Are You Stressed? LiberateStress.com

Are you stressed out? Everyone feels stress now and then. It is when stress becomes our natural way of living and we experience high levels of stress over long periods of time that stress can cause major health issues, damage relationships, and cause us to feel anxiety and depression. Loss of a job, divorce, death of a loved one, moving to a new home and a new environment, these are all major life issues and potentially bring with them great amounts of stress.

There is no question that on a daily basis we face a myriad of potentially stressful situations and events. For many individuals the morning and afternoon commute to and from work in rush hour traffic is almost unbearable. The daily stresses of our jobs. Conflicts with coworkers, never-ending email inquiries, constant critical deadlines and the never-ending onslaught of paperwork, creates an enormous drain on our energy and stresses our physical and emotional wellbeing. Once we leave work and reach the sanctuary of our home does all the stress just naturally dissolve and disappear as we step inside our homes? Unfortunately, the stresses of life do not always end as we take that evening step inside home base. Our personal lives present their own potentials for stress: Financial difficulties, family illness, and deteriorating relationships, whether they are with one’s spouse, teenage child, or another family member, all present the potential for great stress in our lives.

Stress has many causes and is individual to each person. What may present a great deal of stress for one person may present little or no stress to another. For instance, standing and speaking before a group of individuals can be absolutely terrifying for one individual and yet be only mildly stressful to another. Stress has many signs and symptoms and can manifest itself physically, mentally, and emotionally. The symptoms of stress can even be quite pronounced in some individuals’ behavioral responses to stress. It is important to recognize when we begin to feel stressed and the causes, or “triggers” producing that stress. Once we are able to recognize what triggers our stress we can then be better prepared to make any necessary adjustments to our lives and our way of thinking to diminish the stress and the unhealthy effects it poses to our physical and mental health and to our personal and professional relationships. The good news is that not all stress is bad and many forms of negative stress can be prevented altogether by some simple planning, removal of clutter, and infusing our lives with a little more organization. In addition, a great majority of stress in our lives can be mitigated through the effective use of stress reducing tips and stress management and techniques such as stretching, progressive muscle relaxation, and deep diaphragm breathing.