About 5 years ago, I noticed that I was running unconsciously. My walking pace was always fast from place to place, even around the office. I found myself taking shallow breaths throughout the day and rarely taking a deep breath. I also noticed that I wouldn't stop for very long to talk to people or notice the journey along the way. I got medical check ups that also showed the 'race'. My blood pressure over 10 years steadily increased to the point that I needed high blood pressure medication at age 28. It wasn't until I left my job after 13 years and was diagnosed with Shingles, that I knew that my body was screaming at me to change.
At the time, I thought, "I just left my job and my relationship with my boyfriend, isn't that enough change?" What dawned on me was that stress is cumulative over time and the outcome or result isn't instantaneously related to a change or stress. Also, stress isn't going to go away. Life is stressful and waiting for the stress to go away is just waiting all of your life for something that will never come. All I have influence over is how I process my stress and the strategies I use to deal with stress. Ignoring it was no longer an option.
During these economic times, how are you managing your stress? What is contributing to your stress: bills, job, family, responsibility, the "should's", the "I can'ts", health?
My vision now is to become resiliant, grounded, flexible, and strong in all aspects of my life: job, family, health (mental, physical, and emotional), finances.
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