The world has become such a hectic place these days, with everybody in such a hurry to be somewhere or be something, not worrying about how they are actually feeling due to how busy their life has become. However, once they do finally get that little bit of free time, to just sit down and relax and think about things a bit more clearly, they begin to find that they are not as happy in their life as they thought they were to begin with. This can then lead to depression, anxiety and stress, but these terms are so broad that we can sometimes forget that there are actually many different levels of stress, not just one to cover everything.
So if you are feeling a bit down and depressed, and you feel that your stress is what is causing you to feel this way, then it is important to understand the different levels of stress and to put your finger on what kind of stress levels you are feeling. This will then help you to find the cause of the stress and in understanding your stress levels, you can then work on combating it and making yourself feel much better. So, on to the main reason that I am here. I am not going to tell you that you shouldn’t feel stressed, as stress is a natural part of life. Instead, I am here to help you in understanding your stress levels, in order to help you to cope with the stress you are feeling.
Here are the different levels of stress, what might cause them, and what you can do to overcome them:
First up in understanding your stress levels, is the Speed Demon. As you might have already guessed, the Speed Demon is that type of person who is always doing everything at a million miles an hour, barely taking the time to even breathe. A Speed Demon is going to work at full speed for the whole period they are working, as they believe that by working as hard and as fast as they possibly can, then they are going to get the best results available. And this is not only restricted to their work life either, as a Speed Demon is also the same in their personal life.
You have no doubt met a Speed Demon. They are that type of person who always talks really fast, as if they can’t get all of their words out quick enough. They are also the fidget, who is always moving, with it be tapping their foot, shaking their leg or playing with something on the table. They simply can’t sit still, as they feel that by sitting still they are not working hard and by not working hard they are not achieving success. This in turn will cause a Speed Demon to feel stress over the slightest of things, no matter how small, which is not healthy at all.
The biggest thing that a Speed Demon needs to remember, in order to alleviate that stress, is to just try to relax and slow things down a little bit. At the end of the day, success does not come from being the hardest worker in the room, it comes from being the smartest worker in the room. Instead of thinking of ways that you can work harder, instead look for the ways that you can work smarter. To get things done in the most efficient way possible, without having to waste any excess energy on doing things the hard way.
A great technique for a Speed Demon, in order for them to lower their stress levels, is to take the time to write down the goals they are aiming to achieve for that day. Then to work out and write down the most efficient way to achieve those goals. This way, they have a set target and a set plan, stopping them from having to rush around like a headless chicken and stopping them from getting so stressed and sweating the small stuff. So, if you are looking at understanding your stress levels and you believe you are a Speed Demon, then simply try to slow things down, you will feel much better for it.
The Worrier
Now the worrier is another one which is fairly obvious to get a general idea of, as it is simply someone who worries too much about everything, leaving them with little time to think about anything other than the worry they have on their mind. The problem with this is that they usually tend to worry about everything and anything, so it doesn’t even matter what else they have to think about, as that will also just cause them more worry.
The worrier is a person who, rather than analyzing their issues and coming up with a way to improve things, they instead over-analyze their issues, which leads to more worry and in turn leads to more stress. Someone recently spoke to me about over-analyzing things and not actually getting anything done, referring to this as paralysis by analysis. This simply means that you are paralyzing yourself from making the changes need, by being too over-analytical and overcritical about everything. The stress caused then leads to more worry and rather than getting things done, the worrier just continues to worry more. It is an endless cycle of worry!
Instead over being too overcritical and analyzing things too much, the best thing for a worrier to do is to break things down into more manageable pieces and to take them on one small piece at a time. Again, a great way in understanding your stress levels when it comes to being a worrier, is to write things down. Instead of worrying about something, simply write down exactly what the issue is, then from there write down what it is you need to do to deal with this problem.
