Easier Said Than Done You Say
It can be. Which makes #10 on the list an important one that you may want to make your first priority. Going through stressful life changes alone just adds to the burden you carry. Find people who have been where youre going and ask them for guidance, mentorship, and a sounding board. We cannot all be experts in every area of lifeespecially our own. Its like trying to pilot the plane when your flaps dont work. Find someone who can fix the flaps.
Change is unavoidable in this human existence of ours. It is also unpredictable. And with change comes the stress, in one degree or another. Learning to plan for it, building your resilience to change and managing the stress is your best prescription. Find the support you need to make the journey through stressful life changes easier.
Why Is Life So Hard
September 25, 2018 written by Lane GoodwinFiled Under: Mindset
When we were kids, we wanted to grow up. We would envy the adults and think that life would be awesome if only the time would pass and we become adults ourselves. But when we grow up to be adults, we realize that life isnt all fun and games as an adult. Its hard.
We had it easy in childhood because the obstacles on our way were conveniently removed by our parents. We had a smooth walk in the path of life thinking that its so easy to live. When we are finally adults, nobody removes the obstacles in front of us. We have to overcome them by ourselves. We want to get ahead in life but overcoming the obstacles is hard, which makes life hard.
No 6 Unhealthy Working Life:
Singapore offers a highly competitive environment and has a global reputation for its business excellence but still, it has a huge stressful working environment. The employers expect you to work for a long time and have high workforce expectations in short deadlines.
A survey has shown that Singapore is among those counties that have the longest official working time.
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Why Is Diabetes So Stressful
Adam Brown
Twitter summary: Why I feel #diabetes/life stress & my four personal strategies for overcoming it: Mindset, Movement, Mindfulness, and Morning routine.
Have you ever felt stress related to your diabetes?
Theres no question this can be a tough, unrelenting disease. Its 24/7 with no breaks. It affects nearly every aspect of life. The management is repeatedly annoying, unpleasant, time-consuming, and worry-filled. Its expensive.
So perhaps its no surprise that up to 48% of people with diabetes will experience high levels of diabetes distress in any 18-month period . Stress can also increase blood sugars. And according to a Harvard survey last year, 49% of all people reported a major stressful event or experience in the past 12 months.
But its not all doom and gloom! Many experts believe that stress can be managed, whether its related to diabetes or simply life in general. This article starts with two question prompts to get you thinking about your own stress. I also share what triggers stress for me, as well as the four strategies Ive found most useful for overcoming general and diabetes-specific stress : Mindset, Movement, Mindfulness, and a Morning routine. As always, I would caution that my sources of stress and calming strategies are what works for me these are meant as examples for people, but I know they wont all apply to everyone. Your mileage may vary as they say!
Tips For Reducing Or Controlling Stress
If you are feeling stressed, there are steps you can take to feel better. As you read the following suggestions, remember that conquering stress will not come from a half-hearted effort, nor will it come overnight. It will take determination, persistence and time. Some suggestions may help immediately, but if your stress level doesnt seem to improve, it may require more attention and/or lifestyle changes.
Be realistic. If you feel overwhelmed by some activities , learn to say NO! Eliminate an activity that is not absolutely necessary. You may be taking on more responsibility than you can or should handle. If you meet resistance, give reasons why youre making the changes. Be willing to listen to others suggestions and be ready to compromise.
Shed the superman/superwoman urge. No one is perfect, so dont expect perfection from yourself or others. Ask yourself, What really needs to be done? How much can I do? Is the deadline realistic? What adjustments can I make? Dont hesitate to ask for help if you need it.
Meditate. Just ten to twenty minutes of quiet reflection may bring relief from chronic stress as well as increase your tolerance to it. Use the time to listen to music, relax and try to think of pleasant things or nothing.
Exercise. Regular exercise is a popular way to relieve stress. Twenty to thirty minutes of physical activity benefits both the body and the mind.
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Having To Wait For The Information
While this might not affect other students who have less prior knowledge and experience on their topic than myself, having to wait to be told things because of the plan the course leader set out is incredibly frustrating.
For the past year, Ive been used to having the project brief set out and being released to go and produce the project .
At University, you know youre going to have to do something but the lecturers hold off on telling you exactly what you need to be producing.Instead, they tend to release a new piece of information every week. So no matter how much you already know, or how fast you got the work for this week finished, youre not going to know what you need to do next until the next scheduled lecture.
This results in me knowing that there’s a deadline in the future, but having no idea what I need to be doing to make sure that I manage to hit that deadline with everything finished.
In business, you get told what youre doing and its up to you to plan your time and get done what you need to get done to make sure the project hits the deadline.Yes, there are hold ups that you cant always get around. But, because you know the whole scope of the project and what you need to get finished, there is normally something else you can work on so youre not wasting time.
