What causes stress? Most people think that stressful events cause our stress but actually, what causes stress is how we react to and think about the event.
For example, death is a very stressful event, wouldn't you say? What causes the level of stress, in this situation, really depends on how a person reacts to and thinks about death. If one person thinks that there is no life, NOTHING, after death and he or she will never see their deceased loved one again, their stress level will be significantly high. If another person thinks that there is life after death and they will see their deceased loved one again, after their own death, their stress level will be significantly lower than the first individual. We must also take into account how well the person deals with stress.
I have recently seen this particular reaction. Recently, two friends of mine have experienced the death of a close loved one. The first person, we will call him Fort (I don't know anyone named Fort, he he he), lost his spouse, and the second person, we will call him Hub (I don't know anyone named Hub either, ha ha ha), lost his long-time significant other (never married in other words). Fort has a strong faith in the plan of salvation, believes in eternal marriage, and handles stress very well. Hub, on the other hand, has faith in God, but not a very strong faith, and is horrible at handling stress.
Immediately during and after each funeral service Fort was strong and happy, celebrating his deceased spouse's life and Hub was very miserable, and displaying illnesses like headaches and abdominal problems. There is a lot more to these stories than what I have shared but the foundation of it all is this; Fort has faith and handles stress well therefore, his stress was very low. Hub has not so strong faith and handles stress not so well therefore, his stress level is high and he sustained illnesses.
The purpose of this post is to show you that 1) your level of stress is not caused by your situation 2) your level of stress is caused by how you think about your situation (FAITH) and how you react to your situation and 3) stress does, and will, cause severe illnesses if you do not learn how to destress yourself.
If you are dealing with a physical illness, I know that if you learn how to destress yourself (which just means to think and react differently than you do to stressful situations) you can overcome your illness, I know this because I have seen it happen time and time again. Many people have come to me with headaches, stomach problems, muscle aches, anxiousness, sadness, neck pain, back pain, and many many other problems, and once they learned to destress they overcame them! On the same note, many people never learn to overcome their stressful habits of doubt, fear, and worry and they continue to sustain their illnesses and they get worse.
YOU GOT THE POWER! YOU CAN LEARN TO DESTRESS YOURSELF AND CREATE GREAT HEALTH, HAPPINESS, ENERGY, AND VITALITY! I AM A WITNESS TO THAT!
Until the next post, don't forget to have fun and be playful...
Elizabeth
