Some people don’t even realize when they are stressed out. They get so caught up in their tasks and in the stressful feeling generated by them that they can’t pull themselves out of the moment for long enough to realize that something is wrong. It’s only when they start having full-blown panic attacks or getting nose bleeds due to high blood pressure that they get alarmed enough to take any action to relieve stress.
How do you avoid this situation? Is there any other way to figure out if you are under stress?
The Happiness Baseline
Everyone has mood swings. That’s a normal part of being human. Sometimes, you’re happy and sometimes, you’re sad. But every person has a certain baseline of happiness that they always return to sooner or later. This baseline varies for different people. Some are happier than others.
Being Mindful of Your Happiness Baseline
You must have some idea of your baseline happiness state. Do you feel like you’ve been at this baseline for the past couple of months? This is a question you could try asking yourself every so often. It’s similar to the Buddhist idea of mindfulness, which basically just means being aware of yourself and the world around you.
So be mindful of your level of happiness. And if your mood seems to have dipped lately, if there have been more events that have been making you feel upset, then it’s quite likely that you have been under stress, and it might be time to do something about it before the situation gets out of hand.
Getting Rid of the Stressor
One way to relieve stress is to get rid of the stressor. If something at work or in your personal life has been upsetting you, then think about whether there is any way to get rid of that stressor. How can you deal with the situation and resolve it?
Counteracting the Stressor
Sometimes, resolving the situation works to relieve stress. But there are things that you can’t always resolve. For example, let’s say you just got a new job with more responsibility. This is actually a good thing, even if it’s stressful. So it’s not a stressor you want to get rid of.
In this case, you can turn to practices that will bring you mental peace, such as yoga or meditation. You’ll often find that these give you an immediate jolt of happiness that lasts a few hours or even all day. So you can use it to counteract the negative effect of the stressor that has been bringing down your happiness baseline.
