STRESS KILLS!
How many times have we heard that? Just like a lot of things in life we’ve been warned about, have witnessed some of the consequences to and yet we don’t listen. Stress affects your whole body starting with your mind. It then flows down into the rest affecting every part of you. When you’re stressed your body doesn’t function properly. It could be you’re overwhelmed, have money problems, the house is trashed by kids, or maybe your workload is never-ending. Or perhaps you are one of those people who internalize things instead of speaking up and taking action. This is a big problem and not one to laugh at.
It’s a known fact that stress can cause cancer. When we’re stressed our bodies don’t react in a healthy way. Crabbiness, depression and health issues are all factors caused by stress. I have seen the results first hand of someone who internalized things and ended up in the hospital. It was heartbreaking and scary.
The dictionary describes stress as: mental, emotional, or physical tension, strain or distress. For such a little word it has some pretty big side effects. Stress is not worth dying over!
My brothers would say relax my friend and just live each day. No, they’re not high on narcotics or surfers ;). They simply realize in order to meet each day with a new and renewed mind, you have to give up trying to control every little detail and stop planning so many things. Get a smaller house if need be so you have less to clean. God himself said, “Don’t worry about tomorrow for I am already there.” If you take this scripture to heart you will have a much happier and healthy life.
So what to do?
You need to start with a plan on how to manage what you have in order to change the amount of stress in your life. If the kids are in activities that take up most of your week, then cut one or two out. They won’t die, and you won’t be deemed a lousy parent because they don’t participate in five sports a year. If it’s money, then sit down and devise a plan on how to make your income work for you and your family. Dave Ramsey is amazing on this subject http://www.daveramsey.com/home/ ).
I’m serious about the house. If that’s your main stress than look for something smaller that takes less of 
your time to upkeep. We humans are so materialistic, but usually the more we have in our house the more stressed we become. Kind of a crazy cycle we put ourselves through. We buy it, love it and then a month later give it away because we’re stressed with the amount of stuff we have. This includes clothes ladies. How many clothes can you wear at one time? We go through this crazy cycle of buying and giving away which has now led to financial stress. This is not healthy. Something will eventually snap and that’s usually you and your health.
Some things that may help:
Plant a small veggie garden, take time to walk in the evenings and breath in the fresh air. Color with your kids, pick ten things for each day of the week you can give away or consign and stop going to certain stores if you’re not able to control your spending. If it’s a work situation, organize what you have so you know what you need to complete each day. Get a different job if the one you have is not a good fit for you. If you take the job, then do the job. If you can’t, instead of stressing start looking for one that you can do and feel happy at when you’re doing it.
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