Stress

📅 15 Dec 2021

After a very sudden, stressful situation at work, I felt the need to get some thoughts out. Hopefully this will help me decompress.

For as long as I can remember I have been pretty poor at stress management. I’m also a classic over-analyzer. When people talk about analysis-paralysis I laugh - not because I don’t believe in it but because I feel like it’s an epic understatement. I don’t just get paralyzed - I probably come as close to literally losing your mind as one can get and still have “full” cognitive function.

I started counseling to address this and many other issues in 2018. This was an incredible first step for me. I started to get better at letting things go and decompressing at the end of the day, but I’m far from perfect.

This particular situation might not even be my fault. Regardless, the day is on a constant loop in my mind and I can’t seem to find the pause button. I know I’m not alone in this, many others struggle with this. But when you are in this place it’s hard to think that way.

The counseling definitely helped and having a consistent plan for unwinding at the end of each day has paid dividends. I am so much better at this than I was just 10 months ago. But I’m still not perfect.

Speaking of perfect, I will probably never be perfect at this. One thing I’ve tried to work on is being OK with who I am. I know I struggle with things others don’t which is totally fine. I also know that I have the ability to work on those things. I don’t have to assume I will always struggle with this to this degree or that I will even struggle at all.

It’s also been helpful for me to think in terms of who I want to be mentally. How do I want to respond to situations?

It’s also been incredibly helpful for me to think how I would coach someone through the things I go through. How would I encourage them in their pursuit of personal improvement?

*Note: The following are things I try to do every night. BUT, it’s also not healthy for me to get upset if I miss one of them or be so OCD about them that I miss what might be a better opportunity for me on any given day (i.e. spending extra time with friends, getting more sleep, etc.)

Some of the things I try to do every night:

Stretch
Shower (sometimes my second of the day)
Play guitar
Read
Off computer and phone an hour before bedtime
Meditation/quiet time

I would love to hear from you if you struggle with this or have any suggestions. Please feel free to reach out at rmoore35@protonmail.com if you want to chat.

💬 Looking for comments?