Are you stressing yourself out?

A huge part of stress is stressful thinking. The same things do not affect us in the same way because we sometimes think differently about them. What upsets you may not upset your friend. Indeed, sometimes we get annoyed with our friends for not being as annoyed as we are. We’re a funny lot – aren’t we? We seem to look to others to validate our feelings. Even more peculiarly sometimes we feel that people should know how we are feeling without us even telling them. I have talked to people who are angry with people about things they possibly know nothing about!

Although we humans are very intelligent we can also be very stupid. We assume we know things without ever finding them out. We join the dots without truly being sure. We make conclusions without the evidence. We can be very irrational in our approach to ourselves, others and the world.

We are at our most vulnerable when we shut ourselves off – when we just listen to ourselves without the voice of reason being in the same room as us. That’s why it’s so important to acknowledge our emotions and consult with others during times of personal stress. Often wrong decisions are made solely because they were made at the wrong time.

(c) Shane Martin www.moodwatchers.com