It’s not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to. ― Hans Selye
The first time, I came across this quote, I felt like something was wrong with the person who said it but after looking deeply, I realised it was true.
I have many times imagined what life would look like for everyone if stress was not among the things we have to deal with from time to time. Different factors can be responsible for being stressed, it can be either physical or emotional and regardless of what it is, the effect on us isn't cool. Stress is capable of wrecking havoc and that's why paying attention and understanding our body system is compulsory.
Some years ago, I was stuck in traffic for a long time. The road was eventually free and all the vehicles moved but a particular one didn't move and it caused another traffic. People thought the driver slept off and they didn't stop banging on his car. All effort to wake him up was futile and it was then they realised that he had died.
There were different speculations about what could have killed him and the only thing that came to my mind was stress. I was once a victim of stress and always emphasized on the need for people to always pay attention to their health, refusing to rest when we are due for one comes with a higher price than rest.
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At the moment, I don't think I have a specific thing that stresses me to the point of breaking down but when you combine every tiny stress from different angles of my life, it is powerful enough to cause havoc.
Surviving has become challenging lately due to the hike in the price of things and considering the bills I have to pay is something I can barely stop thinking about. There are times when the thoughts of these things make me frustrated which will not help but worsen matters.
It usually doesn't start with me just running into these thoughts, it starts with me trying to manage resources for the family and because they are insufficient, the thoughts of coping slowly drag me into that stressed state.
The majority of the time, it is always mentally stressful for me and it's hard because it sometimes prevents me from doing some things with Hive included. There are times I wish to make some commitment on the platform and the fear of finding myself in that state might prevent me from fulfilling my duties diligently.
Our body system works in a tricky way and I can prove it after examining myself for some time. Our body has a way of pretending to be adapting to stress but it's a lie because sooner or later, the consequences of harbouring stress for a long time will come knocking on our day and that's where the problems begin.
When Hans Selye said it is not stress that kills us, it’s our reaction to it. He was right because our approach to stress is what will turn out to become the outcome for us. If stress had a pill to treat it probably nobody will complaining about it today.
I have studied myself after being a victim of stress and I know when things are getting above normal for me. An example of this is not being able to assimilate when reading, this is a sign I don't ignore and I try to get as much rest as possible.
Some problems are just completely beyond what we can take care of in just one strike so why let it get the best of us?
Coping with my kind of stress has made me do lots of outdoor activities such as strolling, hanging out with nature and doing other things I enjoy. It's not like they will take the problems away but these activities have their ways of helping me relax to the point where I will see a way forward unlike when everything was cloudy because of stress.
It's inevitable and we must handle it properly before it handles us roughly.
Thanks for reading.
