OH! Magazine - Australian Version June 2014 (Australian Version) | Page 25
FIONA
COSGROVE
wellnesscoachingaustralia.com.au
( Wellness Coaching )
STRESS
THE SILENT KILLER
OF WELLBEING
Fiona Cosgrove explains
the detrimental impact
stress can have on wellbeing.
We have come to accept that in
today’s crazy, busy world, stress is
just part of the landscape. In fact, it’s
almost unheard of to live a care-free life
without this urge to drive ourselves
further and faster, in search of the
ultimate prize of… what?
When did you last ask someone, ‘How
are you?’ and receive the response
‘Actually, I’m pretty chilled out. Got my
life under control. Cruising along.’ Maybe
one in 50? 100?
We are much more likely to hear
something like ‘flat out’ or ‘really busy.’
Or perhaps ‘Got a lot on right now.’ These
are the standard responses that seem to
justify our existence in today’s world.
Being stressed is acceptable, but not
admirable!
A survey in 2013 commissioned by
the Australian Psychological Society,
W
found that working Australians reported
significantly lower levels of wellbeing and
significantly higher levels of stress and
distress than in the previous two years.
What this means is that stress is growing.
So we have a problem.
Of course, we know that a certain
amount of pressure can be a good
challenge to get us moving. But when do
we move from good pressure to overload,
that gradually wears down both our
mental and physical health?
I would suggest that many of us
operate in the red zone – that ‘in between
place’ that would only take a slight shove
to move us into the danger area where
stress adversely affects our quality of life.
So where does all this stress come
from?
Let’s acknowledge that stress is not
what happens to us or what is going on in
our lives, but more so it’s the way we
interpret those events or situations.
Let’s t