Stress can have a tremendously negative impact on your life. It can show up in so many form that you may not even be able to realize it all the time. This series of articles will help you to manage your stress so that you can live a happier and healthier life.
Stress Is Everywhere
In our demanding world, it’s easy to let stress creep in without even noticing it. And, it shows up in so many different ways. From overwhelm, anxiety, weight gain, weight loss, loss of sleep and strained relationships – just to name a few.
But, it does not have to stop you in your tracks. In fact you can stop stress in its tracks.
Without stress, you’d have…
- More energy for the things you love
- More patience with your friends and family
- Increased overall health
- A higher state of well being
- And most importantly – more FUN
In this series of articles, I’ll show you: (1) the different types of stress and how to recognize them, (2) how to head off stress during situations that are normally stressful for you, and (3) how to start eliminating stress from your life immediately.
The Two Faces Of Stress
Before you can learn how to manage stress and eliminate it from your life, you’ll first need to know how to recognize it when it appears. This first article reveals the two most common types of stress and provides you with some examples of each.
Acute Stress
This type of stress is sudden, occasional, or brief. You’ll typically experience a sharp spike in your body’s reactions, but the experience of it does not stay with you for long or the stressor itself goes away quickly. Some examples of acute stress are:
- being late for an appointment
- getting stuck in traffic,
- being yelled at,
- having someone surprise you,
- going on a roller coaster,
- being given a difficult short-term task,
- public speaking,
- performing,
Chronic Stress
This type of stress is the kind of stress you might not notice until you hit a physical, emotional, or psychological tipping point or threshold that has built up over time. For example,
- constant fighting in a marriage or relationship,
- health problems and illness,
- financial problems (e.g., debt, negative cash flow),
- physical limitations, societal issues (living in a dangerous neighborhood),
- work-related difficulties (can’t find a job, difficult manager, difficult co-workers),
- starting a new business
Acute stress and chronic stress – neither one is particularly healthy for our minds or bodies. Fortunately, there are ways to mitigate, avoid, or diminish the effects of acute stress and chronic stress –and, I’ll share them with you in part two!