What to Do When You Feel Stress Advice From a Therapist for 2024 Broadcast Links ✓ Article Originally Published Here → ✓ Listen to the Podcast Here → ✓ Watch the Video Here → By the way, I am creating a self-help program for stress, and right now, you can get a free sample in exchange for some anonymous research. Click here to get instant access and relieve stress today. Most people I meet dislike stress. It feels uncomfortable and, in effect, ages us quickly. However, stress itself is part of the human experience. Without it, we may not have the urgency to plow through challenging situations, escape danger, and destroy our workload. So, if stress is a natural part of being alive, how do you deal with it in the healthiest way possible? For me, stress has been a large part of my adventures. I have faced situations that have challenged and tested me over and over. I have learned that stress is not always a reason to ruin your day. Stress in itself is the gateway to more strength.
Today was one of those days where almost everything went wrong. Even the case around my phone fell apart while I was holding it in my hand. Rain buckets down, battering the canvas roof on my cabin, as I try to get enough food into the dry so I can finally eat. Some days, I have to wait until I can eat my fill, and stress naturally increases when you are hungry. Today, my water system failed. I could not get water from my regular source. My backup source was full of leaves and dirty. Then, the setting sun put pressure on my back. Things get dangerous once it goes down, with the ground saturated with slippery mud. On top of that, the chainsaw jammed in the most unassuming small piece of timber as I cut wood. It was a log that you wouldn't have expected any trouble from. Couple that with driving into civilization as someone who does not live by regular time. Getting caught in traffic jams, rush hours, and the coffee only lasts so long.
An empty belly makes me aggressive. The stress was palpable. Today was one of those days where zero progress seems to happen. Yet today was never ruined nor a reason for the "poor me" mental loop. Today was an exercise in resilience and strength—another boot camp to juggle multiple stressors while making swift decisions.
The urgency to survive forces my decision-making to balance my resources and what I can get so that tomorrow is not lost. Stress is an incredible energy when we choose not to suffer. Suffering is a choice everyone has. I could have easily thrown everything in the mud. Doing so would have given me even more stress. It is all about how we perceive the situation. Our perception is the precursor to how we respond to reality.
Reality, being unpredictable, often throws curve balls. If we perceive those challenges as a threat, the parasympathetic nervous system kicks in, we feel stress, and our mind spirals into negative analysis. Usually, the sound of failure raises its annoying head. So, the shift in perception is a change in assumption. Instead of stress being a sign of failure, how I look at it now is a gateway to success. Stress makes me feel alive. When I first crash-landed in the jungle, my mind spiraled into failure and fear of death. My life was always on the line. It was hard and grueling, and things would go wrong. Regardless of what the day had in store for me, I had to deal with it anyway. Nobody was there to say, "It will be okay." I could not just switch the heating on and forget about it. I had to carry on. Without momentum, things got hard quickly. Back then, some days left me without enough water or wood and soaked to my skin.
One thing I noticed changed the way I interact with stress forever. Those days were painful. However, they always imparted a sense of contentment, strength, and achievement by the end. Today was nostalgic. Like back then, I experienced stress and challenge coupled with strength and contentment. The perceptual shift from problem-centric to solution-focused is one I gained from my travels. Within each challenge, there is a solution waiting to be activated. Everything is a learning curve. For example, today gave me insight into the work I must do for my water system to function. This knowledge is helpful to me and also to those I help. Gaining knowledge leaves me grateful. Simple things I have forgotten, like keeping my backup clean, pre-drying wood, and laying paving, all contribute to a more excellent vision. Without stress, none of the above could have the urgency needed for change. Stress can empower decision-making and problem-solving and upgrade your life if you allow it to. When there is only so much you can do in the light, your decisions must be fast. That goes double when a potential negative outcome puts extra pressure on your shoulders. Add survival into the mix, and stress becomes an ally, which is why resilience is so important.
Otherwise, what are you going to do? Are you just going to throw a tantrum, fall in the mud, kicking and screaming?
That is not how to survive. Stress is what makes us alive. I use stress to force myself to be alert, awake, and as present as possible. Stress is a signal, not a sign of failure or an ending. The only exception to this is if you face severe psychological challenges such as psychosis or schizophrenia. In some cases like the above, you may need specialized support. For most of us, allowing stress to be, without trying to change it, fuels us to create lasting solutions. So, with that, I need to stop writing this broadcast. A new leak has started to cascade through the roof. I have to deal with it. A new solution is staring me in the face. Remember, stress doesn't destroy you; it's a part of being alive. Use it to fuel a life worth living. It is your time to thrive. You can be free; you can be untamed.
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