Parents Report Significant Stress Related To Their Childrens School Future
Parents are bearing an enormous burden during the pandemic. Daily lives and routines seem to change in an instant. Many schools remain closed. Child care was discontinued abruptly and in some areas remains largely unavailable. Work situations changed rapidly: Jobs were lost, essential workers continued employment with the health and safety of their family in the balance, and for many, work was shifted into the home. This all occurred at a time when social contact was largely lost due to the recommended physical distancing guidelines.
Given the wide-reaching disruption for this part of the population, it may not be surprising to see that parents5, on average, report a higher level of stress during the past month than those who are not parents . This significant gap persists when asked specifically about their stress level related to the coronavirus pandemic .
Reflecting the strain on family and the disruption of education during the pandemic, 7 in 10 parents say family responsibilities are a significant source of stress in their life. And when it comes to their childrens school, the majority say the coronavirus pandemic made the 2019-20 school year extremely stressful for them.
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The Power Of A Positive Mindset For Reducing Moving Stress
Establishing a positive mindset will help to lower your stress during the move and enhance your satisfaction with your new home. Easier said than done, right? Here are some tips on how to boost your positivity when approaching your upcoming transition.
Reflect on whats important to you
As you reflect on the area you are leaving, ask yourself why this particular place stands out to you. Ask also why other places you lived felt like home. In doing so, you will identify aspects of your life that are most important to you and can intentionally pursue these areas in your new home.
Lean on your friends and family
During the moving process, you will not only need your friends and family for practical help , but also for emotional support. Talk to your family members if you are concerned about how your move will affect them, whether they are coming with you or staying in your old town.
If youre having a hard time feeling positive about the move because youll be leaving friends or family, schedule your next visit with them before you move. Share your struggles of grief with someone you trust and ask them for support during your transition.
Take a good long look
Talk about previous homes, noting how you made good memories, built friendships or grew in the various stages and places of your life. Also, write down some things that you would love to keep doing, dream of doing, or hope to change in your new home.
Look to your new home as a new beginning
What Makes Us Stressed
Many things that can lead to stress: bereavement, divorce or separation, losing a job or unexpected money problems. Work-related stress can also have a negative impact on your mental health. People affected by work-related stress lose an average of 24 days of work due to ill health.
Even positive life changes, such as moving to a bigger house, gaining a job promotion or going on holiday can be sources of stress. If you feel stressed in these situations you may struggle to understand why or be unwilling to share your feelings with others.
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Is It Normal To Struggle In College
You might be happy to know that it is normal to struggle in college, and you are not alone. This feeling can get worse if your struggle is made harder by bad grades, and you feel like there is no way to dig yourself out of the hole.
For many students, this moment is one where they decide to give up on college, or push through and make it out with a degree. Yes, it can be difficult to work through bad grades, demotivation, and a feeling of just not being good enough, but almost all college students go through it, and you will make it through as well.
Going from high school to college is a huge change, and is often a difficult transition for many students. There is less structure and more freedom, and this accountability can go either way. Some thrive off of being in control of their own time, and others take longer to adjust.
You might need to give yourself a few months to adjust to college life, to learn how to structure your time and adapt the way you work and learn to adjust to how it is done in university. This could lead to you feeling as though you are struggling and almost failing, but it is something you need to push through.
Take this struggle as a sign to refocus and rethink the way you are tackling college life. Maybe you need help organizing your time management, or you need to find new methods of studying. If you are struggling, seek help on campus from a counselor or academic advisor.
Yes Moving Is Stressfulbut It Doesnt Have To Be
So, we build bonds with the places we live and being displaced is necessarily a jarring experience for us. But, while moving can be a cause for stress, grief or loss, there are also many wonderful things that can come with moving: stimulation, excitement, joy, and the feeling of new opportunity and adventure. So how can we maximize our chances of those good emotions and minimize stress? Generally speaking, there are three things to focus on that will help make your move memorably happy instead of notably hard.
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Recognising Your Stress Triggers
If you’re not sure what’s causing your stress, keep a diary and make a note of stressful episodes for two-to-four weeks. Then review it to spot the triggers.
Things you might want to write down include:
- the date, time and place of a stressful episode
- what you were doing
- a stress rating
You can use the diary to:
- work out what triggers your stress
- work out how you operate under pressure
- develop better coping mechanisms
Doctors sometimes recommend keeping a stress diary to help them diagnose stress.
Accept That People Are Selfish
Selfishness is deeply wired in humans because evolution decided selfishness as the superior trait like 300 million years ago.
