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Working with a health authority has recently exposed me to many issues around health. Suddenly I developed an interest in developing a good quality of life. I have also observed a cocktail of activities which characterise the life of the average family. Most families from various parts of the globe fly through the week hopping from one event to the other. Whilst it is a sign of very good living to be up and doing, active and healthy, it becomes damaging when our activities move to the other end of the spectrum and makes life a complete burden.
Recently, I considered my quality of life after my new line of thought made me realise that life is not a rehearsal. I wanted to make a conscious effort to live this one life well by giving it my best and getting the very best out of it. I began to ask questions. Could I look back and say I have lived a good life, what can be the reason (s) for not living a good happy life? What has been the major obstacle in living it to the full? I realise no one can pass through life without having challenging situations every now and again. I think its inevitable in life but the difference in fostering a good life and a not-so-good one is the way we handle these undulating situations of life.
So what is the why, what, where, when and how of 'stress'? What is stress and what can we do about it? Before I go any further, I would love to clarify what exactly do I mean by stress? Many people use the word 'stress', when they feel they have had enough of a situation and can not take 'it' any longer, while digging into its meaning, I found a simple to understand definition on the web. 'Stress is a feeling that's created when we react to particular events. It's the body's way of rising to a challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus, strength, stamina, and heightened alertness' (http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_mind/emotions/stress.html)
Understanding stress from this angle enables us to know that stress could actually be managed well if we handle it rather than let it handle us. Some of the feelings that come with stress are anger, frustration, bitterness, impatience, feeling overwhelmed or hopeless, easily irritable, upset and teary. These feelings could then easily metamorphose to unwanted behaviours such as shouting, withdrawing from others, being shifty and unable to focus, being ineffient at home and work, inability to sleep or waking up too early in the morning. Stress could also cause some negative physical manifestations such as headache, comfort eating, fast heart beat, sweating, stomach upset among others.
Daniel de Bruyn and Joanna Bartlett stated in their 'Stress profile questionnaire' that 'Our complete well being requires 'health' in our four areas of life. The areas are spiritual, mental, physical and social and the outcome of too much unhandled stress also features in these areas'. We therefore need to make conscious efforts to develop a bespoke happy life for ourselves. It has to be unique to each family, individual as we all have different assignments in life, different temperaments, different faiths and different health needs. We should take some time to identify the sources of stress in our lives. We must be able to analyse what causes stress in our lives. We must also be able to deduce how to de-stress our lives by developing 'best practices' and encouraging ourselves to adhere to these practices.
De-stress and live life to the full
Ayobola Chike-Michael