It cannot be stated strongly enough that you are in much greater control over yourself than you ever realized. Managing stress is really only an exertion of that control rather than relinquishing the control to events, to other people, to your environment or to your busy schedule.
Studies have demonstrated how the little hassles of everyday life may be even more harmful to our health than major life changes. The greatest toll from stress may not come from a divorce, loss of a job or other traumatic changes, but from the minor, frequent annoyances we experience daily. Life hassles are the events or interactions in our daily life that we find bothersome, annoying or negative in some way. Everyday small stresses can sometimes be the “straw that broke the camel’s back” when they are added to our life at a time when it is already overloaded with stressful events.
The opposite of daily hassles is the daily uplift. These are positive events that make us feel good. Daily uplifts can actually reverse the negative effects of daily hassles. A more positive balance of the ups than the downs may be the important ingredient in your overall health and well-being. These daily uplifts may actually protect us from stress related illness.
Learning stress management skills is vitally important in coping with the stresses of life. People who have learned these important stress managmeent skills will often respond to greater degrees of a stressor, but will return more quickly to their resting physiological state. People can greatly respond differently to a particular stressor.
You are in control of you! You are the one responsible for allowing stressful situations to raise your blood pressure and heart rate and for making you angry, nervous and ill. We allowed the event to provoke an angry response in us. We are not responsible for what others say or do but we can change how we react to what others say and do. By taking charge of our life, we can decide whether or not to be an overstressed, nervous wreck or a calm, collected person in control.
Make a committment to take control of your life and control your stress levels. Enjoy managing your stress. You will be a healthier person for it. The key to surviving and even thriving on stress is control. Take charge of you – for you!
