Stress

 

Stress. What’s the first thing you think of when you hear that word? I’m gonna bet it’s negative. Everyone I know associates stress with a bad experience. One of my favorite quotes I’ve heard relating to stress is, “It’s not stress that kills us, it is our reaction to it”. Contradicting to that, “If you feel like you’re losing everything, remember trees lose their leaves every year, and they stand tall and wait for better days to come”. This is a quote I live by. My whole life I was convinced stress is a bad thing. It wasn’t until a year ago where my mind was changed. I realized stress is normal and essential. It even helps me get through simple tasks. Have you ever looked up the meaning? “Stress is a feeling of emotional or physical tension. It can come from any event or thought that makes you feel frustrated, angry, or nervous. Stress is your body's reaction to a challenge or demand. In short bursts, stress can be positive, such as when it helps you avoid danger or meet a deadline”. Even in the definition it says “stress can be positive”. Then how come we all associate it with bad things? I think having a lot of stress in your life can help you in the long run. I know no one likes the feeling of stress. For me, stress can give me an adrenaline rush. Sounds crazy, right? Think about it, when you have an adrenaline rush, you are stressed. Think about stress in the family. I know that is not a fun thing. Have you ever gone through a family crisis? I’d say most have. How do most people react to it? Most of the time it's anger, anxiety, sadness, etc. I have a friend who had a family crisis that ended in a divorce. The dad had a drinking problem, which resulted in anger tantrums. He was an angry alcoholic. The mom realized she couldn’t handle it anymore so she filed for a divorce. The kids reacted very badly in this situation. One got pregnant and left, the other was depressed and started to drink every day. It was sad to see this happen. I know this seems all bad but now the mom and kids won’t be in danger anymore. I know someone else in a similar situation but their parents stayed together. This results in one of the kids staying at a friend’s house whenever her dad was drunk. In conclusion, stress can be bad or good. Like I said in the quote earlier, “it’s our reaction to it”.