It comes in all shapes and sizes. It comes when things are going well or when we're already struggling. It comes when we're young and when we're old. It comes. Then it comes again.
Stress is universal, but have you noticed how differently we all handle it? Headaches, stomach aches, even humor. This is on my mind because of the way my own body is currently handling it. Shingles. So much for it being an old people's disease. My mind thought it was dealing with life pretty well. I'm part of the sandwich generation and am dealing with a mother who has Alzheimer's and a child with her own unique struggles. I get overwhelmed now and then, but have great support systems in place. My body sees thing differently. So here I sit with a sore neck full of blisters.
How about you? How do you deal with stress? Have you ever been caught off guard by your reaction to it, either physically or emotionally? Do you have any systems in place for when it comes?
There are some obvious ways to keep our stress manageable. Diet and exercise, 8 hours of sleep, healthy relationships, relaxation. These things are all essential. As a person of faith, I would add that believing I'm not god is key. I do my very best as mother, daughter, nurse. But in the end, it's not all up to me. For me, that's a huge stress reliever.
Stress is a part of life. In fact, many of us do better with a bit of it in our day. But when it gets overwhelming, we need a plan for coping. What's yours?
October 29th, 2007 at 12:21 am
Do you have any idea what nurses in history used for stress relief? We have the spa, husbands, kick boxing, etc.; but what did they use? You have any help/sites/advices. Please forward to my email.
liz
May 14th, 2008 at 5:29 am
i pray and i eat….and i check realityrn.com!!