In Overload

There is a certain amount of stress in every person’s life everyday. Stress comes from anything that changes our daily routine or our life status. It can come from things that we perceive as good, not just those things that we know should cause us to feel stress.

They even have scales or tests that can determine the likely hood of becoming ill as a result of too much stress. Our bodies need time to process and absorb the stress before encountering more stress. When there is not enough time between events, then our resistance is weakened.

This topic has been on my mind recently because of potty training. While it has been more of an irritation for me than a stressor, I started to think about how stressful it must feel for my son.

These stress scales are set up for adults but I’m sure there is something to be said about what children have to deal with as well.

I know several years ago my husband and I were off the charts on this scale.

Within 12 to 18 months we had..

Got married
Got pregnant
Moved from one state to another
Changed jobs for him
Decided to stay home from work for me
Bought a house
Had a baby

Remembering what that felt like I started to think about all the things my little guy is dealing with.

Started pre-school
Out of the high chair and moved to a seat at the table
No more sippy cup but big kid cups with no lid
Learning to ride a bike
No more baby swing but a swing with no seatbelt
No more naps (His choice not mine)
Watching his clothes and baby toys be given away so he can get more size/age appropriate items
Transitioning from diapers to underwear

These are all steps in the natural age progression of toddlers. In his world, these must seem like such huge changes. It is so easy to say that I feel stress with more spills or more laundry or a crazy schedule to keep up with but I didn’t slow down enough to realize that this was a lot of work for him.

All of this is easier for me to see now that we are struggling less with most of these issues.

Knock on wood, we have been in diapers only at bedtime for a week and last night he insisted on no diaper for bedtime and he made it all night!!!

Woo Hoo! (Insert happy Mama Dance here)

So how are you doing on the stress scale?
Even if you’re doing fine, it might be a nice idea to think about the other people in your life and the things that they have to deal with in their world.

Stress Management!!! ?

Quick update:
My friend had her baby!!!!
The terrible two are in full force just as they should be.
I’m running around like a mad woman trying to organize things for my soon to be 5 year old to have her M&M candy party. (I’ll be sure to post all the details if I survive)

Did you ever notice how any given day can unexpectedly turn into a stressful heap of “Aaaaaaa, get me out of here!!!!”?

Stress is everywhere. Even good things can bring on a certain amount of stress like having a baby, getting married, starting anew job. Then there are the unforeseen things that just pop up like a flat tire, a broken coffee maker when you really need some caffeine or the Sunday driver that pulls out in front of you when you’re already running a little behind.

As a therapist, stress management was one of my treatment goals at least 80% of the time. If it wasn’t a treatment goal I made sure that the topic came into conversation on a regular basis. Even though stress is such a huge part of our day-to-day life and something that we know has a big impact on us when the chips are down, it is rarely ever handled in a healthy manner.

We yell, we hold it all in, we snip at innocent bystanders, we eat, we drink, and we loose sleep. Stress can build to the point of causing additional health issues.

On a good day most people will do at least a few things to take care of themselves. Let’s make a good choice for something healthy: choose fruit or veggies over that bag a chips, choose water over that soda, choose to take a walk rather than sitting in front of the TV stewing over whatever it is irritating you, choose to call a friend and vent. Getting it off your chest really does help. Sometimes it’s just the opportunity to hear it out loud or the feeling that someone else knows or even validates what you are feeling.

We can make good choices but we rarely do. Do something today to help ease your stress. Make it a habit and when things are raining down on you, you‘ll be better equipped.

Let’s start off today with something simple like deep breathing. The next time you need to “count to ten” you’ll know how to get the most out of your ten.

First off, correct your posture… head up, shoulders back. Inhale through your nose and take in as much air as you can. Fill your lungs. Your inhale should take a good 2 to 4 count. Pause for a second and then release. Exhale through your mouth nice and slowly. The exhale should take at least twice as long as the inhale. A good 4 to 8 count. Rest, and then take another breath. Be careful if you’re not used to this you could get light headed.

I’m going to periodically check in to remind you to decompress you stress. I’ll toss in a few other stress management techniques along the way and in the mean time you keep practicing your deep breathing.

Inhale...

Exhale...

Breathe...