Recognizing Stress
Stress overload may be present when the following changes appear:
- Hurrying everywhere, walking, talking, and driving faster.
- Feeling depressed, apathetic or bored most of the time.
- Changes in eating or sleeping habits.
- Feeling chronically dissatisfied with your life.
- Having difficulty enjoying social activities.
- Valuing how much you get done rather than how well you do it.
- Refusing to accept praise or affection, even when you want it.
- Having more accidents than usual.
Reducing Stress
Many shortcuts exist to reduce the stress in your life. If you find yourself feeling close to a stress overload, use some of these stress reduction techniques in your life.
- Say “no” when you mean no, when your schedule is already full, when someone leans on you, to needy people who tend to drain you, to added responsibility.
- Act rather than react. Take charge of your life, make decisions, go for what you want and don’t take no for an answer.
- Be wary of criticism. Remember that others react from their frame of reference, which may have nothing to do with the facts.
- Give up the “victim.” Consider that you are responsible for the situations and circumstances in your life—no one else. You brought them about with thoughts and behavior. Instead of feeling victimized by the events in your life, treat circumstances as opportunities to be creative.
