Changing your perspective on stress and negative emotions will help you be healthier. How you SEE things is really a game changer. How you see your situation and your stress can be the path to ill health OR a path towards resilience and SUCCESS!

I have a few clients with long term stress.

It happens to all of us, and for some it is a “given”. 

Are you stressed? It is normal and CAN be a good thing!

Stress is a normal part of life and without it you really would not get anything done.

Those deadlines (unless there are too many all at once) are actually helpful.

Even having a visitor over can stress you enough to finally pick up and clean a bit.

Stress can also tell you what is important in your life.

What you value can stress you out – this is important to know!

I have a friend who often says, “I don’t care anymore.” But of course, she does. 

The stress you have can point to what you care about (often what you care about most). This a good place to start (and end): reflection! What do you value?

I have been thinking a lot about stress and trauma. Part of that has to do with two books I have been reading: The Mindful Body by Ellen Langer and The Myth of Normal by Gabor and  Daniel Maté , who our EASC Vice President recommended recently - both books address these and some other issues. The other reason I have been thinking about trauma is that the EASC had an “It’s EASC Time” led by Daniela Finkelstein about this topic on November 15th.

how do I know what I can change in a stressful situation - what I have to deal with - and live through?

Let’s begin with some things you can do, even when the stress is not ongoing.

First, when you see that the programme is too full or is getting too full for your liking, try to, if you possibly can, put in time buffers.  Do it ahead of time.  Say you see that the next few weeks are full of ”heavy duty” activity, then do not plan something in the evenings, if possible – even if it is a fun activity and plan only fun activities (and one per day) at the weekend. This will help keep your brain and body from being on overdrive.

Learn to say no and feel good about it.

I am very serious about that.

Long Term (or ongoing) Stress is the most difficult for us to have as it affects our bodies and minds (& spirits) more.

I have a few clients with long term stress and they are suffering.

Here are some symptoms:

·       You are always tired and rather forgetful

·       You are irritable and maybe self-medicate to stay afloat

·       You have physical symptoms such as headaches, body aches, stiff muscles (especially in the neck, shoulders and jaw), stomach and other digestive problems, and sexual dysfunction

Most people think of stress as the enemy, but it isn’t.

You can even be stressed and have along life, as long as you see stress in certain ways.

Stress can be a friend and stress in itself it is never the real problem.

It’s what we think about the stress and how we deal with the stressors that is the issue. We all have stress every day.

Stress is ubiquitous and every day we need to complete the stress cycle (you have to do something – because “wellness is not a state of being, but a state of action”) to thrive.

Is COVID causing trauma for you? Are you easily triggered or often moody or irritated? Are you constantly anxious or worrying? Is your time management so out of whack that you are not taking time to have fun, or even to take care of yourself? Are you easily overwhelmed, much more easily than a year ago? Are you catching more colds than normal and getting multiple covid tests, just to “make sure”? Are you getting addicted to something: gaming, shopping, social-media, alcohol, etc.?

When you mix VUCA (volatile, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) with COVID-19 you get a VUCA on steroids. So, what is to do about it, both personally, and in organizations?

When you remember the past with gratefulness as I do with a client, and you savor the present moments, and you anticipate a positive future activity, you can avoid burnout and reduce stress. Learn to do the PPFs.

What can you do when you are anxious about an upcoming presentation? What can you do when you are worried about challenges? How can you deal with stress?

Love is one of the ways to reduce stress, when it’s an action, that is.

There are four pillars to good resilience and good news is very helpful to two pillars

Doing you sometimes loose your good thinking patterns? Brain farts are possible and here is how to prevent them.