cycle to an end; how brief of an end, is up to you.
There's a lot of things I know. Some all too well. One of them is stress.
For me it's been rather simple (yet a tough process). I've learned over the years what my limits are (if I have any) and what triggers certain physiological reactions in response to stress. Supposedly hope is a good way of helping one's self to heal faster. Equally as important, faith or some sort of conviction, or trust in a future "reward" can help turn a negative into a positive.
Did you know there are 2 types of stress? Good stress (eustress) and bad stress (stress). Stress isn't always a bad thing, especially if it's of the positive sort. In some cases stress can cause us to perform better or be more active than we normally may be, whether that's due to deadlines, pressure, or attitude, etc.
Stress is accepted, especially in the academic arena. It isn't unheard of for a student to be overwhelmed with all that they have to do. Throw in the possibility that they might be perceiving the stress or "to dos" as weighing a lot more than they actually do and it makes things worse. I can't tell you how many times I've been in school situations (specifically near the end of a semester) where the stress level and anxiety just seems to kick up. Everything is due and piled on at once. The professors probably could care less because "we were you". How much is too much?
Let's go back to the thought of being able to handle stress. We'll focus on this idea of capacity. Do you know what your capacity is for handling stress? Are you able to recognize when you've taken on too much before you get wiped out? Many times we go and go...and keep going until we can't anymore and our world collapses around us.
In some cases I've been able to will or hope myself through stressful instances, most notably relying on my faith to help propel me through these "times of trouble".
The American Psychological Association has a presentation here on willpower. It also talks about the effect of stress and what people's perceptions are on willpower. Willpower can be synonymous with faith, determination, persistence, etc. Perhaps it may be the seed that leads to all of the others. One of the notions that we can take away from this and similar lines of thought, studies, and the like is the concept of behavioral lifestyle change. By making adjustments and changes in our lives we are better suited to function to our greatest capacity and God-given potential. As you may have noticed in the entry on sleep, our bodies are created to function in a certain way under specific conditions in the given circumstances. Anything outside of what our body is expected to take on, handle, or do will cause an adverse reaction. Just as people may state that they have a certain threshold or tolerance for pain, so it is with stress. Some thresholds (or lack thereof) are more common than others.
Self-control plays a role into all of this as well. Going back to this thought of having a certain capacity (that is finite) suggests that unless we replenish our capacity, we continue to function at somewhat of a disadvantage. Think of getting less sleep as each day of the week passes. You're hardly able to get yourself back to pre-Wednesday (pick any day) levels.
There are those times in life where we must overwork, not stop, and press on. It may seem as if #itNvrStops. There are only so many options available to you. If you're straight up stressing out, try to understand why. Stop. Think. Breathe. Listen. Maybe in the quiet you'll be reminded of how you got so stressed out in the first place.
Shout Out and Big Thanks to my brother in Christ J. Payne who helped lay a foundation for this.
Unless your IN-take is greater than your OUT-put...
Your upkeep will be your downfall.
Sumthn2Ponder (s2p):
- What stresses me out most?
- Are there relationships with people I should reevaluate?
- How can I prevent myself from str8 up stressin' out?
Links for Consideration(L4C):
