So, for purposes of helping myself simplify ..I have defined stress for me to be:
Stress is...anything (be it an errand, an item, a relationship, my schedule, a particular food) or lack of something (water, reading my Bible, praying, time out of the house) that causes me to feel anxious, uptight, inadequate, worried, chaotic, disordered..in general, bad.
There are the huge stresses in life..the obvious ones, loved ones ill/hurting, strained friendships, tense marriage, financial problems, etc.
But I also realize that I can feel stressed by a disordered kitchen cabinet, clothes in my closet that dont fit, a job I have but dont enjoy, noise level in my house, being dehydrated, having too much clutter, things being to hard to get to that I need (I need the blender, but I cant get to it where I have it), certain recurring messes (I clean up dog food 10000 times a day), my car being a mess, feeling guilty I havent called/written/spent time with someone...etc.
I can be stressed by small things around my house like the rug that wont stay put, the facet that leaks, the old leftovers in the refrigerator, that lack of forks..
Lots of little things can add up to a generalized feeling of feeling overwhelmed.
Being honest and aware of what causes that feeling has been so helpful for me.
Then, applying one of my stress strategies
1) Get rid of it
2) Get it done
3) Get control over it
4) Get over it
5) Give it God for Good
I feel like I have the ability to bring it under control again.
Today, I am DeSTRESSING my kitchen. I have been wanting to reorder things, and have been needing to find a solution to my daily fight with Canon about the bucket of dog food (it gets dumped at LEAST once a day). I didnt have anywhere to put it up that wasnt completely illogical if the pets were gonna actually be fed ever, so I had to rearrange.
In the process, I have decluttered, given away, thrown away, inventoried and most likely set Adrian up for going insane with my changes...BUT, I have eliminated my dog food stress AND hopefully helped in other areas as well.
Now, in case I have somehow given you the impression that I even slightly have it together..by my taking the time to do all that the rest of my house looks like a cyclone hit it, my kids didnt eat lunch til 1pm, the trash can is overflowing and I think I smell sour laundry.
See..I only SOUND like I have it together :)
7 comments:
Courtney, you are becoming my Dr. Phil:). I think we are on parallel journeys right now, and while I don't have time to blog about it (though I've written SEVERAL blogs on the subject in my head:)), I have REALLY enjoyed reading yours. I think it all started with the "epiphany" you told me outside Bee City, and now you are posting this handy "how-to" guide, which has helped me along the way.
Thanks for the free counseling!
I am glad that someone can get something out of my thinking through these things..I feel like i am on the verge of some real HUGE ideas, I think God is really trying to show me something profound. Thanks for being a sounding board :)
"Lack of forks" LOL. With me, it's spoons.
On the journey of stress, I feel like I haven't gotten to the worst part yet, so I'm foreseeing a hump I'll have to get over before things can start to improve. It's like when you get sick. You can feel it coming on, and then it comes, and then you "treat" it, and then it goes away. I'm at the beginning of the "and then it comes" part. I have been so sick before that I was too weak to open the container of medicine. It's kind of like that right now because I have jumped into working again, and I am grieving the loss of TIME and SLEEP. I could go through all my stuff and get rid of what I don't need, or rearrange things to promote functionality, but I have no idea when I could do that. If I went through the process of "de-stressing," I would stress myself out more because I would feel guilty that I wasn't doing something else that I needed to do. I shouldn't even be reading your blog right now because there are other things I really need to be doing. :) BUT, one way for me to "treat" stress is to connect with other people. Stress makes me feel cold and prickly, and lately I have felt like I could really use some warm fuzzies.
BTW, I appreciate that your blogs are really long. If you look at my blog (and my comments on other people's blogs), you'll know that I too understand the need to keep on writing and writing. Sometimes it just helps. :)
hey sis! Agian great job. You could write a book. I have felt very inspired this week to simplify, and try to do something about my stress. I am so glad that you dont have everything together (even though most of the time it feels like you do...) because it makes me feel like I can do some things well, even if I cant do it all at once. I want so much to find a balance! That is my goal this week. Balance. Clean the kitcchen, spick and span, but then sit and read the girls a pile of books! Love you! Youre amamzing.
Lacey
you are hilarious. lack of forks! i love it.
See..THIS is why I blog..comments are awesome! :)
It is obvious God is using you to help all of us! :) I think I need a cyber-coffee break with you! :)
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