Stress can be analyzed to be a necessary part of a person’s life. It is any kind of anxiety, worries or even tension. The cause of stress varies in every person. Changes that occur in a person’s life can lead to stress, changes like looking for a job, getting married, going to school, and health troubles, can all cause stress in an individual. Some stress can be prevented such as staying away from illegal activities or debts, while some stress cannot be ignored and it sometimes depends on how it is managed. Stress encourages us to take action and it is important to our health, safety, and well-being.
Social stress is a very common cause of stress in every individual. People stress about acting in a humiliating way, public speaking, having a discussion, meeting strangers, and in some cases, eating in a restaurant. Social stressors have always been the number one source of stress in my life. Things like assignments, college applications, job interviews, presentation deadlines, financial issues, loss of loved one, workload, and many more. These were the cause of my stress at the moment that is put in one sentence. My senior year in high school was when I experienced all these stressors accordingly. It all started with the usual loads of assignments, presentations and college application deadlines that were all approaching, during that period my family was going through some financial issues so I was looking for a job, going to interviews, and so on. Then my grandmother died and I just became weaker and sad because my source of inspiration or motivation was no more.
During this period, I became very cranky and I was always having this splitting headache that refused to go away. Caffeine became my buddy because I would always feel like I have things to do so I need to stay awake. Sleeping, eating, and thinking became my coping mechanism until I met this girl that was going through the same thing but she didn’t lose a loved one. She became my source of inspiration because, during the most stressful time of her life, she was active and very open about her feelings. After spending some time with her, I started coping with my stress in a better way. I began to practice confronting my stressful moments like practicing for my interviews and presentations. This helped me deal with my stress effectively. Developing a social network was also key, it kept me less lonely and made me to be more open about my worries.
There are two types of stress; positive stress and negative stress. Positive stress is the good changes that happen to a person because it motivates a person to achieve a goal. It could be buying a new house, getting married, starting a new job, retiring, and many more. While negative stress results in anxiety and makes a person feel depressed. It could be pain, death illness or health problems, financial concerns and even depression. I viewed my stress as both positive and negative because even though I was going through all those negative times, at the end of my senior year, I got accepted into different colleges, I had a job and my family was able to solve most of our financial issues.
In coping with stress, people should know when and how to establish their priorities. They should put up a schedule that would help them achieve their goal at a certain time. People should also learn to accept change as a part of life because all changes lead to stress, so one should view it positively. And of course, live a healthy lifestyle. Sleep is very important so it should not be deprived, eat healthily and be recreative.
