Alcohol Abuse Advice

What to Do About Stress

In this day and age, it can be really easy to get stressed out. In fact, more Americans are stressed today than they’ve ever been. This comes parcel and part due to the fact the economy is suffering, people are losing their jobs everyday, the price of gas is high and the cost of food is on the rise. What many of us fail to realize, however, is that most stress is in our minds. That’s right; we cause our own stress. If you are worried about losing your job, why waste time worrying about it?

Studies have shown that those people who are more stressed out than others have a higher propensity for developing all sorts of problems associated with it such as illness, fatigue and in some cases, phobias to things. Being healthy starts with your mind. Your mind is the most powerful tool in your body. Think of people who run cross country races. These athletes get up each day, sometimes early in the morning before the sun rises, just so that they can train their bodies. They’re not only training their bodies, however; they are training their minds.

Anyone can have a “good day” as an athlete. Conversely, any athlete (no matter how good they are) can be beaten by someone not nearly as athletic if their head isn’t in the race. You might struggle to run for 20 minutes, complaining about how much your back hurts- how you’re tired, etc. But if you had to carry a loved one who weighed 150 pounds for three miles because their life depended on it, I guarantee that you’d be able to find the strength to do it. This is why your mind plays such an important role. No one can make you stressed out except you. If you get a piece of bad news, how do you deal with it? We need to find healthier ways of dealing with our stress so that it doesn’t affect our lives and the lives of those around us. When stress becomes dangerous is when we turn to other unhealthy sources such as drugs and alcohol to combat our problems and find a temporary solution. After the alcohol wears off; after the drugs wear off- is your problem still there? Many people don’t even pause to think about this. Instead, they try to solve their problems by even more drugs and alcohol.

If you are stressed out, there are so many other healthy ways to deal with things. For instance, you can talk to a friend about what is bothering you. If you don’t feel comfortable doing this, approach a family member. Something as simple as talking about a problem can save you a world of trouble in the long run. When you don’t express what you are feeling in a healthy way, all you are doing is bottling up emotions inside that are going to come out eventually (and usually not in a good way). Other people deal with their problems and stress by exercising while others choose to sit quietly and meditate. Some people choose to draw; others choose to write their thoughts in a journal, and others choose to get involved in volunteer work.

Related Alcohol Abuse Recovery Articles