Overcoming Stress

Stress seems to be a normal part of life these days. People search everywhere for a moment of peace and rarely find it. People feel stress in all parts of their lives and have difficulty overcoming it.

The good news is that stress has roots, and it can be dealt with. Stress and anxiety are the physical products of some type of fear. Whenever you are dealing with stress or anxiety about some issue, whether it be family, work or personal relationships, the question you need to ask yourself as soon as those feelings begin to arise is "what am I afraid of?"

For example, in our lives at work, we are constantly confronting stress and anxiety related to deadlines and obligations. We keep running to meet these obligations, essentially trying to cure the stress. No sooner do we fulfill a commitment when the stress immediately begins again. Perhaps we are afraid of having our boss or supervisor become angry with us. Maybe we are afraid of not pleasing a client. Maybe we are afraid of actually losing a job. In some way we feel threatened. The stress is a physiological reaction to fear. It is a survival instinct that tells us to respond to a situation.

However, all this stress in non-threatening circumstances is not healthy for any of us. It can lead to all types of other problems, both mental and physical.

When we are able to determine the thing that we are afraid of, which is ultimately causing our stress, we must ask ourselves the question "so what?" Why do I have this fear? Is the fear that I have realistic?

Of course, if we are at risk of being evicted from our homes if we do not pay the rent, then there is a realistic fear. But, if we are comfortably paying our bills and secure in our job status, we must recognize this fact and not live in stress. If our supervisor or boss causes us to live in fear, then it is probably time to find another job, or realize that we are just fearful and it may not be our boss at all.

Ultimately, fear is behind most stress. Deal with the fear at the root of the stress, and the stress will dissipate. Stress is a form of sickness, it must be dealt with by addressing the causes and finding a cure, not just treating the symptoms.