Stress can sneak up on you and wallop you if you aren’t watchful. Knowing the little signs will help you stop your negative reaction to stress so that you can surf it rather than drown in it.
Life has lots of stress as part of its every day flow. It’s your reaction to stress that makes it uncomfortable. Stress comes from change. Moving, marriage or divorce, having a baby, taking a vacation, getting a promotion or raise, and even going to a party all add stress to your life. Some people thrive on that, others shrivel. What’s your reaction to stress?
My stress shows itself in interesting ways. Maybe you’ll recognize some of the signals in yourself.
Sometimes it’s tight shoulders that tells me to relax, to chill out. I’ll even get a tight throat, kinda presenting sometimes as an almost sore throat. Then there’s the slipping memory, misplaced things, and lost items. Those are all warning signals it’s time to take a break and to slow down.
If I miss those more subtle signals I find myself swearing more, and I’m not much of a swearer. When I was a drinker I found myself drinking more than usual. My anger starts building and the fuse gets short. That level of stress in me means it’s time to stop and take a long break. It’s past the slowing down phase.
To avoid getting to that point, strive to schedule your time so that you don’t let life’s stress build up. Learn to say “no” so that your pace stays manageable for you. Take frequent breaks. Eat a healthy diet. Exercise. Those are some of the actions you can adopt to help stress reactions from building in you.