I am aware that the selfishness of others can be annoying at times but you cant change it so its best to accept it and proceed to be unapologetically selfish.
Moreover, it may sound cruel to be selfish but it makes sense when you think about it.
Have you noticed that in planes they tell you to put on your oxygen mask first before helping others? Its because if you cant help yourself first, you cant help others.
Put your health, economics, relationships, love life, and freedom above everything else.
When you are unhealthy or you dont have money, you become a burden to your loved ones. When you are not free, you dont have time for them.
Its no wonder why evolution selected selfishness as the superior trait. Its your only option to get ahead in life.
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Stress: Coping With Everyday Problems
Everyone has stress. It is a normal part of life. You can feel stress in your body when you have too much to do or when you havent slept well. You can also feel stress when you worry about things like your job, money, relationships, or a friend or family member who is ill or in crisis. In response to these strains your body automatically increases blood pressure, heart rate, respiration, metabolism, and blood flow to you muscles. This response is intended to help your body react quickly and effectively to a high-pressure situation. However, when you are constantly reacting to stressful situations without making adjustments to counter the effects, you will feel stress which can threaten your health and well-being.
According to the APAs Stress in America study, nearly 70% of Americans experience physical and mental symptoms of stress, but only 37% think they are doing very well at managing stress.
Can Happy Events Cause Stress
Some of the situations listed above are often thought of as happy events for example, you might feel expected to be happy or excited about getting married or having a baby.
But because they can bring big changes or make unusual demands on you, they can still be very stressful. This can be particularly difficult to deal with, because you might feel there’s additional pressure on you to be positive.
“I’ve never been more stressed in my life than the 6 months leading up to my wedding… everyone kept asking me if I was happy and expecting me to be excited all the time, but I just couldn’t feel it. I ended up getting really ill.”
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Stress Takes Many Forms:
You may not experience all of the symptoms of stress, but more likely than not, you are familiar with a few of the following: headaches, muscle tension/pain, chest pain, fatigue, lowered libido, stomach issues, disrupted sleep, anxiety, lack of motivation, irritability, depression, overeating, under-eating, substance abuse, social isolation.
Take Care Of Your Body
A healthy body can help you manage stress. Get 7 to 9 hours of sleep, eat healthy food, stay hydrated and exercise regularly. Go easy on the caffeine. Shorting yourself on sleep, and especially pulling an all-nighter, robs you of energy and your ability to concentrate. A healthy diet improves your ability to learn. Don’t skip breakfast.
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Signs It May Be Time To Seek Help
Living with rolling change and dealing with the constant hype of Covid-related news, issues, and feelings can feel like a roller coaster day to day, Dr. Nelson said. He explained that some stress and anxiety can play a positive role in alerting human beings to stay safe, pay attention to threats or danger, or exercise more self-care. Other signs, though, could mean that it is time to seek help. These signs of distress could be weight loss or weight gain, poor sleep, or panic or anxiety attacks that come out of nowhere Additional signs could be changes in mood, such as becoming angry, sad, or withdrawn. A person needing help might have physical ailments, difficulties taking care of themselves, or they may self-isolate and shut off healthy supports.
Anything that does not resolve after a week or two probably is a sign that you need help getting past this hurdle, Dr. Nelson said. In that event, he offered the following tips for self-care:
- Talk to a family member or close supportive friend about whats going on
- Consult your healthcare provider or reach out to a therapist who is licensed at treating emotional disorders
And as final words of encouragement from Dr. Nelson:
Trying To Do Too Much
Nowadays theres a niche for everything , and it’s as if we have to ‘fit’ into a niche:
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Busy professional scaling the corporate ladder and smashing glass ceilings? Check.
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Organised stay-at-home parent, whipping up Instagram-worthy bento boxes and tempering chocolate for the kids Easter school treats? Check.
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Adventurer and traveller snapping the sights of the most exotic, yet-to-be discovered destinations in the world? Check.
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The creatives, including the baristas who are into rainbow latte art, event planners who throw the perfect share-worthy childrens birthday parties, or the photographers whose pictures transport you to a different time and place? Check.
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The fitness and lifestyle bloggers/Instagrammers who make over their bodies in a few weeks and show off the fruits of their labour every moment of the day? Check.
The problem is that were fooled into thinking that we need to do all of these, and all at the same time. Witness the rise of the superman or superwoman, yet in reality it isn’t possible to simultaneously excel at work and home life, to travel the world yet nurture your work, to be creative and fit all at the same time.
The pressure to maintain an image of perfection is surely exhausting. And yet, thats what many of us buy into. If this sounds like you, it’s helpful to ask yourself if you’re heading towards burnout and what impact it has on your quality of life.
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