I have been talking about taking care of yourself in “Do you have enough time to take care of YOU?” and finding who is supporting you in “Do you have all of the support you need?“. Ultimately, are we paying the high price of always trying to be the superman or wonder woman of our family and friends? Stress and pressure can always come on small and build, and BUILD, until it overwhelms…then BOOM! Now there are problems.
Building Pressure
I have been finding myself hitting that last brick wall before I get to the BOOM of my mind. Constant running from home to work and back. With barely 30 mins to myself unless I am working on my homework. The consistent pull of time from family only to continue the pull at work. The pressure builds until something has to break.
Mental Fuse
Lately, the pressure is cutting my “mental” fuse shorter and shorter each day. When I am not frustrated with the people around me and coast through the rest of the day in a numb state of mind. Unable to find peace in simple pleasures. Music gave me an outlet to release my thoughts and center myself. Just not lately. Honestly, I want to walk away from my home and work for a few days and lose myself from the world around me. Let my family and friends know that I am okay, and I will get in touch with them later. Turn off the phone and just hide away from life.
Daily I push myself to make everyone my life touches, happy. Friends, family, coworkers and more. I want to make sure they have what they need to make their lives easier. But am I paying the ultimate price in the end? It is not just the idea that I no longer know what it is I personally want in my life. It is my own health. Especially, it is about my mental health.
Self-Inflicted Pressure
The pressure is not necessarily coming from other people. Most of the pressure is coming from ourselves. I have talked about all we do in our lives is a choice. We choose to speak. Choose to walk. Even the choice NOT to do something is a choice. I have the choice to accept the pressure from friends and family. But every choice we make has some consequences. It is those that change everything. Why do I do everything for others? I choose to do so, because the consequence for me could result in a fight with those that I really care about. Since I cannot stand fighting with anyone, my choice is to take care of them. Again, self-inflicted pressure.
Who is pressuring
Take a second, think of the last thing you were frustrated with. Why were you frustrated? Was it because someone didn’t do something the way you expected them to (the “right” way)? Or was it that you wanted everything a certain way, and someone didn’t do that? Think about the scene of the frustration. Then ask why and keep asking why.
“You frustrate me.” Why do they frustrate you? Something said, done, looked, or lack of any of those? Why was it said, done, looked that way? Is there a reason it lacked being said?
I have told my husband in the past that no one has your exact common sense. Many share very similar ideas and knowledge. Not everyone agrees with you that things should be done certain ways. Are they wrong? Are you wrong? The answer, probably not. It would be wrong if someone was hurt by it. Is it common sense to paint the tree green? What about painting it orange?
Everyone has to deal with frustration and stress in some form throughout their life. Frustrations can build. Stress can build.
Don’t let your mind and body pay the ultimate price.
NIMH-5 Things You Should Know about Stress
With great warmth,
