Embracing Life's Challenges: Why It's Okay to Not be Okay and How to Manage Stress Effectively

Everyone has been there - just in a "different font."

Stressful moments are nerve-racking, they make us want to put everything on the back-burner, or to run and hideaway, we want to avoid the stressful moments instead of handling the stress which then does nothing but just leave us sitting there stressing about the stress that is stressing us out.

Before you click off this page,

I know there are probably a few stressful things floating around in your mind now that I have you thinking about it, so just take a deep breath, and really, tell yourself it'll be okay.

Stress is not measurable.

Your son could be telling you about how he has a big test that's coming up and if he doesn't get a good grade on it then he will get kicked off of the high school varsity football team. While you, the parent, is stressing out about how you just got laid off and you're not sure how you're even going to get the bills paid this month. Sound familiar? Keep reading.

Don't let me fool you either, just because this is my blog about how to handle stress, doesn't mean that I am out here living a stress free life. No seriously, I just texted my mom an essay about how this one area of my life has me stressed to the core - so believe me, you're not alone either. We are in this together.

Stress happens when you are faced with adversity or a difficult situation, your blood pressure rises, suddenly the air is hot, your heartbeat is beating so fast you'd think it could beat Usain Bolt in a foot race. Maybe you're breathing faster and start having a panic attack. Now, not all stress is a negative thing. Depending on the type of stress you are under, it could be exactly what you needed to finally check that one thing off of your to do list; a motivating factor. Or, it could give you an adrenaline boost in a high stress environment, like running away from the scary clowns at haunted houses. So take it with a grain of salt, is your stress negatively or positively impacting you?

Obviously I'm not about to write a whole blog about positive stress, so, negative stress, what is it?

Mental and physical shutdown. It's like your brain has it's alert going off and the papers aren't in their organized folders and everything is on fire - like that one episode on Spongebob.

We, as humans, tend to over analyze our stressful situation, making it seem worse than what it actually is.

This is the steps I go through that help me manage and navigate my stress when it becomes unbearable:

1. Identification: Is this positive or negative? Is it *really* that bad? What is it that is truly making me feel like this - and really digging deep here to ensure what I'm stressing about isn't just the tip of the iceberg.

2. Self-Regulating: Practice breathing techniques (personally I like to close my eyes and count my breaths, and as I count I like to try and envision the shape of the number I am currently on, which takes your mind off of the stress and helps your body get out of the "everything is on fire" mode.

3. "It's going to be fine." Think about all the stressful moments you went through in the past and how they didn't end up being the end of the world - same thing. Understandably, as we grow up, we are going to face bigger issues, but it's because you can withstand those bigger issues.

4. Try again. If by now, you aren't making any progress on your stress levels, it could be something completely different than what you think is stressing you out, you could still be in the "everything is on fire" mode, and therefore by step 3, you're telling yourself that everything is going to be fine in a sarcastic tone while tears pour down your cheeks which means you're not truly believing that everything is going to be okay, which completely defeats the purpose.

Whatever stressful situation you are facing, remember that it will not last forever unless you allow it to, and this is your life, don't let any other factors live it for you. So, take the reigns, Santa doesn't stress about how Rudolphs nose is so bright, he embraces it. It's time you do the same - so, go watch Buddy the Elf or something.

Merry Christmas, and well,

Our next blog will be posted next year!

(no need to stress, it's in 11 days - see?)