We all deal with stress (or try to) in our own ways. But what do you do when your normal stress coping mechanisms or skills just aren't up to the task? Or when the stresses become too repetitive too often?
In my case, I'm always under stress, it's the nature of my job. I have noticed over the last few months that the amounts of stress I'm under, and the frequency has escalated, not lessened. That's a problem that is not only affecting my physical, but also mental health.
It's the mental part that's probably bugging me the most. I find that I'm far more snappy, and unpleasant to be around. In situations where I'm more personable with people I rely on, I've found that I'm far more clingy than I've ever been. And right now I just don't like this version of myself all that much.
My creativity is suffering. It's getting harder and harder for me to claw and bite out time to pursue the things that help alleviate some of my stress like writing or painting. I know this isn't helpful in the least, but at the same time, I have no energy or drive to get things done like normal. I finally had a weekend off, I went to a seminar Saturday on Tax issues for writer's then slept from 7PM Saturday night to 7AM Sunday morning, and never really got out of bed most of Sunday.
Physically, the stress is eating me alive. I've had chronic headaches ( thankfully not migraines) since November. I'm not eating normally, and during the week, most nights I don't really sleep, and can't focus. It's become mandatory for me to address the reasons my stress levels are so crazy lately.
So why am I sharing all of this? I'm sharing not for sympathy, but because too often people make light of stress, and what it does or can do to a person. It affects every aspect of your personality, your life, and how you live it, or the quality associated with it. If you know someone who's not quite themselves please talk to them. More maybe going on than you realize, and if you're that person whose carrying around that extra load, don't be afraid to share it.
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