How do you cope with stress and anxiety?
Dealing with stress and anxiety are such common feelings in the lives of many. From my experiences, dealing with anxiety and stress arise when I think about going to my next shift at work. There are aspects of my job which create feelings of stress and anxiety. The expectations to perform and to deal with unexpected events lead to feelings of anxiety and stress for me. I can be somewhat confident in my job, yet knowing that my workplace can get hectic, creates feelings of anxiety.
So how do we deal with these situations so that stress and anxiety don’t overcome us? Is there any quick fix to dealing with stress and anxiety?
From my experiences, we can not eradicate stress and anxiety. These feelings arise just as the sun is sure to rise each morning. They are an integral part of our lives and therefore need to be accepted as such. Trying to avoid stress and anxiety is like trying to avoid the coming of a new drawn. Just as joy is a part of our lives, so too is anxiety and stress.
The only way that I have learnt to deal more successfully with stress and anxiety has been through an approach of acceptance and gratitude. Being grateful for our lives is a holistic approach. When we give gratitude for our lives, we encompass the whole life, not just a portion of it. So when moments of stress and anxiety arise, it is important to recognise this, and give gratitude for its existence and know that you can deal with it.
Giving thanks and gratitude for our lives is always the starting point. When we practice gratitude, we are more likely to deal with whatever moments of stress and anxiety arise. I have found this to be true of my workplace environment. When stress and anxiety arise, I focus on giving thanks for the situation And understand that my life is being cared for,
We might not be able to control whatever occurs in our lives, but we can guide our way through it. Having a belief in gratitude is having a belief that life has our best interests at heart. Life has a way of surviving and it continues to bloom. Being in gratitude is believing that our Creator has the best intentions for us.