Managing Stress (Part A)

Please let me share with you one of the saddest stories in my life

I knew somebody for a long time and she was suffering from severe stress.

From stress, she ended up having a depression. Finally, she committed suicide.

A short while later, her son also too his own life.

You can imagine the pain and sorrow the family had to go through. Tragically, the misery may stay with them till the end of their lives.

I could not craft this story properly because I was overwhelmed by a deep sense of grief.

The sorrow kept me thinking about stress management.

Stress-related diseases are a major concern in my country and it is a growing problem all over the world.

I am not referring to eustress which is a form of healthy pressure to motivate and help me improve my performance and results.

The stress I am referring to are chronic and maladaptive stresses which have negative implications and may cause destructive outcomes.

Stress is a ‘silent killer’ because it builds up over time. It can affect my physical, mental and emotional health.

As a result, it will affect my capability, creativity, and productivity.

Stress if not managed properly can create a domino effect. Over time, it may have a negative impact on my family, work and community.

Managing stress begins as a choice. Responding positively to it is an adopted attitude and a preferred way of life.

Anything in life can be stressful or for that matter, not stressful. It depends on how I choose to respond to it.

Ultimately, it is up to me to manage my own stress. I must learn to be disciplined and to develop different mechanism to cope with it.

I must also learn to resolve it on a daily basis. Over time, I must learn to build a more resilient spirit and a bigger capacity to overcome the stressors in my life.

The questions that begged to be answered are: Do I see challenges as challenges or as opportunities for me to become a better person?

Do I want to be happy or sad? Calm or angry? A victor or a victim because of a challenge?

I want to make a decision for my happier future. I want to make a commitment to manage stress effectively.