Whoops, what happened to yesterday? You've had those kind of days. The ones that start when you wake up with about 25 things on your mind that you believe need done today! Yesterday was one of those days. Right now I am on week three of full-time+ working at the medical office where I am normally 1/2 time. We are taking on a new system and it is truly "all hands on deck." For the most part it is going well but it is very intense and there is no clear leader for the team I work most closely with. It's stressful for me because something I deal with on a regular basis is feeling responsible for "everything" I see. However in this case, I am NOT the boss so I'm trying really hard to just take care of me and help others when appropriate. I'm really starting to "feel" the stress of not being home to get the other things in my life taken care of in a timely way. I'm not alone. The statistics prove that stress is one of the top health issues in America.
Time magazine's June 6, 1983 cover story called stress "The Epidemic of the Eighties" and referred to it as our leading health problem; there can be little doubt that the situation has progressively worsened since then. Numerous surveys confirm that adult Americans perceive they are under much more stress than a decade or two ago. A 1996 Prevention magazine survey found that almost 75% feel they have "great stress" one day a week with one out of three indicating they feel this way more than twice a week. In the same 1983 survey only 55% said they felt under great stress on a weekly basis. It has been estimated that 75 - 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems. Job Stress is far and away the leading source of stress for adults but stress levels have also escalated in children, teenagers, college students and the elderly for other reasons, including: increased crime, violence and other threats to personal safety; pernicious peer pressures that lead to substance abuse and other unhealthy life style habits; social isolation and loneliness; the erosion of family and religious values and ties; the loss of other strong sources of social support that are powerful stress busters.(Taken from this web site. Check it outhttp://www.stress.org/americas.htm)
Why do we allow ourselves to get so stressed out? I did great week one. I simplified life at home as much as possible. Easy meals, all the laundry caught up the weekend before but I only expected the extended schedule to last 2 weeks. Now I know it could go on for a month or so. I need to "reset" my brain. I need to ask the Lord to show me what really needs done and how to do it and then trust that He will do so. As I often say, none of what is currently going on is a surprise to God. He has my life in His hands. I just need to allow Him to lead.
What role does stress play in your life? How do you handle it?
Time magazine's June 6, 1983 cover story called stress "The Epidemic of the Eighties" and referred to it as our leading health problem; there can be little doubt that the situation has progressively worsened since then. Numerous surveys confirm that adult Americans perceive they are under much more stress than a decade or two ago. A 1996 Prevention magazine survey found that almost 75% feel they have "great stress" one day a week with one out of three indicating they feel this way more than twice a week. In the same 1983 survey only 55% said they felt under great stress on a weekly basis. It has been estimated that 75 - 90 percent of all visits to primary care physicians are for stress related problems. Job Stress is far and away the leading source of stress for adults but stress levels have also escalated in children, teenagers, college students and the elderly for other reasons, including: increased crime, violence and other threats to personal safety; pernicious peer pressures that lead to substance abuse and other unhealthy life style habits; social isolation and loneliness; the erosion of family and religious values and ties; the loss of other strong sources of social support that are powerful stress busters.(Taken from this web site. Check it outhttp://www.stress.org/americas.htm)
Why do we allow ourselves to get so stressed out? I did great week one. I simplified life at home as much as possible. Easy meals, all the laundry caught up the weekend before but I only expected the extended schedule to last 2 weeks. Now I know it could go on for a month or so. I need to "reset" my brain. I need to ask the Lord to show me what really needs done and how to do it and then trust that He will do so. As I often say, none of what is currently going on is a surprise to God. He has my life in His hands. I just need to allow Him to lead.
What role does stress play in your life? How do you handle it?
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