I thought that I would
share my 3 stressors as an assignment and maybe a healing vent session for
myself. Stress can be a contributor to high blood pressure, digestive issues, depression
and anxiety and even migraines. Although stress is an unavoidable part of life,
it can have very bad effects on a person’s life as well. For me, I am a person
that picks up and carries the problems of everyone around me. I am the go to
person when you need a shoulder. I think it a good thing that so many of my
friends consider me as a source of support or good advice but once my own
stressors came into play it caused a huge amount of anxiety and depression.
My first source of stress
is school. Not in a bad way but because I feel like at my age, if I am making
the effort to return to school and try to balance work, marriage, a grown
child, and everything else that comes with home life, that I have to get the
best grades possible. This is not a just something to do for me, I really want
to do well. I don’t want a “C”; if it is possible I want that “A”. The bad part
is that I also feel that I don’t have 3 or 4 more years to do this so I will
sometime take on more than I should. To carry a full load at school and work
fulltime is a lot for me at times. People ask all the time why I take so many
classes my response is simply, “I want my dad to see me graduate”. I can’t take
for granted that he will be here forever.
My second source of stress
the need to find another job, lay-off is now my reality the rest is self-explanatory.
This adds on to the last stressor, family live. Being the “strong” one, having
all the answers, knowing what’s next all the time is hard when you can’t say
for sure what next for yourself. All I know is that failure is not an option
and to let my family down will not do. Does this become unbearable sometime?
Absolutely, and I’ve had very serious bouts of depression because of it. What
saves me is the very thing that gets me down, my family. I’m a survivor and that’s all to it!
Stress is evident in our fast-paced life that we Americans live. Like you stated it can have negative effects on one’s physical, mental, or emotional state. I can semi-relate to your post, because I as well work full-time while handling a full course load, and at times it is very over whelming. However, I am single without children so I could only imagine the added stressors you have in your life. I think you are doing great at handling your stress thus far according to your post, and you are taking a step in the right direction by journaling your emotions. I wish you the best of luck!
ReplyDeleteI've recently read some articles that state that "sitting down" or "sodas" are the new big health crisis but I believe we should never loose site of the health risks from stress. We, none of us women, seem to take the risks of stress to our health serious enough (in my opinion). I had a health scare years ago and the ER physician told me I had better get my stress down or it was going to kill me. I haven't slowed down but I have learned ways to accept things in life that have significantly lowered my stress related to things that would normally "raise my blood pressure". You are strong Jennifer so find you an outlet or two so you can "let it go".
ReplyDeleteStress can be helpful in alerting you to get things done but it can also take over your health dramatically. It is nice to find a balance but it can at times be difficult to achieve it. Juggling school, work and family is understandably challenging, i'm glad to hear that through all these stressors you manage to strive towards your goals. I wish you all the best through this journey.
ReplyDeleteJennifer,
ReplyDeleteLike you, I deal with the same stressors - family, school and job. You made the comment that you are the "strong one", whereas I am the ONLY one. I have no siblings to help take care of my aging parents. They have been relatively healthy, but this year both have had health scares and issues that have required a lot of my focus. Knowing that these things can cause you stress means that you are able to understand when things get overwhelming, and you can see that it won't always be that way. You can do this!
Kim