By DiAnn Mills @DiAnnMills
Do the challenges of life leave you overwhelmed? Or are you using challenges as an opportunity? How our bodies are affected by stress and tension determines a healthy or unhealthy body.
Stress and tension are not always bad experiences. Stress is the body’s reaction to a potential mental or physical threat. We strive to find answers while our brains are in “fight or flee” mode. Those situations cause us to reach deep within ourselves to find solutions.
Opportunities are golden moments that allow us to achieve something we want. The goal usually requires work and sacrifice, but the rewards are worth the investment. Stress and tension may accompany the opportunity, but with optimism, we can embrace the challenge and move forward. Sometimes we have a sleepless night or skip a meal while our brains are engaged. The result presents satisfaction of a job well done.
Consistent stress and tension shove a person into overwhelmed mode. A state of being overwhelmed causes a person to feel defeated, devastated, and often physically or mentally ill. It’s like drowning with no lifeline. The victim goes down for the third time and fails to rise again.
Unchecked stress leads to emotional behaviors such as agitation, inability to relax, avoiding others including loved ones, and depression that can escalate to suicide. Physical reactions such as nausea, high blood pressure, intense headaches, insomnia, addictive behaviors, and uncontrollable trembling can push a victim to a heart attack. Add to those mental and physical symptoms an inability to think clearly and constant worry. Many other conditions can stem from the inability to handle life’s challenges. Unmanageable stress can kill.
Here are 10 ways to approach challenges:
- Confess your overwhelmed condition to a trusted friend, loved one, or pastor.
- Commit to seeking help and making positive changes in your life.
- Connect with others who face the same issues in a group setting.
- Carve out time to pray and meditate.
- Consider diet and healthy foods to fuel your stressed body.
- Choose an exercise plan to work off stressors.
- Correct your lifestyle to avoid being overwhelmed.
- Cease to believe your self-worth is based on your performance.
- Collect quotes that are positive and uplifting.
- Create a journal to record the ups and downs of life.
Life can present itself with undo stress and tension, and we can become overwhelmed. Or we can learn the techniques to manage our lives and choose to convert challenges to opportunities.
Do you have a tip to help relieve stress?
Comments 18
Thanks for this extremely relevant and useful article and tips- I am forwarding this to friends!
Something that really helps me is (a version of your tip #10,) spending a minute making a mental or literal list of recent stuff that I’m grateful for. I mean, gratitude is the opposite of being overwhelmed, because it is focusing on the things that are / have been going right!
Even if the one of the only things that comes to mind is that all the bad stuff that’s happened recently at least didn’t happen on the same day. I turned it into a bit of a game last Thanksgiving by challenging myself to think of 15, 20, then 25 things to put on that list for last year. We had a death of a loved one in spring, but my list made me realize 2021 had some good in it too.
I read at one point someone’s professional tip about stress was to start your day by getting one small thing done- their example was making your bed. Because getting one small thing off your overwhelming to-do list literally makes you feel better, and more able mentally and emotionally to approach the rest of your day.
Thank you, Madie, for your insight. Yes, the bad stuff happens in stages, but it builds up like tooth plaque. We need to start small, like you suggested, and work through what needs to be done.
Excellent points DiAnn. I would add one other: if you are suffering from stress, talk to your doctor and be sure that there are no underlying health factors contributing to your anxiety. While anxiety can cause health problems, the reverse is also true. One example: Hypothyroid can cause many of the same stress markers as anxiety, but the condition is usually easily treatable. Your MD can also help with diet and exercise plans. God gives us so many people who make it their life work to help others.
Thank you, Kathleen. You are so right. Stress can make us all ill physically and emotionally.
Great post, great tips. Thank you. I frequently find myself feeling overwhelmed, and it’s so good to remember it’s okay & I’m not alone.
Kristine, you are never alone! You have those who love you and Jesus!
I love this:
Opportunities are golden moments that allow us to achieve something we want. The goal usually requires work and sacrifice, but the rewards are worth the investment. Stress and tension may accompany the opportunity, but with optimism, we can embrace the challenge and move forward. Sometimes we have a sleepless night or skip a meal while our brains are engaged. The result presents satisfaction of a job well done.
With optimism – that’s the key for me to view the challenge as the opportunity it truly is.
Dana, thank you for your insight and wisdom. Optimism is the key!
Thanks for sharing this, DiAnn. I get overwhelmed at times too. I appreciate how your words help us reframe challenges as opportunities. I also like the practical tips you provide about how to approach stressful life challenges. Lately, I’ve been focusing on #7. I’m shifting and realigning things in my life so I can be effective instead of overwhelmed.
Hi Michelle, you are so very welcome. I think a regular evaluation of what we’re doing helps cut down on stress and keep our optimism about the challenges.
Your posts are always so helpful. I do get overwhelmed at times, and wallow in. Sometimes longer than I
should. Then it’s like the Lord says, “My peace I give you.” His words help me through the pit.
Thanks, Janetta. Our lives are so incredibly stressful, and it’s hard to view the challenges as opportunities. But Jesus gave us peace.
My daughter and I are taking care of Alfred. He is my husband and has advanced dementia. He has fallen 5 times this month. We have hospice in house. Last week 3 friends of mine visited 2 memory care facilities and the 2nd visit gave us the name of the hospice group. Please pray for us. Alfred was very agitated last night. I had a hard time sleeping. I am trying to get rest now.
Linda, I’m praying for you during this difficult time. So very sorry for Alfred.
every part of my life is overwhelming.My attitude has probably been if your life isn’t overwhelming you aren’t taking it serious enough
Hi Lyndie, I’m praying for you that life calms and you are able to relax.
If I’m honest, it’s sometimes both. It seems when I am “filled” with challenges, that “one more straw” breaks this camel’s back and I explode with a fierce worldliness. When I feel that bubbling up to the surface, I try and tamp it down with self-control, but sometimes I don’t keep the lid on as well as I should. Alas, I keep growing. Great post ma’am; thank you!
Hi J.D, I agree that some days are easier than others. I keep telling myself when we’re hit hard in every direction, then satan is after us because we’re doing something right.