STRESS INTO DISTRESS

Anything that requires a major
adjustment in our way of life can turn
stress into distress!

Stress is a fact of life--particularly adult life. When we speak of stress, they usually mean something negative. But stress can also have positive excitement value, as in sports, chess, or work. Most of us often try to avoid the harmful effects of stress. A traffic jam is an example of a stress situation. Having to make a tough decision, worrying about bills, and having a nightmare are stress situations.

Many things we do every day are stressful to some degree, but most of them are not serious and we readily adjust to them. Family tensions are a common source of stress, but we take time to discuss the issue. The boss pressures us to do more work, but we go along, hoping to get a raise.

The ordinary stress of life is useful because it nudges us to work out new approaches to different situations. Stress keeps us adapting to an ever changing environment. But stress becomes serious when we cannot cope up with too many changes at one time, or adapt to radical changes we are not ready for. Boredom and monotony are also stressful. Loneliness can cause serious stress.