April is Stress Awareness Month. Stress is an all-too-familiar word. We all experience it and usually more often than we’d like. The World Health Organization defines stress as a “state of worry or mental tension caused by a difficult situation,” while the American Psychological Association assures us that stress is a “normal reaction to everyday pressures.” Since living has its ups and downs, there is no such thing as a stress-free life. Stress, despite its unpleasant sensations, is a good tool for survival. It prompts our body systems to be on alert and ready for challenges. The increased heart rate? That’s to get ourselves ready to run or fight. What differentiates healthy stress from unhealthy stress is its chronicity. Even soldiers need time to rest and recover; our bodies, too, need to recover from a stressed state so that it is ready for the next emergency.
Then there is overwhelming stress: the sheer amount of stressors we face at any given time. Sometimes it cannot be helped, especially in certain high-pressure jobs. However, in my clinical experience, I find that we add more stressors on our plate that we don’t need. Just like we do for the home, let’s declutter our stresses so that we can make more space for joy and ease:
