Stress-Busters, Part 4

Our emotions – our thoughts, feelings, beliefs and attitudes -- are greatly affected by stress.     When we are well-rested and relaxed, a spilled glass of milk is just that.  When we are stressed and exhausted, that same spilled milk can be a major source of frustration or anger. The amount of chronic stress often experienced by caregivers will play havoc with emotions, causing even simple setbacks to elicit annoyance, irritability, anger progressing to depression. 

Studies have shown that almost half of all depression is caused by chronic stress.  It is vital that caregivers recognize the signs of depression in those they care for and themselves.  The most common signs of depression include:

·         Chronic feelings of sadness, excessive crying, feeling hopeless or worthless,

·         Loss of pleasure in activities once enjoyed,

·         Tiredness, fatigue, sleeping too much or too little,

·         Eating too much or too little with resulting weight loss or gain,

·         Irritability,

·         Poor concentration , forgetfulness, and

·         Chronic aches and pains that do not improve with treatment.

Depression changes how we view the world and how our body tolerates the demands we place on it.  If you or your loved one experiences five or more of these symptoms for 2 weeks or longer, contact your physician for advice.  Thoughts about suicide or persistent thoughts of death require immediate intervention from your physician or area emergency department.

When the sense of losing emotional control occurs, many simple coping skills can restore our calm and perspective.  Previously, I’ve mentioned the importance of walking and relaxation techniques like deep breathing, yoga, and meditations.  In addition, journaling is another coping technique that costs little, can be done at any time, and can help us regain a sense of perspective.  Journal-writing allows us the cathartic release of writing down what we are feeling; what we have experienced us; what worries or troubles us.  It allows us to write without concern for grammar, creativity, or organizational structure.  We can allow our thoughts to flow freely and release our emotions on paper.   You can choose to keep your journals private, and pull them out for 5 minutes a day to jot down the day’s events and emotions.  Over time as you review what you’ve written, you will undoubtedly see significant patterns – including patterns of how you’ve successfully endured bad days, bad moods, bad luck, and big struggles.

 

Some of us choose to keep journals with the specific purpose of sharing them with future generations of our family.    If you have inherited the journal of your parent or an ancestor, you probably consider it a cherished keepsake.  This type of journaling is a simple but powerful way of sharing your history with your children, grandchildren, and generations to come, teaching them life lessons that are of incredible and enduring value.

Many people keep a daily gratitude journal.  They discipline themselves to find even three things every day – even on brutally hard days – for which they are grateful.  This habit is deeply rooted in spiritual beliefs that in every burden there is a blessing:  something to learn, something to refine us, something to strengthen us.

 

All of these journaling experiences can help us make sense of our daily stress and help us restore order and meaning into our most chaotic circumstances.