Blog Three

Blog Three

As a “natural worrier,” I chose option three for this blog post assignment. I visited the American Institute of Stress website and assessed their top fifty signs of stress, fully expecting to be able to relate to just a handful of them. I was shocked, however, when I realized just how many signs of stress I experience on a weekly basis. Out of the fifty signs they list, I experience twenty-four when I feel overwhelmed or stressed. That’s almost half of them! Realizing the large number of symptoms I experience when I am stressed got me thinking about the effect stress has on my overall health- not just my mental health, but my physical health as well.

Frequent headaches, jaw clenching, dizziness, muscle spasms, fidgeting, stomach pain, and mood swings are only a few of the signs they list that I associate with stress. Do you notice that they are all physical symptoms? Stress doesn’t just affect us mentally and make us feel psychologically tired and anxious. It affects us physically- from our digestive tracts to our cardiovascular and nervous systems. I wasn’t aware of it before checking out their website, but even frequent urination and forgetfulness can be signs of stress! Stress is very harmful to our health, and I believe most people don’t realize that some signs their bodies give them can be directly correlated with stress they experience. This is something we need to be aware of since stress affects our health in so many ways.

I took the stress inventory survey on their website, and seeing the results confirmed my fears. It implied a fifty percent chance of a major health breakdown in the next two years. (A major health breakdown!) I’m no stranger to stress- I have two young toddlers that I stay home with full time, my husband works out of town quite a bit, and I’m a senior in college. I certainly have my hands full! But this assignment has brought to my attention how crucial it is to find ways to maintain and cope with stress. After all- stress is inevitable!

Finding and implementing coping mechanisms is key to maintaining and controlling stress. One thing I can do to help control my stress when it comes to being a stay-at-home mom of two young kids is setting a schedule and sticking to it. From laundry to meal time/snack time to nap time, not only do kids benefit from a set schedule but so do moms! Having my day scheduled makes me feel like I have the day under control, and it’s easy to anticipate what comes next. It prevents me from feeling like I’m not going to have enough time to get everything done. Lately I’ve deviated from sticking to my typical schedule, but this assignment has brought to my attention just how much I actually benefit from it. Another major way I can cope with the stress of being a mom is to allow myself grace. As a “type-A” perfectionist, I can be really hard on myself- and let’s face it… no one can do it all. I need to not be so hard on myself when things don’t get done or don’t get done the way I wanted them to get done. I’m only human! I make mistakes, I get sick, and there are only so many hours in a day. I need to constantly remind myself that tomorrow is a new day and that it’s okay to not do it all.

To help with the stress that comes with having a husband that’s out of town a lot, I could definitely benefit from scheduling out meals at the beginning of each week. Meal time seems to come so suddenly, and I feel like I’m always scrambling to figure out what we can have for dinner. If I were to plan out our meals for the week, I could ensure I have everything we need handy… which would also prevent us from hitting up the all-too-easy (and very unhealthy!) drive-through window. Sounds like a win-win!

         

Being a college student isn’t easy at any age, but being a mom twenty-four hours a day and taking online classes is downright tough. I could better eliminate stress by listing out what assignments/quizzes are due each day so that I can prioritize what needs to get completed first. It would also keep me from feeling overwhelmed when I suddenly realize I have a test or quiz- if my week is written down in black-and-white in front of me, I can allow myself adequate time to study. That would help prevent the anxiety that comes with feeling unprepared. All of these are quick and relatively easy ways to help take off some of the burden stress causes on me physically and mentally.

Go check out the American Institute of Stress’ website to assess your stress level and see how much stress affects your life too! https://www.stress.org/stress-effects

- Mallorie Anderson