Understanding Our OWN Source for Stress
How to evaluate our stress levels and bring in a sense of relief
In a society of constant comparison, it should come at no surprise that we’re even going as far as comparing ourselves to others to see if we’re really pushing ourselves enough. Aka, “stressed enough”.
You see, it’s the constant comparison that we mentally create of all the things (physical appearance, financial success, relationship growth, etc.) that creates the sentiment of overwhelm, which in turn leaves us feeling the sensation of stress.
Since we have our own desires and goals, stress is essentially a very personalized experience and therefore we should take our time to understand where we’re feeling it the most in order to bring in some relief.
So, let’s start….
On a scale of 1- 10, 10 being the most intense level of stress, where do you fall with:
- Health
- Family
- Love
- Work
- Friendship
- Financial
- Spiritual
- Community
Okay! Good! What came up for you? If you found that you were above a 5 for any of the above, then let’s talk it out.
For example, let’s say that you scored an ‘8’ for work. I would like for you to first explore what you believe got you to this high number. Was it taking on too many tasks? Not feeling appreciated by your managers? Working too many hours? Take some time to peel back the build up of this ‘8’.
Okay got the info? GOOD! You’re halfway there!
Now that you know what got you to that number, I would like to ask you, what would you need to do to get just one number down. Again, if you are an ‘8’, what would you need to do in order to get to a ‘7’? What would need to change? Would there be any boundary setting involved? Any uncomfortable conversations? Sit with this.
Getting the full picture of our overwhelm and stress, puts us back into the driver’s seat of our experience. You may not be ready to make those actual changes, and THAT’S OK! This was a huge step and I have an incredible feeling that just growing the awareness will help with the changes that you would like to make.