stress Tag

April is National Stress Awareness Month. Stress is something that impacts all of us. In fact, it’s virtually impossible to go through life without some sort of stress each day.
The first week of November is International Stress Awareness week. In honor of that, and, in honor of the upcoming holiday season that often causes a lot of people to feel stressed, let’s take a couple of minutes to talk about what stress is and what you can do to more effectively manage it.
Maybe David Bowie said it best—"Ch-ch-changes…" Or maybe, it’s just that the past year plus has been full of changes for all of us, with a ton of uncertainty tossed on top.
Life is filled with uncomfortable moments. These situations vary in intensity, from something less extreme—like noticing our phone battery is dying or sitting in traffic, to going through a breakup or losing a loved one—everyone experiences emotional discomfort at one point or another.
As life would have it, I often find myself moving at 1,000 miles per hour. I get into a chaotic routine of going from one thing to the next. Each day becomes the same multitasking-mess, where my body is in one place, checking things off my to-do list, while my head is in another, making sure I’m on to something else. Sound familiar?
As a DBT therapist, one of my primary goals when working with clients is to help supply effective skills and coping mechanisms to help them manage their emotions when things may be difficult. While reviewing these skills, I often find that these children, adolescents and young adults have had very little opportunity to build and/or practice coping mechanisms on their own since they were little.
Stress can interfere with your mental and physical health tremendously. Everyday frustrations and mild "stressors" may seem minor, but your nervous system is taking note. That annoying traffic on your way to work or the group text message causing your phone to beep every five seconds impacts your mental and physical health. If you want to feel better, you've got to minimize the stressors in your life.

The holidays bring about many positive feelings. Family time including dinners, vacations and cultural and religious celebrations can bring us closer together with loved ones...