Stress is one of the things that everyone can relate to. It’s also one of the things that few people handle in a healthy manner. After hours of careful consideration (or maybe it was just a few minutes of pondering) I’ve narrowed it down to 3 common ways in which most women manage stress in their lives.
A. Turn to Christ and His written Word for strength and encouragement.
B. Have an emotional break down and comfort yourself with food (preferably of the incredibly fattening variety).
C Ignore the problem for as long as possible, hoping that it will resolve itself.
So how do you handle stress? Are you one of these three? If so, which one are you? If you aren’t a, b, or c, then what do you do to manage the stresses that life sometimes throws at you?
March 27th, 2007 at 8:26 am
I love the pictures!!!
I do all three: I most often ignore the problem, and often eat chocolate.
But God sure is faithful to meet me where I am at (this actually happened last night - I was feeling incredibly stressed, and God encouraged me with His Word) - if only I’d turn to Him sooner and more often!!!
March 27th, 2007 at 9:36 am
Typically ignore and/or panic…but bring on the Pepsi during very stressful times. I go from “yea, I like to drink Pepsi” to “GIVE ME ONE NOW!!!!”
March 27th, 2007 at 9:47 am
None of the above. I kick into the “I can handle this, stay out of my way” mode. It’s actually very scary to witness this strange occurance. Not really a very pleasant experience for the casual observer.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
I used to worry incessantly and get depressed when I’m stressed, but a little more than a year ago I started doing a method wherein I open a Word doc, make two columns, write all of my automatic, negative thoughts (no matter how irrational) in one column, and then in the other column, go through and answer them in a calm, rational way, recognizing patterns of faulty thinking (I learned of 10 ways of faulty thinking in a book called Feeling Good). Believe it or not, this really helps me and now I don’t usually get to the point of needing to do this because I can recognize faulty thinking during stressful times right away and nip it in the bud.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
I am much like Ruthie. I become very self-sufficient and tackle the issue head on until it is resolved or I drive myself crazy trying to resolve it and then I get upset and think “Maybe I should pray about this.” (novel idea, huh?)
March 27th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
It’s “B” for me. Unfortunately, when I am stressed I often eat. I also tend to lay down or sleep more…in an attempt to “hide” from the world when I am stressed.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:48 pm
by the way, I love the pics too! I especially love how Rinnie is the spiritual one!
March 27th, 2007 at 2:41 pm
I am also with Ruthie and it also is usually not a pretty scene. I am just thinking that could be bad as we plan the women’s events together. I guess they always go so well that we don’t stress out:) (yea right) I have to say exercise is a great stress release and I don’t do it as much as I should but it has been a great help to my mental health. By the comments on the exercise post I don’t think it has been tried to often by many:) Try it…at least then you’ve earned the ice cream!
March 27th, 2007 at 3:13 pm
Through listening to Ruthie’s various talks over the years I’ve realized that I, too, have a self-sufficient, “I can handle anything” attitude. I guess that’s good when I need to function under pressure but it’s also a weakness when I rely on myself rather than God. I realize my need for God later than I should sometimes. We should have had an option “D” to depict the self-sufficient woman who’s relying on herself rather than God. I wonder what that picture would look like?
March 27th, 2007 at 6:09 pm
Anna - that book sounds interesting. I’m going to check it out!
March 27th, 2007 at 6:54 pm
I tend to start with ‘c’, and ignore the issue for as long as possible, until the stress turns into an ugly monster and jumps out screaming in my face. At which point I resort to ‘b’, crying and eating and crying some more. I really like Anna’s list approach, I think I’ll have to find that book.
March 27th, 2007 at 7:46 pm
Pam, the picture would look like me!
March 27th, 2007 at 11:52 pm
okay, the photos are absolutely so stinkin’ funny!
When I’m stressed I’m like Ruthie and try to handle it myself. But then I realize that’s not working so I try to ignore/hide like Becky but watching movies. Then, when I finally realize all that stuff doesn’t help I turn to God. I also eat lots of chocolate when I’m stressed. But not so much right now since I’m trying to lose weight.
March 28th, 2007 at 8:56 am
[…] about stress: how we handle it, what makes us stressed, etc. Just looking at the comments from Amy’s post yesterday, lots of us turn to various foods to handle stress. I remember a couple years ago I was […]
March 28th, 2007 at 12:26 pm
Karin - I have to warn you that Feeling Good is a self-help book about depression, but stress leads to anxiety which leads to depression for me (in the past, at least). I have never read any other self-help type book because I had an in-principle objection to them, but a brilliant friend of mine recommended it to me, so I got over myself and bought it. I’ve not read it cover to cover, because the first few chapters were so helpful to me that I didn’t need to go on!