I'm so stress out! I don't know what to do?

Feeling stressed, emotionally drained or mentally exhausted?

If constant stress has you feeling disillusioned, helpless and completely exhausted, now is the time to find a way to cope! 

In this article, I’d like to give you a taste of what my online course "Changing the response to stress!" contains. We will look at two of the most common responses to stress and examine why these are unhelpful. Next, I’ll teach you a more balance and helpful approach to deal with stress. 

Stress is difficult for scientists to define because it is a highly subjective phenomenon that differs for each of us. What does this mean? Simply that things which are stressful for some individuals can be pleasurable for others.

No matter what our trigger is; one truth remains: It’s not the stress itself that is the cause of struggles and suffering, on the contrary, it’s the WAY WE RESPOND to it. Our response to stress can make all the difference! 

The key to improving our situation is not eliminating all stressors in life, but rather developing the skill of identifying our triggers and response style and then learning how we can better cope with the stressful circumstance.

So let’s talk about two unhelpful responses to stress!

The first approach I commonly see is AVOIDANCE.

Similar to when you have a headache and you take a pill to get rid of the pain, some feel the best way to deal with stress is by removing it-avoiding anything that causes you stress. 

However, is this approach truly helpful? It's important to recognize the harm in getting rid of all stress.Think about it: if you are constantly fleeing from stressors or avoiding situations that could potentially cause you pain, wouldn't this limit your freedom in life? 

You might have to avoid certain people or certain work environments. Really, in an effort to improve your life,  you’d be crippling your opportunities for life's endeavors. This would adversely impact your enjoyment in life! 

The second common approach is PUSHING THROUGH. 

Instead of acknowledging your stress level, you ignore it and continue to push yourself too hard. However, the fact is when we don't deal with stress in a positive way and we try to push through it, over time that stress can become emotional and physical strain. Prolonged periods of stress can induce chronic strain which can cause even more serious effects, like - anxiety, problems sleeping, and depression.

Now, Let's take a few mins now to learn a more POSITIVE and HELPFUL approach for dealing with stress. 

A word you'll hear again and again in my courses is COMPASSION. 

This is one of the most understated qualities but it is so beneficial and truly crucial for sound mental health.

When stress meets compassion, it produces resilience.

What do I mean by this word, compassion?

Compassion is the ability to

• Show curiosity to yourself and your dilemma

• Ability to sooth yourself

• Seek out wisdom to understand your situation better

• Protect yourself from real danger and threat if it's necessary

But… is compassion even a scientifically proven point? Yes it is!

There is a an amazing part of our brain  called the "prefrontal cortex", It has the ability to analyze situations and assist us in making good judgements. It comes up with plans of action and helps us problem solve. 

The problem is, when we perceive a threat and go in "fight-or-flight" mode, this part of our brain does not function very well. Ideally, when we're met with a stressful situation our prefrontal cortex would engage helping us to adapt to any challenge, minimizing impairment, allowing us to return to healthy functioning.

So I ask you: How can we get out of this emergency mode and get our brains functioning at a peak level of performance? You guessed it! We need compassion!

This is the purpose of the online course "Changing the response to stress". You will learn step-by-step instruction to strengthen your compassionate side of you and how to put into application to reduce anxiety and depression.
I hope to see you in the course!