Stress In Children

If you are a parent, you might think that your children are immune from stresses of the world involving finances, job security, relationships etc. This is FALSE.

In REALITY, children do experience stress and it can actually be a large amount depending on the external factors occurring in their lives. As they age, the quest to fit in increases and so do cortisol levels. Just as adults feel stressed when they are overwhelmed with too many tasks, children feel the same way when they are involved in too many extra-curricular activities. If they are only complaining about what they are involved in rather than making comments about what they learned and are excited for then you might consider cutting back on their participation in certain activities.

When children see their outer environment in turmoil, their inner environment begins to react. Factors that can cause stress in a child’s habitat are parents fighting or divorce, war or images on TV that display uneasiness in their world, and illness or death of someone they are close to.

Fortunately, most parents are aware and able to tend to the needs of their children. If you feel that you are not, there are resources online to help you.

Maintaining A Stress-Free Lifestyle

Acceptance is the main ingredient for a lifestyle void of stress. Acceptance of ourselves and our flaws, acceptance of others and what we cannot change and finally acceptance of how these two act individually in our world and then correlate to make up situations that equal our LIFE; the imperfect and wonderful life that it is.

Another way of continuing a stress-free lifestyle is to start doing yoga and keeping up with it. The Mayo Clinic describes yoga as a practice that “brings together physical and mental disciplines to achieve peacefulness of body and mind, helping you relax and manage stress and anxiety.”

Check out the video section for a sample of some yoga moves you can try at home.

De-Stressing

When the stress in our lives has built up to a point that we feel we are about to spill over, there are several remedies we can turn to.

One powerful and commonly used remedy for stress management is music therapy. Music can make tasks that seem like chores more enjoyable. If cleaning puts you in a bad mood, remember that a clean house decreases stress levels, so put on some jams and get to it! Music also cuts down on road rage. (de-stress in 5 min)

Other methods to de-stress utilize your body. Simply taking 4 or 5 long, deep breaths or bending in half and trying to touch your toes and holding the stretch can begin to melt your stress away. Go ahead and get up right now and bend down and try to touch your toes… count to 7 slowly. Now keeping your head down roll up vertebrae by vertebrae saving your neck and head for last.

Stress In Romantic Relationships

If you are in a romantic relationship, life finds part of its meaning from that person and you most likely spend a good amount of time with them. If there are things out of place in your relationship or disagreements occurring then this will place stress in your life where joy and love should abound.

Uncertainty about the feelings of the other person in your relationship can also be a cause of stress. You will constantly be wondering if they are going to leave you, or making sure you are perfect to ensure their happiness.

If your partner is abusive,  stress will be placed on your relationship. If you do not feel like you can leave your loved one, there are resources for help.

Relationship Stress Test Video

Stress In Your Family

Money is what most stress stems from in families. If you feel as though you cannot pay the bills or provide for those you love you might feel inadequate and that puts a lot of stress and pressure on a person. This can be linked to job stress which causes a person to worry about job security, perhaps they do get along with the people they work with or they feel there is no room for advancement.

Children may also be a source of stress on Parents with the worry about their future or if your children are misbehaving. A family councilor may need to intervene in family affairs to help smooth out issues that you cannot fix on your own.

When to seek Counseling.

Stress In College

There are several reasons college students experience an increased amount of stress as they come to a University. A change in environment or weather can provoke stress, illness and sleep changes, striving for perfection, and social stressors are all contributors.

Fortunately, most college offer centers where you can go for advice and courses to help you manage your time and relief the stress you are feeling. There are many resources on the web as well.

Stop Self-Sabotage

Sometimes the stress in our life is coming from something we can control. Sometimes it is coming from within.

There are several ways we may be sabotaging our own health by creating stress for ourselves. Some of these include:

Overreacting

Being “Type A” personality

Negative Self Talk

Pessimism

Overwhelming Yourself

These are emotions and reactions to situations that are unnecessary in our lives. They only create emotional clutter. Let’s clear it out and de-stress. When something happens that we do not expect, does the situation really deserve a reaction as big as we allow? NO! Situations do not have feelings, but we do and we react to stress. Make a pact with me today to be more optimistic and uplifting to yourself!

(quiz)

Accept The Things You Cannot Change

Got stress? Accept the things you cannot change.

Many things in life we have no control over. Because of this, it is useless for us to use up our effort to in pushing the impossible. This creates friction and stress and gets nothing accomplished. As an alternative, strive for acceptance of what will not change. Though this is hard, it will become easier with time and you will find yourself not only flowing with life and it’s edges more, but having less reactions physically and emotionally from where there was once excess stress.

As you learn to go with the flow, and become more flexible, you will find that as things don’t go according to plan it isn’t a problem. Something should not stress you out just because you cannot control it. Why is this? This is because there are TOO MANY THINGS IN LIFE THAT YOU CANNOT CONTROL! Once you can accept this and learn to let things go, you will be much happier and healthier. Now go do some yoga.

How Does Stress Affect My Body?

Stress has an impact on each individual in a different way. While one person may overeat, another might be turned off by food. Our skin, immune system, and gastrointestinal system are seen to to directly affected by the amount of stress we have in our lives.

Unfortunately, our bodies are greatly affected by our environment. We are emotionally and physically affected by stress. If we don’t get stress under control then we will be uncomfortable with headaches and stomach aches, and we might also experience anxiety and depression.

*stress management tips are coming up soon!*

Stress: What Is It?

Stress cannot be defined in one word. It effects each person differently. What stresses you out will likely not be the same for your husband, your friend or mother. How you respond to stress will also differ from others.

It seems that control is a contributor to stress though. When we have less control than we planned, our stress levels increase.

The goal is to use stress to our benefit, and to not view it as a perceived threat in our lives. With the right amount of stress, we can be productive and happy instead of panicky and uptight. Once we are informed and have ways to overcome and manage the stress in our lives, I know that we will be able to eliminate much of the unnecessary weight that causes us to be unproductive and unhappy.