How is Your Stress Inventory?

We all know that too much stress is a bad thing. It adversely impacts our relationships, our wake-sleep cycle, our eating patterns, our immune systems, our memory, it reduces our tolerance for frustration, increases our blood pressure and cortisol levels, decreases our sex drive… and on and on.

I don’t know about you, but I have found there have been times in my life when my stress level has snuck up on me, taking me completely by surprise. Before I knew it, I would be having a full-blown melt down over the lovely person driving 10 km below the speed limit, in front of me. In these moments of derailment, I have been genuinely shocked at just how stressed out I was, and yet didn’t know it. “How in the world did I get here?,” I would wonder. What is the big deal here?

I’d take stock of my life and notice, oh yeah, I have been working kind of hard lately, and, look at my hands, there’s that rash I get only when I’m exhausted and stressed out. My point is, if I had only been paying attention a lot earlier, I would have noticed the signs telling me to slow down, that I’ve taken on too much, that I’m getting stressed out.

My question for you is: what are your signs of stress? How does your body tell you that you’ve tipped the balance between healthy and adverse stress levels? Do you develop cold sores? Do you wake up before your alarm? Do you wake in the middle of the night? Are you skipping your meditation, your yoga, your exercise routines? Do your kids, partner, co-workers, irritate you a little more than usual? Do you have a little rash forming on your hands? Have you stopped eating? Have you started eating way more than you need? Is your stomach cramping up more and more? Does everyone around you seem like they are walking or driving too slowly?

Notice. Look at your life gently. How are you, really? If you’re great, well done! If you’re raging through you’re life, carefully notice it now. You can be in the Driver’s Seat re: what can be done about it. As for me, I’m paying attention to that little rash on my hand.


by Devony Baugh
Graduate Intern at The Shanti Counselling Centre