If you have multiple things you are worrying about, which is usually the case with a worrier, then it is a good idea to write them all down and then order them in a list of importance. Then take one of these issues and make it a priority for one day. By breaking these things down and by only letting one of them be of concern for that one day, you are stopping yourself from becoming too overwhelmed by too much all at once. This will help you to get a handle of things, which in turn will relieve some of that stress and make you start to feel more relaxed and better about yourself and your situation. Now I am not saying that you are never going to feel stressed ever again, but this will definitely help you to feel a lot less stressed than you already do, and hopefully teach you to cope with your stress in a much more controlled way.
The Multi-Tasker
There is a lot to be said for people who have the ability to multi-task and it really is a great skill to have, especially when you have a lot of important things to juggle at the same time. However, if you are in the process of understanding your stress levels and you find that you are focusing on too many things at once, then it might be time to take a step back and re-evaluate things. The biggest problem with being a multi-tasker is that you have your mind attempting to focus on so many things at once, that you don’t pay enough attention to one specific thing in order to make a real success of that.
Yes, a multi-tasking person is someone who can be very productive, but when it comes down to it, they don’t actually manage to produce any great results on any specific task, as they are trying to do too many things at once. The problem here is that they then begin to feel like they are not achieving anything in their life, which can then in turn make them feel a bit down on themselves and in some cases, even make them feel worthless. As expected, when you begin to feel this way about yourself, it is going to lead to you becoming stressed about your life and what you are doing wrong.
If you have come to the conclusion that you are a worrier and you are feeling stressed about your life and the direction you are currently taking, and the direction you should be taking, then there are ways for you to rein things in a little bit. It is important that we all feel worthwhile in our life, so in that respect, it is important that we do something in our life that actually helps to make us feel worthwhile. By doing too many things at once, a multi-tasker is not giving enough time to one thing to make it worthwhile.
Again, the best thing to do is to write down the things that you focus on everyday, the multiple things you give attention to, and then to order them in a list of what makes you feel the most worthwhile. Then it is time for you to put more focus on the things that make you feel more worthwhile, as this will help you to eliminate that stress and make you feel good about yourself. Now I am not saying completely forget about those things at the bottom of the list, as they no doubt do still need some attention. The key is to prioritize and to organize, to make your life more worthwhile and complete. Once you have got a better handle on what makes you feel good about yourself, then the stress will begin to ease away.
The Lone Ranger
While there are plenty of people who work in a busy work place, surrounded by many people, which can lead to having some great social interactions, there are also those who work all by themselves, alone, with nobody to talk to or to interact with, which can leave them feeling very much lonely. The way that this can cause stress is that, by working along all day every day, they then find it difficult to interact with people on a more sociable level and will quite often close themselves off from being open with anyone, which builds stress.
Not having anyone to talk to makes it impossible to get anything off your chest, which means having to bottle everything up, This then leads to becoming more stressed and feeling like you are destined to be alone forever. Having nobody to share your life or your experiences with can be a very lonely place and it is easy to understand just why this would make you feel so stressed. But it is important not to let it get you down and to remember that you are in control of your own life and you can make the changes needed to bring people into your life.
As you might have guessed by now, I am a big believer in writing things down and once again that is exactly what I suggest you should do here. The best thing for you to do is to write down the things that you enjoy in life. Make a list of your, not only the things you like, but also the things you value the most in life.
Once you have compiled this list, you can then join groups and clubs which are made up of people who think and feel the same way as you do. This way, you can then talk to these people about a shared interest, which will then lead to the building of friendships and relationships. This stops you from being so alone and gives you a support group who you can open up to, allowing you to get that stress off of your shoulders and to seek the assistance and advice you need to push forward with your life and your goals. Don’t be afraid to say something silly, don’t get offended if somebody laughs at you, as they might actually find that you have a funny personality. Allow yourself to open up allow people into your life and you will find yourself forgetting about the worries and the stress of being alone, and instead becoming a much happier person.
The Carers
Some people in this world are far too nice for their own good and always seem to put other people before themselves. A carer is someone who is always going to ask how you are doing and what they can do to help you, without even considering how this will impact them or their own life. While a carer can be guilty of caring too much for other people, the problem is that they forget to care enough about themselves, which can then lead them to actually neglecting themselves and not realizing until it is too late.
