Thanksgiving is a time we often focus on what we have to be grateful for. The list may include family, friends, health, wealth, even freedom or life itself. But what if this week finds your life filled with uncertainty, pain, grief, loss, or other challenging situations? Are the conditions of life what dictate if our attitude is one of being grateful? Let’s take an objective look at this from a standpoint of health and well-being.
First of all, it is important to recognize that stress refers to both the conditions that generate a physical and emotional reaction as well as the reactions themselves. The former is considered the stressor; the latter is considered the stress response.
Stressors might include work responsibilities, demands of a relationship, duties at home, losing, getting, or changing jobs. The stress response might be experienced as anxiety, nervousness, tension, insecurity. Physical sensations might include a knot in the stomach, shortness of breath, a stiff neck, or tightness in the low back. Symptoms might include insomnia or tiredness, loss of (or increased) appetite, forgetfulness, boredom, or confusion.
Chronic stress reactions can affect our health, and while we often have very little control over the stressors in our lives because these include other people, organizations, systems, that are complex in nature, you can, and do, have the opportunity to develop healthy responses to stress. Here are some tips that will help your Thanksgiving week be more grateful, regardless of current stressors.
- Notice the stress reaction as a feeling, emotion, or sensation
- Name it (fear, anger, frustration, tension or tightness)
- Notice the stressor without any blame or shame (busy day, tight budget)
- Choose to feel compassion for the human who is experiencing this situation
Choosing to feel compassion literally shifts you out of the stress reaction, allowing you to be grateful for that relief. One emotion overrides the other, and the result is a greater sense of well-being —physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Just noticing the stress reaction means you are less stressed: as in “The one who is aware of stress is not stressed.”
This week, you can be grateful IN all things, even those many people would not normally be grateful for. Albert Einstein is thought to have said it this way, “There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.”
This week’s health tip originally appeared online at https://scs-matters.com/grateful/
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Tips from 5 April 2010 to 6 August 2012 are here: Archived Tips
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Rev.Debra Basham
Voice: (269) 921-2217 Email: debra@scs-matters.com https://scs-matters.com http://ImagineHealing.info http://SurgicalSupport.info Small Changes … Infinite Results™
“If we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” ~Mother Teresa |