Hi ,

What I know for sure about stress is that it’s insidious. Most of us don’t realize just how stressed we are until we begin to develop symptoms. It could be tension in our shoulders or neck, a headache, stomach issues, becoming accident-prone etc. This is especially relevant now with the pandemic. What makes it so hard to assess our stress level accurately? I often share with my coaching clients the frog-in-a-pot metaphor, which accurately describes what often happens to us. It goes like this: If you take a frog, and put it into a boiling pot of water, what do you think it will do? It will likely jump out of the pot, recognizing the danger. If you take the same frog, and put it in a lukewarm pot of water and slowly raise the temperature, what do you think it will do now? It will continue to swim around the pot, not realizing the water is getting very hot, until unfortunately it’s too late. At times throughout our lives, we will be the frog.

In my own life and those of my clients, I repeatedly noticed this happening. I attribute it to a phenomena, which I call “tolerance to stress.”  It refers to a phenomena in which we habituate to our current level of stress, and believe we are handling it well. Our current stress level could actually be a 6 out of 10 (10 being the highest), however because we’ve habituated over time, it feels more like a 4/10. Additional stressors develop, and we’re now at an 8/10. We experience our stress level more like a 6/10 because we’ve become tolerant to it, and believe we are coping decently. Unfortunately, our bodies are not meant to handle high levels of stress (7/10 or above) for extended periods, and symptoms ultimately develop.

Ways to Better Assess Our Stress

• It’s important to know how moderate to high levels of stress begin to affect our body, minds, health, and relationships over time. Consider reading my book 🙂 From Stressed to Centered: A Practical Guide to a Healthier and Happier You. The first few chapters include an overview on stress, including a comprehensive list of stress symptoms, and a brief inventory to better assess your current stress level. Whether you read this (or something else), knowing key stress symptoms is the first step in assessing it.
   
• Reflect on your current wellbeing. Are you experiencing any stress-related symptoms? Some examples include overeating or eating very fast, difficulty sleeping, easily irritated, or trouble focusing. There are many additional symptoms. If so, consider one small step you can take to increase your self-care behaviors.

This week, consider making a list of the top 2-3 current stressors in your life. Identify the one that you have the most control over. Is there a way to completely eliminate this stressor from your life? If not, what is one small action you can take to proactively begin to resolve or reduce this stressor? Then, do it, and notice the increased sense of control you feel as you take this important action 🙂

Please get in touch with me at dr.gionta@gmail.com if you would like more support and know you want to make some life changes. Moving forward can be challenging. However, feeling more empowered and happier in our lives is worth it! We can have a relaxed conversation about coaching together, and decide where to go from there.

Tune into my podcast, Living a Vibrant and Empowered Life with Dr. Dana, to hear more about this topic and others!

Enjoy your week!
Dr. Dana