Six Myths About Stress . . .
Six myths surround stress. Dispelling them enables us to
understand our problems
and then take action against them. Let's look at these myths.
Myth 1: Stress is the same for everybody. Completely wrong.
Stress is different for each of us. What is
stressful for one person may or
not be stressful for another, each of us responds to stress in an entirely different way.
Myth 2: Stress is always bad for you.
According to this view, zero stress
makes us happy and healthy. Wrong.
Stress is to the human condition what tension
is to the violin string ; too little
and the music is dull and raspy ; too much and the music is shrill or the string snaps.
Stress can be the kiss of death or the spice of life. The issue, really, is how to manage
it.
Managed stress makes us productive and happy ;
mismanaged stress hurts and even kills us.
Myth 3: Stress is everywhere, so you can't do anything about it.
Not so,
You can plan your life so that stress does not
overwhelm you.
Effective planning involves setting priorities and working on simple problems first,
solving them, and then going on to more complex difficulties. When stress is mismanaged,
it's difficult to prioritize. All your problems seem to be equal
and stress seems everywhere.
Myth 4 : The most popular techniques for reducing stress are the best ones.
Again, not so. No universally effective stress reduction techniques
exist.
We are all different, our lives are different, and our reactions are different.
Only a comprehensive system tailored to the individual works.
Myth 5 : No symptoms, no stress.
Absence of symptoms does not mean the absence of stress.
In fact, camouflaging symptoms with medication may deprive you of the signals
you need for reducing the strain of your physiological and psychological systems.
Myth 6 : Only major symptoms of stress require attention. This assumes
that the "minor" symptoms, such as headaches or stomach acid, may be safely
ignored. Minor symptoms of stress are the early warnings that your life is getting out of
hand and that you need to do a better job of managing stress.
IF YOU THINK YOU NEED HELP MANAGING STRESS IN YOUR LIFE,
TALK TO SOMEONE WHO CAN HELP . . .