Nowadays, it’s not uncommon for most of us to suffer from a lot of stress and experience moments of emotional downturn. Sometimes, we don’t even realize it. I noticed it when I started feeling earthquake. I felt like the ground was shaking, and sometimes I even felt like I was drowning for a few seconds, as if the water was rising to my neck.
I thought I was hallucinating, but when I mentioned it to a friend, she told me, “Girl, those are anxiety episodes.”
I paused for a moment and thought, What do you mean, anxiety? Me?
And she was right. At night, I would sleep pushing my tongue against my teeth, and I’d wake up clenching it with all my strength.
Now that I’ve identified it, I’ve decided to combat my stress and document my daily life with you all—to see if we can get out of this mental disaster together.
The First Sign of Stress:
Living pressured, stressed, and anxious.
Is not good at all. I know.
It feels like being condemned, like carrying an immense weight. In reality, it also means not knowing how to deal with them. I know people who truly handle pressure very well.
That’s a talent! I admire people like that. They work in teams and can manage two or three tasks and even more at the same time.
But in my case, God didn’t give me that kind of talent. I can only focus on one thing at a time unless I’m cooking. When I’m focused on one task, I give it my full attention and can’t even think about anything else.
So if you’re one of those people who can multitask I ADMIRE YOU!
There are times when we get excited about an event that makes us happy, but at the same time, we worry about the consequences. You try to ignore it, but intrusive thoughts come back—What if it doesn’t go as I want? What if it doesn’t turn out as expected? What if…?
Stress comes from many places and many situations.
In daily life, it’s completely unpredictable. Sometimes, we bring it upon ourselves. Other times, in the midst of a situation, stress now started living and sleeping with us more than ever before.
Just thinking about two different things, each triggering completely different emotions, is like pressing ERROR in our minds.
And you can feel it, at least somehow you can identify it even though I couldn’t till a late time. It reflects in our health. Our body cries out for help.
And it’s not surprising. Stress exists because of the future. The future is unknown, and what stresses us out is precisely the unknown, it puts us under pressure.
I’m one of those people struggling with it, and I’m still dealing with it. But I’ve decided to improve somehow.
Documenting my stressful moments with you all, understanding what affects me the most and what helps me the most, will help.
I once heard an example of someone dealing with stress in a podcast. It was about a woman who said:
“I’m looking forward to my daughter’s wedding soon, but at the same time, I’m worried about my father, whose health has deteriorated significantly. I feel like my brain is short-circuiting—on one side, I’m happy for my daughter, but on the other, I feel sad for my father.”
I feel something similar. I’m getting married soon, and I’m overwhelmed with all the preparations. In our culture, we spend a lot before the wedding, and I’m worried that I won’t make it in time due to financial reasons.
At the same time, I’m about to graduate, and I need to finish my thesis. On top of that, I’m a very spiritual and productive person, not just because I like it, but because I NEED to break my routine and do different things to avoid feeling down.
I know I’m a bit unusual. I enjoy doing my responsibilities, but I also love having moments of quality and indulgence. Otherwise, I’d feel like a ZOMBIE.
What I Recently Discovered:
We all need at least four emotional escape routes—four options to calm ourselves during stressful episodes.
Believe it or not, they say that talking heals.
I have a friend who had a lot of childhood problems and still struggles with them. But she can’t stop thinking about them. I know it stresses her out that she hasn’t been able to escape the toxic cycle she grew up in. And after years of dealing with the same unresolved problems, it still sounds exhausting.
One day, I sat down with her, and she talked a lot. She told me everything about her life, how she lived through it all. But when she finished talking, I felt drained, even though I wasn’t the one talking. And yet, she felt better.
Yes, talking helps. Meeting different people, exercising together, going out together, eating together. All of these things can heal stress.
The Four Ways People Cope with Stress:
Humans generally have four ways of dealing with stress:
- Exploding, breaking, or yelling – Some people need to say everything out loud. That’s how they express themselves—by exploding, venting, and unloading all their worries. My friend is like this, and letting it all out helped her a lot.
- Spending all their money – It’s not uncommon to see wealthy people who, after a very stressful episode, spend everything they have. Some people cope with stress by shopping, though I think it’s only a temporary relief, and later, they regret it.
- Resignation – Lying in bed, sitting at the table with their chin resting on their hand, saying, “Whatever happens, happens. It’s in God’s hands. There’s nothing I can do—it’s just fate…”
This way of releasing guilt helps relieve stress because it allows you to let go of the problem. However, it can also lead to discouragement and even depressive episodes.
At the same time, it can make you stronger and help you accept what you have to go through.
- Creative thinking – This is common in analytical people. They think about how to forget, how to fill their time to avoid overthinking. But what happens is that they become very nervous and restless. You might think that if they keep going like that, something bad will happen, like getting into an accident.
I once watched a series about a woman who was always busy with work, constantly checking her phone and laptop. One day, her daughter experienced bullying at school and was sent to a psychologist. Meanwhile, the mother started having memory lapses without realizing it.
When she took her daughter for a medical check-up, the doctors discovered that she was actually the one in worse condition. Instead of her daughter, she was the one diagnosed and admitted to a psychiatric facility to recover before developing permanent dementia
When we have a problem, sometimes we push, push, push, push but no matter how much effort we put in, it doesn’t help to hold on too tightly. However, when we relax and find the right spaces to recharge our energy, solutions start to appear.
I will start documenting my journey to overcome stress with you all from today, so follow me for more updates!
