I just posted this question in Q&A:
What's the biggest stress in your life right now? (http://www.workitmom.com/question-681)
I am genuinely curious and I wonder if it can be a good start to a discussion I'd love to see here on Work It, Mom!-- a discussion about practical ways to reduce stress in our daily lives.
I am a perpetually stressed person. I remember being stressed out when I was 4 years old. It's just who I am. A lot of this is genetic (thanks, Mom!:), but a lot of it has to do with the life choices I've made - intense jobs, moves, etc.
I know being stressed out a lot is bad for your health and I know my family would love for me to chill it. I keep finding myself saying that oh, once I do x, y, z, I will be less stressed. But those x, y, z are usually pretty huge deals - once Work It, Mom! is a successful business, once we get on more secure financial footing, etc. There are not small things and they are things that might not actually happen.
I am trying to get myself committed to reducing my stress level on a daily basis, through small, incremental steps. I'm actually going to look into some studies on stress and if I find anything interesting, will of course share it here. But I am writing this and sharing it with you so that there is a record of my desire to reduce daily stress. Because I feel it really get to me too often...
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Daily stress and how to fight it
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Nicola Ries Taggart 25th Oct 07
Tonya Ramsey 19th Oct 07
Nataly
~
I
can
really
relate!!!
I
use
to
allow
myself
to
be
stressed
out
alot,
but
now
I
really
have
worked
hard
on
releasing
it
and
going
with
the
flow.
Don't
get
me
wrong,
stress
still
happens,
in
fact
last
week
was
horrible
for
me
stress-wise,
it
was
like
everything
just
closing
in,
Logan
was
acting
up,
I
had
deadlines
at
school,
at
work,
my
house
was
a
disaster,
my
to-do
list
a
mile
and
half
long.
I
vented
with
some
friends
and
started
to
focus
on
each
individual
to-do
instead
of
the
big
picture.
A good friend of mine posed this question to a group that I belonged to once, "How do you eat an elephant?" the answer...ONE BITE AT A TIME. And I think that is the best way to deal with being stressed and overwhelmed take it one bite at a time!! And let your higher power (whether it is god, the universe, or even your higher self) help you release and create with you. Also, make sure that you are spending some good quality "me" time! Read a book that you have always wanted to read, make times to do something that you enjoy. You have to nurture yourself like you nurture your family and you will see a difference. Wishing you the best!!
Kate 16th Oct 07
nataly!
sorry
i
didnt
come
back
sooner
to
see
this!
thanks
for
posting
the
question
for
me!!
now
i
will
go
check
it
out
and
figure
out
how
to
even
post
questions
-
it's
one
of
the
features
on
WIM
i
havent
tried
out
yet!
Nataly 16th Oct 07
Ok,
Kate
-
I
posted
a
question
in
the
Q&A
to
address
your
awesome
topic
of
top
stress-breakers:
http://www.workitmom.com/questions
Florinda 16th Oct 07
Mandy
is
definitely
on
track
about
that
need
to
control
everything
as
a
source
of
stress,
even
though
we're
not
going
there
right
now
;-).
Anyone
who
claims
they're
not
stressed
is
either
too
young,
too
old,
lying
through
their
teeth,
or
in
denial.
Nataly's right about some of our stress responses being genetically hard-wired, and some of it's how we were raised - you learn to worry if you live with worriers, I think (I did, anyway). But we also make choices in our lives that feed the stress cycle. Some of Nataly's choices are too intense for me! :-D And I've found that the "once I do x, y, z, I will be less stressed/happier/whatever" thinking really isn't helpful, because you're getting even more stressed about when you can be less stressed (if that makes sense)! I love Kate's "random silliness" idea - I don't do it often enough, but it really does help! Good luck with this, Nataly, and you know we're all here for you!
Mandy Nelson - Dandysound 16th Oct 07
Love
that
idea,
Kate.
Since
I
share
an
office
w/
hubby
too
I'll
be
doing
that.
That's
a
major
stress
sometimes,
working
with
each
other
and
living
with
each
other.
Fortunately
we
do
both
pretty
well
but
who
else
is
there
to
take
things
out
on.
And
Nataly,
I'm
so
glad
you
pointed
out
the
stress
as
genetic.
It
hadn't
occurred
to
me
that
I've
been
doing
the
same
things
all
my
life,
even
though
I'm
the
only
one
in
my
immediate
family
who
has.
Perhaps
part
of
it
for
me
is
the
need
to
control
most
everything.
But
we
won't
go
there.
Good
note
that
I'm
going
to
keep
in
the
back
of
my
brain.
Nataly 16th Oct 07
let's
do
it!
Top
10
stress-breakers
-
post
it
as
a
question
in
the
Q&A
and
we'll
see
if
we
can't
all
come
up
with
some:)
Kate 16th Oct 07
random
silliness.
you
just
need
some
random
silliness!
and
some
stress
is
good
for
you
when
it
is
FUN
stress!
like
exercise
is
'stressful'
but
it
can
be
fun
and
good
for
you
at
the
same
time!
you
share
an
office
with
yoru
hubby,
right?
so
(this
is
serious
silliness)
randomly
go
get
a
tiny
squirt
gun
and
dont
tell
him,
then
occasionally
squirt
him
in
the
back
of
the
head.
i
trust
you
can
avoid
the
electronic
equipment
plus
if
it's
little
it
shouldnt
hurt
anything.
shreeks
and
laughter
(and
retaliation)
may
occur
but
so
fun!
we actually had a work funtion this summer where we were outside at this park and they had us playing games - and gave us all squirt guns. it was by far the best icebreaker for a bunch of introverted and socially awkward computer engineers. maybe we could come up with a top 10 list of fun stress breakers suitible for working from home AND the office!
Nataly 16th Oct 07
Oh,
I
love
that!
You
should
write
an
article
for
WIM
titled
just
that:)
and
give
us
all
some
ideas!
|
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Start with the question: If I knew this was my last year, how would I want it to feel--both personally and professionally? Once you've gotten clear about how you want your life to feel (low-stress, fun, invigorating, connected, memorable, inspiring, relaxed, etc.), then you can focus on the things you want to do that align with those feelings. If you have projects or responsibilities that don't support how you want to feel, it may be a good indication to let it go or decrease your involvement or even just shoot for C+ work instead of A+ work.
For me I feel the stress level increase when I've over-scheduled myself based on a list of "should dos" rather than "want to dos". Many times this comes out of fear around money. When I am stressed about making more money and managing our financial situation I go into a manic "I must fix this by doing more" mode, which ends up being counter-productive. I have come to learn (but still don't always practice) that more of what I want easily flows into my life when I am more focuses on feeling good rather than achieving too many things.