Sometimes, they never even realize this and they just accept their life for what it is. The problem with a carer is that they are too busy caring about others that they don’t take the time to realize the stress that they have put themselves under, which makes it so much harder to do anything about it, since they don’t know the stress exists. While you might think, “well if they don’t know they are stressed, then are they even really stressed at all?” the fact is that stress works in so many ways, hence the need for understanding your stress levels.
While a carer might feel that they are at their happiest while they are helping other people, they need to take the time to sit back and analyze their own life and really try to see just how happy they are in themselves. Again, I am not saying you need to completely stop caring for other people, as caring is part of what makes you the special person you are. However, it is important to take time for yourself and to make sure that you do the things that also give you the enjoyment that your heart so desires.
Whether it is just something as simple as taking a relaxing bath, with a nice glass of wine and reading a book; or something extreme like skydiving or bungee jumping; you really do need to make the time to do these things for you. Take a day off from helping people and really look inside yourself. If you find that you are more stressed than you ever realized, then it is time to get writing again. Make a list of the things that you have always wanted to do, or the things that you love to do the most, then make sure that you do one of these things at least once a week. You will find that by taking care of yourself, as well as continuing to take care of others, you will become happier than you have been in a long time, possibly ever.
The Non-Carer
Now this is obviously someone who is the complete opposite of the carer. Rather than caring about others too much, the non-carer doesn’t care about anyone or anything, which really is a sad and depressing way to live. You can spot a non-carer a mile away. They are the person who drinks too much, but claims it never affects them.
They are the person who smokes to much, but has an excuse for why they do it, dismissing any of the negativity surrounding smoking. They are the person who is not going to help you, but worse than that, they are not going to help themselves. The non-carer cares so little about themselves, in fact, that they actually think that they are worthless and have nothing to offer anyone or anything. They might act like they are confident and outgoing, but when they are by themselves, they really are not happy with their life, which causes them stress.
The best thing that a non-carer can do, is to know that every person has the right to feel worthwhile and the right to feel happy, but you just need to make those first steps yourself. It is important that you don’t try to change too much too soon, as you will find it hard, give up and consider yourself a failure. Instead, take small steps.
If you drink too much, start to lower your alcohol intake one small step at a time, maybe by lowering it by one drink per week, giving you a steady pace to get to where you need to be. The same goes for smoking Don’t just quit all together, as banning yourself from something will just make you want it more. Instead, lower the amount you smoke week by week, until you are down to none. Finally, the biggest thing for a non-carer is to exercise more, as it will make you feel good inside and out. Start small, by walking for 30mins a day, then build it up from there. By taking these steps, you will soon start to feel worthwhile again and that stress will be gone.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, we are all going to feel some stress in our lives at some point, but it is important that we go in search of understanding our stress levels, so that we can make the moves towards improving our lives. Nobody should ever be ruled by stress and nobody has to be ruled by stress, so make sure that you don’t let yourself be one of those people.
If you have read through all of the stress levels that I have discussed here, then you will know that the biggest point that you can take away from this, is to write things down. Writing is a great way of letting things out and getting control of your stress, and you might notice that the more you write, the more you begin to discover other things about yourself. Write down what has been causing you stress; write down the best ways to deal with that stress, and then put those plans into action. Also, remember to always take some time for you. Do the things that make you happy and you will soon notice that you really don’t need to let the stress become bigger than it really needs to be. Good luck and have a happy and stress free day.
First up in understanding your stress levels, is the Speed Demon. As you might have already guessed, the Speed Demon is that type of person who is always doing everything at a million miles an hour, barely taking the time to even breathe. A Speed Demon is going to work at full speed for the whole period they are working, as they believe that by working as hard and as fast as they possibly can, then they are going to get the best results available. And this is not only restricted to their work life either, as a Speed Demon is also the same in their personal life.
