When I’m stressed, I shut down and shut up.
The term tongue-tied may mean one thing to you, but to me, it is a perfect metaphor for how I feel when I am hurting. Even when I want to talk, the words are held captive. It doesn’t matter how quiet I am, however, my body language still speaks loudly. Usually what it’s saying is,
“Leave me alone!”
And then I feel hurt when people avoid me–especially my husband, of course. I want others to read my mind not my face. I want them to ask and then wait (a really long time if necessary). Then I want them to judge my heart and not my confusing words. And I want them to be on my side, even if they have a completely opposing opinion.
I want, I want, I want.
When we are stressed, we are selfish.
I doubt that anybody really want the world to revolve around them, but
There’s something about pain that causes us to focus on ourselves.
We’ve all been stuck at home for a really long time now. We are feeling stress in all sorts of directions: emotional, relational, financial… You name it, Covid19 has rocked our world.
Self-quarantine has its good and bad parts, but any major change in life makes us think about ourselves a whole lot more than usual. As we adapt to the change, we can start thinking of others again, but with so many unknown factors in our future, it’s been hard to fully adapt.
- Can we get back to work yet?
- When will we be able to socialize again?
- Are we ever going to be able to get our hair done?
Not having a plan is stressful in and of itself! Especially for certain personalities.
My Image Identity (Img.ID) is a combination of two clothing personalities: the Dramatic who responds emotionally and the Natural, who goes with the flow. The contradiction inside of me makes me even more anxious. I want all of this to be no big deal, but it is–and when I get upset, I’m very passionate about it.
How about you? How you handle stress is a big indicator of your Img.ID: Classic: Investigative, needs all the details Natural: Complacent, unconcerned with the details Dramatic: Emotional, needs to express feelings Ingénue: Sympathetic, feels responsible Romantic: Sensitive, sacrificial Gamine: Judgmental, needs to correct the problem Click the letter to learn more about that Image Identity, including What2Wear.
3 tips for overcoming stress:
There’s no easy answer for dealing with all that we are feeling right now, but there are some simple steps that sure help me:
- Understand yourself. Know your desires, expectations and responses to stress. Learn, grow, get better at handling your own stress. You can only fully understand yourself and heal if you undergo individual therapy.
- Take care of yourself. Self care is very important. If you have no “oxygen mask,” you are no good to anyone. Self-care is different for each Img.ID, but every one of us needs mental, emotional and spiritual nourishment just as much as we need it physically.
- Think about others. There is no better therapy for stress than to help someone else. You are not going through this alone, those that you love should not have to either. Stressful times can become very healing and bonding times if we allow them to be.
Above all else, let’s remember that this too shall pass. No, we don’t know what our future holds, but we do know who holds our future. You can also buy cbd bath bombs because it has proven effective against heavy situations much like this one.
So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. – 2 Corinthians 4:18 NLT
For 3 tips on helping children with stress, check out this blog.
To take my FREE quiz and learn your Image Identity, click here.
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Be watching this week for practical self-care ideas for each Img.ID on Facebook, Instagram, & Twitter.
You can also find me on Pinterest, Linked In, Goodreads Visit https://catrinawelch.com for more information.
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