The Perfect Storm

In October of 1991 a storm stronger than any in recorded history hit the coast off of Gloucester, Massachusetts. This “Perfect Storm” — so called because it was three storms combined into one — created an almost apocalyptic situation in the Atlantic ocean, where boats encountered waves of 100 feet  — the equivalent of a ten-story building. These storms are some of the strongest and most terrifying manifestations of nature’s strength.

The perfect stress storm –

Overstuff to-do list – can be a harrowing for many who feel like they’ve failed in some way if they weren’t able to accomplished everything they set out to do
Over-achiever – Some people who suffer extreme symptoms of stress wind up that way because they can’t seem to achieve all of their tasks.
Type A personality – Have you ever been called (or called yourself) a Type A personality. We laugh it off but their kind of perfectionism you strive for can cause you endless amounts of stress if you fail to meet your own  demands.

Ask yourself how you normally react if you can’t continually be working on something.  Is it virtually impossible for you to sit still and relax?  What if your cell phone is turned off or you don’t have access to a computer for email – does it send you into a panic?

People like this rely heavily on being able to take action, and when they aren’t constantly achieving more, they become more stressed.  The stress builds as your schedule grows even larger. 

Soon, you have to schedule things months in advance – with no room for rest and relaxation, which your body needs to unwind and relieve the stress of helping you achieve all of your goals.

Take that rigid schedule and start scheduling some stress-busting activities just as you would an important business meeting.  Since you are dedicated to a to-do list, ensure that a portion of those tasks are meant to help you calm down and block out the rest of the tasks on your list.

Pick something you would enjoy, but only do if you had the time.  Now, you will have the time – and it will be implemented into your schedule as a “must-do,” rather than a possibility, which never materializes.

You might want to start small and let your stress-reducing activities grow.  Schedule a 15-minute walk outdoors or a 20-minute bubble bath.  Once you learn to embrace the down time, it will be easier for you to expand it into a longer event that’s meant to improve your mental health by ridding your mind and body of the stress of your day.

You need to take the same level of commitment and dedicate some time to caring for your body and mind. Create your own perfect storm with the 3 R’s of stress relief.
Reveal – Identify stressors that affect our daily lives;
Release  – Eliminate the stressors of which we can free ourselves;
Rejuvenate – Learn to deal with stressful situations in a healthy way

Hopefully you found this information helpful.  If you did, how are you going to use this information.  I would love to know.  Please take a minute to comment in the space below this sentence. Let me know if there is anything else you’d like to know about stress relief.