All things exist in balance, including our levels of stress. Some stress is good. Short-term stress provides a burst of energy and clarity to see us through a crisis. However, we're meant to resolve our stressors and resume a sense of 'normal' - whatever that 'normal' is. Severe or long-term stress is damaging. Long-term stress knocks out our immune systems, makes physical pain more prevalent, creates cognitive lapses, facilitates unhealthy weight gain and worsens any mental health issues. Making matters worse, all of the effects of stress create more stress.
Neurologists have determined that our thoughts are the filter between our circumstances and our feelings. As in, a situation occurs, we quickly consider a few possibilities as to how to interpret the matter, and our feelings surface. This is where worry management comes into play. How do we manage worry when the circumstances haven't changed?
Healthy worry is realistic and planful. What's your goal for how you respond to a given crisis? And what are the steps you could take to achieve that goal? Break these tasks down. Make them small. If you're just getting started, it's ok to do the easiest tasks first to break the ice. Remember that maybe the reasons for your goal could be met by taking a few different paths. For example, your goal may be to find a job, but until you do, you can create better financial stability by applying for unemployment and having a garage sale.
I'm going to use weight loss as an example for healthy worry. Maybe you'd like to lose weight, but constantly beating yourself up about your size is wearing you down. The parts of weight-loss that are within your control are your exercise, eating, fluid intake, sleep, and - well, stress levels. So you make a point to eat a balanced diet with high fiber and low saturated fat. And you decide to walk twenty minutes a day, drink eight glasses of water a day and sleep eight hours a night. At this point, the scale is secondary because your body will release extra weight when it's ready.
Another form of worry is free-floating anxiety. This is a sort of stress that's constantly present, and seeks a reason for being there. This is often the result of negative circumstances from the past, but it will continue to be a problem unless it's addressed head-on. People with free-floating worry need to take excellent emotional and physical care of themselves. Some ways of doing this are maintaining a routine, keeping positive distractions available, having friends or family to talk with, and having a reachable challenge for each day. Moderate exercise, gratitude lists, thought-stopping, slow deep breaths and meditation all work wonders for free-floating worry.
Bear in mind that this is your life you're living. If we dwell on the one negative thing in front of us, we won't see the blessings.
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