Feeling stressed seems to have become a major part of our life. We all have bad days, be it a bad day at the office, an argument at home, stuck in traffic … It is when stress starts to become a regular occurrence in our life that it becomes problematic.
Experiencing recurring stress starts to take a toll on our physical body and our mental state, affecting the way we function and how we cope on a daily basis. Anxiety and depression are two major symptoms of stress which are becoming increasingly prevalent today.
A personal journey
For each of us stress will be a unique experience. What is stressful to one person is not necessarily stressful to another.
With a history of chronic fatigue, I have learnt the hard way that stress is my kryptonite. I have increasing periods of being able to maintain more manageable levels of balance in life and feeling at peace and then BAM, out of nowhere one of my key stressor comes along and I get knocked right out of alignment again. My state of inner peace goes right out the door.
Now I’ve got a whole arsenal of tools that I have learnt as an Energy Healer on how to nurture my physical body and how to maintain a state of peace and well-being, but if I get out of alignment I am challenged to maintain my daily practices:
- I’m more likely to reach for processed food which is quick and easy rather than preparing healthy meals from scratch
- I priortise work deadlines over exercise
- Getting my standard 8 hours sleep is challenged when my ‘worry’ mind prevents me from going to sleep or wakes me up at 3 am in the morning
- My head is in such a state that it’s difficult to focus on meditating and I find I am more susceptible to having a glass of wine (or two…) to destress instead
Can you relate?
As a result, I need to be super vigilant with stress. With stress management a key part of my well-being, I continue to research it and find additional ways to manage and overcome stress and any ensuing anxiety. In my upcoming postings, I would like to share with you what I have learnt about stress and anxiety, and what tools are available to help us manage our stress and anxiety levels.
My personal stress triggers
As I mentioned, for each of us stress is a unique experience. What is stressful to one person is not necessarily stressful to another. My major triggers are feeling restricted/tied down in life, financial stress and the biggie: my thoughts.
1. Feeling restricted
(a) A key stressor for me is feeling restricted by deadlines.
In my accounting world, the workload doubles at quarter end and year end which creates stress to complete all the work by the government regulated due dates in a short time frame.
In reflecting, I realise that I first started experiencing stress with deadlines with my HSC exams. Then in my first year of university studying my Accountancy degree experiencing deadlines with numerous assignments and exams, I developed eczema on my hands. Just prior to my first year exams I came down with glandular fever. Once I graduated and was working as an accountant, working late hours, partying hard and studying my Chartered Accountancy exams, I began experiencing recurring tonsillitis.*
*You may have also noticed a recurring theme here with my deadline stress trigger and my immune system! (The full name of Chronic Fatigue is Chronic Fatigue & Immune Dysfunction Syndrome.)
(b) I’ve also learnt that I’m a bit of a free spirit and that I struggle with the perception of restrictions by feeling tied down. When I left full time employment in 1993 to go overseas for a 10 week holiday, I ended up living in London and working as a contractor and backpacking over the summers. Interestingly my immune system cleared up.
I returned to Australia in May 1998 as I was feeling the call to settle down and find a place of my own. I contracted for a number of months and was feeling restless to travel again. In November I took up a full time position and within the month I crashed….chronic fatigue.
2. Financial stress
So I’ve learnt that I feel freer when I am contracting and/or working for myself as opposed to working in a permanent job and the 9-5 work life. By reducing my workload transitioning from the accounting world to Energy Healing I feel a lot happier following my passion, and relieved to transition away from the stress of juggling deadlines. The flip side to this is an irregular income which can trigger financial stress. Yet if I increase the workload to reduce the likelihood of being triggered by financial stress, it can create more stress for me to manage my workload…So it is a work in progress.
3. My mind
Oh don’t you wish there was an off switch! I know you know exactly what I am talking about.
If only I could turn off that “worry-wart” aspect of me that likes to pop up like a jack in box. I think there is a book in that one…..
What are your stress triggers?
So that’s my personal stressors. Have you identified what are your key triggers for stress in your life?
Please join me in my next article when I break down what stress actually is and the impact it has on us physically and mentally.
Hope you are having a stress free day.
Namaste
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