Did you know that the first Wednesday of November is National Stress Awareness Day? If you didn’t, consider yourself now aware! It’s just in time to get us thinking about stress, its negative effects, and how to combat them ahead of the (sometimes stressful) holiday season.
We know that there are “good” and “bad” stressors in our lives. Good stress gets us up in the morning so we’re not late for work, it tells us to go check on the baby that’s crying, and back when we were students, it ensured we got our assignments turned in on time and studied for tests.
The Shadow Side of Stress
But, stress can also be bad. And sometimes it’s bad in the same scenarios. We might feel stressed because we know we have to wake up early, so it keeps us up all night. It might make us get mad at our partner because they aren’t rolling out of bed to get the crying baby, so it’s our turn again. And when we were younger, it made us upset at ourselves because we turned in our homework late or didn’t get a good grade. Maybe we were even stressed about telling our parents about our report cards.
The negative effects of stress are real! Bad stress can bring us down, make us grumpy, make us lose interest in things we love, cause pain (real physical pain), and suffering in ourselves and in our loved ones. It can make days feel like a struggle, even when the sun is up and our favorite song is on the radio. It’s no fun and we can feel trapped by it. No thanks, bad stress!
So, what do we do about bad stress?
One thing is we can take a moment to pause (go ahead and take a deep breath right now) and then think through what bad stressors we’re dealing with and how to manage them. Luckily, there’s even a day (not quite a bank holiday, but at least a day of awareness) where we can focus on stress.
National Stress Awareness Day was started by Carole Spiers of the International Stress Management Association in the UK. The idea was to increase public awareness and help people recognize, manage, and reduce stress in both their personal and professional lives. Sounds like a great day to reflect!
If you’re up for it, set a timer for 7 minutes and jot down a list of five or ten stressors in your life. It’s your list, so don't worry about hurting anyone’s feelings. Be vulnerable and trust yourself. What’s on the list? Is it a mix of lifestyle, family, and career? Are the stressors BIG in all caps, or medium, or mostly small? Are there things that need fixing around the home or did they not make it to your top ten? Are they relationship issues with family, friends, or coworkers? Are there solutions? Likely, there are many solutions, but it’ll take some work and possibly some creativity to find them.
But first, let's get real about stress and anxiety...
Before we get to the fixing though, let’s take a moment to acknowledge your feelings of stress and observe them, like you would an interesting shell you’ve found on a beach. You can say to yourself that these feelings are ok, that they are normal, and they do not have to own you. You get to choose to feel them, name them, and then let them go. Having compassion for these feelings and yourself can make it easier to take action.
You’ve already taken a big step. You’ve identified your stressors (at least a handful). Now you can get to work on fixing or resolving them - two months before most people on earth are even thinking about tackling them.
Take Action to Reduce Your Stress and Anxiety
So, what’s next? If you have the time, go ahead and fix the chair leg or start that email draft to your family member. If it’s easy to do, try to give it a shot, and knock it off your to-do list. It’s actually quite surprising how quickly we can reduce our stressors by just acting. Action is the antidote to anxiety (stress!) But if it’s BIG, or even just medium, can you do it on your own? If you could, would you have done it already? Hmm. Something to think about.
In the meantime, consider reviewing your list with your therapist. They are the right resource to help you reduce your stressors list and work through it. If you don’t have a therapist, it’s a great time to find one! You’ll likely be able to schedule one or multiple appointments ahead of the New Year , giving you a jump start on living your best life.
Consider Stress and Anxiety Treatment in Tigard, OR
Our team of skilled Tigard, OR therapists is ready to help you open up to self-discovery for therapy. Contact us today to talk about how we can help you start feeling more grounded and to schedule an appointment with one of our counselors. We offer both face-to-face (in-person) counseling sessions and online therapy In Oregon to residents throughout the state.
More Therapy Services at Discover Counseling in Tigard, OR
Not only can we help with relationship issues, anxiety, and depression, but we can also help navigate difficult life transitions. Especially, the grief and loss we are all feeling right now! This is an especially difficult time for engaged couples and couples on the brink of separation or divorce. Also, for pregnant, postpartum, and parenting couples. Basically, everyone is facing some type of stressor right now. Please let our therapists help you navigate this difficult time.
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