Coping with Stress - A Series

In a short essay entitled The Creative Process, James Baldwin profoundly states, “If we knew ourselves more, we would suffer less.” In this article, we discuss stress in hopes of encouraging you (and ourselves) to be proactive about our emotional and mental health.

Stress is a curious thing. If you were asked right now how you would define the term, what would you say?

Many believe that stress is something that happens to us, such as an injury or the managing of multiple responsibilities. Others consider it a physiological response to an event which impacts behaviour and organ function (i.e. increased heart rate, anxiety, over or under-eating to name a few). 

But what is it exactly?

Though the triggering event and our responses are certainly factors, it is our thoughts about the situations we face that are most critical. For instance, when something happens to us we immediately (and subconsciously) evaluate the situation. From there we decide whether we’re equipped with the tools to handle what has been presented. If we conclude that the demands of the situation far outweigh our current set of skills, we deem it stressful. Essentially we’re saying we don’t feel fully prepared to deal with them. Alternatively, if we decide that our coping skills outweigh the demands then we don’t see it as stressful.

Our abilities to cope vary, and for this reason no two people will respond in the exact same way. The first step in effectively managing stress is understanding ourselves. 

In part two we’ll discuss the stages of stress and its effects on health.

Source: Canadian Mental Health Association