May 25, 2020
Dear Friends:
As we explore the concept of stress, each of you will have a particular experience and understanding of what stress means to you. For you in the wake of COVID-19, stress could mean having too little in life and for some, having too much. It can mean being too busy or not having anything to do. For some, this pandemic has resulted in smaller changes, such as working from home and being more careful with staying healthy. For others, the pandemic has caused loss of jobs, possessions, and loved one’s lives. Stress can include loneliness, overwhelm, not knowing, yet wanting to know, the pressure of performance, competition, betrayal, etc., etc., etc. You can fill in the blank for all the factors that are currently causing you stress.
Most stressful things create negative experiences that are thrust upon us without our choice and that are crushing to our sense of well-being. This couldn’t be more true than today for most of us. With this idea of stress coming at us as an outside force, most of us would hope that whatever circumstances causing the stress would change. We might act to change the circumstances or try to influence the others involved to act in a way as to take the pressure off of us. Some of us will pray with an understanding that we desperately need God to move on our behalf to make these necessary changes.
In light of stress, it is important that you are able to see the connection between stress and worry. I view their connection in this simple chart:
“…..understand the relevance of stress and worry in disrupting your sense of peace and well-being, as they are tools of your undoing in your journey through life.”
It makes sense that these two things would go hand-in-hand and most of us are prone to such a union in our responses to life’s stressors. Maybe our worries seem reasonable, but then again, isn’t worry boundless in its creative way of conjuring up disaster? We certainly have enough to worry about with today’s pandemic without adding to the mix! I propose to you that this first union of stress and worry be your focus this next week to see how much both or either of them occur in your day. Start with these questions to understand the relevance of stress and worry in disrupting your sense of peace and well-being, as they are tools of your undoing in your journey through life.
- List all of the stressors you have in your life this week.
- Now, list them in order of their weightiness or impact on your sense of well-being (from the most minor to the most major).
- Have check points throughout your day that will let you analyze your thought processes to see how often and prevalent your thoughts of worry are in connection with your stress. (Check points might be as simple as breakfast, lunch, dinner and before bed. You may want to be more attentive and set an hourly alarm to check in with these worries.) I suggest you write these worries down in a simple bulleted list so you can see their prevalence and pattern in your thoughts.
- What do you believe needs to happen in order for you to be relieved of your stress?
- What do you believe needs to happen for you not to worry?
- How have your patterns of worry changed since the onslaught of COVID-19?
(See the “Tips” link if you need help in copying and pasting any of the materials to use in your process of self-exploration.)
Blessings to you in your journey toward freedom,
Shari