Category: Stress

Forfeit your soul?

This week’s QUOTE FOR STRESS:

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” Mark 8:36

Actually being on that treadmill to worldly success can be extremely stressful. When you think you’ve finally arrived, the goal-posts change and that striving actually never stops. This is what stress and burnout are made of.

The other day I read a book review of NW by Zadie Smith (Time Magazine September 10, 2012, page 47) which gave a ‘secular’ take on this verse. The theme of the book is about the perils of upward mobility.

“In an age of massive wealth disparity, people are increasingly defined by their wealth or lack thereof, and the gulfs between them become correspondingly massive. They’re constantly urged to climb ladders, but having climbed them they discover that they’ve left irreplaceable parts of themselves behind.  As Natalie (the main character) says of a contemporary who burned out, ‘She had been asked to pass the entirety of herself through a hole that would accept only part.’ “

Natalie discovers that you can’t go from one world to another, and still be you.

“What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” When we die, we can’t take our wealth with us. All we’ll have left is our soul so we better pay attention to our soul in this life-time!

Attitude!

This week’s QUOTE FOR STRESS

“I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you ...”. Charles Swindoll

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.
It is more important than the past, than station, than money,
Than circumstances, than failures, than success,
than what other people think or say or do.
It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill.
It will make or break a company … a church … a home.

The remarkable thing is, we have a choice every day
regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day.
We cannot change our past … we cannot change the fact
that people will act in a certain way.
We cannot change the inevitable.
The only thing we can do
is play on the one string we have,
and that is our attitude …

I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you …” – Charles Swindoll

Click here to learn more about the link between stress and depression

Attitude is everything!

This week’s QUOTE FOR STRESS:

“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” Hans Selye

Scientist Hans Selye (1907 – 1982) developed a General Adaptation Syndrome model showing the three phases of stress and the effects on the body. According to Selye, chronic stress causes long-term chemical changes in the body and is therefore a major cause of disease.

3 PHASES OF SELYE’S GENERAL ADAPTATION SYNDROME

Alarm Stage

This is also known as the fight or flight response where stress hormones are released for immediate energy. This energy needs to be used up in physical activity so the stress hormones like cortisol, adrenaline and noradrenaline do not harm the body, particularly the heart.

Resistance Stage

As the source of stress is being sorted out, the body begins to restore its balance and starts recovering. If the stress continues the body remains in a constant state of vigilance or arousal.

If there is no time for recovery the person will proceed into the next phase.

Exhaustion Stage

All adaptation energy supply is depleted and the result is burnout, chronic anxiety and depression. The stress levels go up and stay up. This stage is dangerous to your health and can damage nerve cells and body organs. Thinking as well as memory are also affected.

The Answer?

The answer is really quite simple! We have to learn better ways of dealing with stress. With our hectic lifestyles, this is easier said than done, but for the sake of good health our responses to stress need to be re-examined. We need to change our attitudes. Stress is a known cause of depression so to overcome depression it is essential to learn how to deal with it.

“Adopting the right attitude can convert a negative stress into a positive one.” Hans Selye

The Stress of Life by Hans Selye is available from Amazon and has good online reviews.

Please register for our Free 5 Part Overcoming Depression Course which focuses on learning how to deal with stress, particularly as regards changing the way we think.

 

Perceptions trigger stress!

This week’s QUOTE FOR STRESS

“When we change our perception we gain control. The stress becomes a challenge, not a threat”. Greg Anderson

Stress is the cause of depression.  Stress is created from our perceptions, how we view a situation. When my children were younger we regularly went for hikes in the mountains. Being rather unfit, my thoughts often went along the lines of “I hope I make it to the top without having a heart attack! I wasn’t exactly sure where the rescue helicopter would land if I did.” Might sound silly, but then most of us have silly thoughts at times. It was an upward struggle and I certainly didn’t think of the view from the top. However my children and husband would just about sprint to the top, in their eagerness to look at the view from the top!

Different perceptions about the same event. I do have to admit that once at the top, I did feel very proud of myself!

If you would like to learn more about how to change your perceptions please click here to find out an easy step by step method. This change can make all the difference in enjoying life to the full.

Antidote to Stress!

This week’s QUOTE FOR STRESS.

“There are thousands of causes for stress, and one antidote to stress is self-expression. That’s what happens to me every day. My thoughts get off my chest, down my sleeves and onto my pad”. Garson Kanin

Garson Kanin (1912 – 1999) was a prolific American writer and director of plays and films as well as an actor and comedian. He certainly knew about writing!

Writing and self-expression can be a wonderful antidote to stress. Getting your thoughts off your chest and down your sleeves and onto your pad, is a delightful description. We all know the speed with which our worrisome thoughts can race round and round in one’s head. Thoughts are slowed down when they are put onto paper and then afterwards you can always re-examine your thoughts and make an action plan for dealing with them.

Dealing with insults!

 This week’s QUOTE FOR STRESS

“A wise man is superior to any insults which can be put upon him, and the best reply to unseemly behavior is patience and moderation.” Moliere

Nobody likes to be insulted or criticized and our immediate reaction is often to throw insults back again. But this can really make matters so much worse. It can lead to open warfare, ‘guns-a-blazing!’ When we defend ourselves it is usually our self-esteem that we are defending even if what the other person is saying has some truth in it! Think about it

  • Do you agree that we all have a right to express how we feel? Tell yourself that the person insulting you is just expressing their feelings. It actually has  nothing to do with your self-esteem. Rise above the insults and listen.
  • The person is obviously upset about something. Try to find some grain of truth in what they are saying.
  • Hear the person out without defending yourself.
  • Don’t retaliate or defend yourself. Respect the person for having had the guts to actually face you with what has upset them. You can even thank them for pointing out whatever it is and that you will give it some thought.

As you respectfully listen, the person insulting you will gradually run out of steam and will probably thank you for listening to them and respect you for the manner in which you handled the matter. From personal experience, I know it works. Give it a try!

Stress – A Bad Idea!

This week’s QUOTE FOR STRESS comes from Frederick Saunders.

“Brain cells create ideas. Stress kills brain cells. Stress is not a good idea.”

When one looks at the brain and all its capabilities, one cannot but stand in awe and admiration! And the brain also has a warning system to tell us to change some of the unhelpful things we do.  There are chemicals in the brain that are used for thinking. Stress causes these chemicals to get used up, to become depleted and the brain gets sick. Yes, the brain can get sick, just like any other organ in the body. This illness caused by stress is called depression or burnout.

After a stressful event, the brain needs time to recover. Relaxation, or chilling out allows the brain chemicals to return to their normal levels. Sometimes this is not possible and the person needs medical treatment for depression. A typical characteristic of depression is uncharacteristic negative talk.

“Stress is not a good idea”  says Saunders. I couldn’t agree more! The solution is to learn how to handle stress in a different way. For more about stress take a look at my other site, Overcoming Depression. This gives much more information about the effects of stress and how to handle stress.