The Effects of Stress

The Effects of Stress

Stress Can Bring Out The Best And Worst In Us

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability

to choose one thought over another.

-William James

What happens when we are under stress?

We all need a certain amount of stress to get us going. In fact, we are at our best when we have some stress in our life. We need it to give us a push. Our perfomance improves as stress increases to its optimal level. However, when our stress gets too high, we get "pushed" right over the edge.

Do you ever feel like there are two of you?

When your stress level soars, your authentic self gets buried. Your stressed out self (SOS) emerges in an attempt to regain control. You may end up feeling like "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde." Your SOS acts as like a body guard, but it does not really make things better. The solutions you seek are found when your authentic self is empowered.

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Your Authentic Self is...

–Open minded
Lovable and loving
Empowered with self esteem
–Empathetic
–Honest & open
–Non-judgmental
Understanding
A Team Player
Able to see the big picture

Your Stressed-out-Self (SOS) can be:

–Defensive
–Angry/hostile
–A gossip
Judgemental
–Inflexible
–Moody
–Irritable or depressed
–Anxious or panicky
A blamer
Selfish